Attention to small things key García's 2nd straight 3-hit game amid torrid stretch

WASHINGTON -- Luis García Jr.’s bat is scalding hot to start the month of August.

García found himself batting third in the 6-4 win over the Brewers on Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park, and he made the most of being at the top of the lineup once again to help break Washington’s five-game losing streak. García started the four-run rally in the first inning to give the Nationals the early lead and added a homer in the third to extend the lead.

“I don't think it makes a difference hitting first or ninth,” he said through interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I just got to go out there and be ready to hit, focused and do anything possible to help the team win.”

García has been known to bat best with runners in scoring position. He leads the Nationals and is third in the league with a .361 average with runners in scoring position. But on the anniversary of being optioned back to Triple-A Rochester, he did the work with the bases empty.

With two outs and bases empty, García used the opportunity to showcase some of his discipline at the plate. He took a ball from Brewers’ starter Aaron Civale and then fouled off the second offering -- a sinker. Civale’s curveball proved to be the pitch he was looking for in his first at-bat. The result: a double to get him in scoring position for Keibert Ruiz to follow. The catcher swatted an RBI single, bringing García in to score the first run.

Following the four-year veteran were the most recent call-ups who followed suit. James Wood walked and set the stage for Travis Blankenhorn to drive a two-run double -- his first Major League hit of the season. Alex Call then added a fourth run in the inning -- swatting an RBI single.

"This team that we're playing ... they're catching us at a time when we're not at full strength,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "But it doesn't matter. They're playing free, playing the young guys and they are a fun team to watch. But they are catching us at a time when they know us a little bit and doing a great job of it."

Seeing the early runs up on the board gave Nationals starter DJ Herz a lot of confidence into his five-inning, 77-pitch outing. He threw 49 strikes and allowed one unearned run on two hits.

“[The four-run first inning] kind of lit me up and got me going,” the southpaw said. “We took it off from there.”

García was not done doing damage, though, and was patient in finding his pitch once again. Civale offered up two strikes and García fouled off the third. The fourth was just right, as the New York native connected with the 78.2 mph sweeper and sent the ball a Statcast-projected 400 feet into right-center-field bleachers with an exit velocity of 102 mph.

According to Nationals manager Dave Martinez, García has been working on not chasing every pitch and instead being more selective to put himself in good situations to swing.

“He’s been a lot better, and I’m proud of him because he’s been working hard on where he wants the ball in certain situations, especially with guys on base,” Martinez said.

Since July 3 (21 games), the 23-year-old has hit .392 with five doubles, a triple, five dingers, 16 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He was a triple shy of completing the cycle on Saturday, and in Friday’s series opener, García went 3-for-4 against the Brewers with three singles. Most of that work is attributed to both his attention to detail and focus.

“I feel like sometimes, in the past, I would focus on the big things and not worry so much about the little things and they would affect my play,” he said. “Now, it’s the other way around, and I focus on the little things and just let the big things play themselves out, so it’s definitely helped a lot.”