WASHINGTON – Daylen Lile is at it again.
Hours after being named the National League Player of the Week, Lile hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning to pull the Nationals within one run of the Marlins. The shot into the visitors’ bullpen at Nationals Park was the first opposite-field homer of his Major League career.
“I feel like it's there when it needs to be,” Lile said of his opposite-field power. “On something like that, I was just trying to shoot it the other way. Just hit it hard, and it just had a little lift on it. And you know, with the thick air tonight, I didn't think it was gonna go out. But yeah, when I saw it go out, I thought it was pretty cool.”
But he wasn’t done yet.
Two innings later, the 23-year-old outfielder hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off the 2019 World Series championship plaque in right field and into the Nationals’ bullpen. The long ball had an exit velocity of 106.7 mph and a Statcast-projected distance of 373 feet, igniting a four-run rally en route to a 6-3 Nationals victory and a series win over the Marlins.
“It felt really good,” Lile said of his emotions when he put his team in the lead with his second homer of the night. “I know times have been hard, as a team, just like from every aspect of the game. And just to come through for the team felt really good, because I know there were a lot of opportunities early on in the season where I didn't capitalize. And today felt really good to come through for the team.”
With his 19th and 20th home runs of the season, Lile now has four multi-homer games in his career, all coming this year. He finished the finale 3-for-3 with two homers, two runs scored, four RBIs and a walk.
Lile was named NL Player of the Week on Monday after going 11-for-24 (.458) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 10 RBIs, five walks, seven runs scored and just three strikeouts in seven games from Aug. 24-30. He hit safely in six of the seven games.
He’s heating up at the plate around the same time he did last year, when he finished his rookie season by being named the National League Player of the Month for September. Lile had 16 extra-base hits while slashing .372/.423/.681 from Aug. 21 until the end of the season.
“Just staying within myself,” he said of the similarities between the 2025 and 2026 versions of himself. “The confidence is there, everything that I'm working on before the game, and then just going out there, having fun and just trusting the approach. That's basically it.”
Since Aug. 21 of this campaign, he has three doubles, one triple, five homers, 15 RBIs, seven walks and 11 runs scored while reaching base safely in nine of his last 11 games.
“Man, we'd be in a really good spot if this is the real Daylen, and I do believe it is,” manager Blake Butera said. “No doubt, he's hot right now. But I think this version of Daylen, the way he's taking his at-bats right now, the way he's laying off pitches and waiting until he gets something in his zone, we all know how good his swing is. We all know how athletic he is. The ability to drive the baseball when he's hunting a certain pitch and a location. He's not missing it right now.”
After the four-run rally in the seventh, the Nationals’ bullpen made that lead stand without a repeat incident of the team’s 35th blown save leading to Sunday’s 6-2 loss.
Rookie left-hander Erik Tolman inherited a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth and escaped with a scoreless inning via a strikeout and a 4-3 double play. He then struck out the side in the ninth to record his first Major League save.
“I'm still jittery right now,” Tolman said after the game. “So even after the shower and just hanging out around here, I still got a lot of energy in me. I don't think I'll ever get used to this feeling. I don't think anybody would. And I just want to keep it going.”