MIAMI -- Keibert Ruiz found his power at the plate on Tuesday night, reaching base in three straight at-bats and finishing a triple shy of the cycle for the third time this season as the Nationals snagged their eighth win vs. the Marlins this season, 6-2, at loanDepot park.

Offensively, it’s been a slower season for Ruiz, who set career highs in 2023 but has had trouble getting going consistently at the plate this year. Ruiz entered the series opener in Miami hitting .039 (1-for-26) in his past seven games and .216 on the season.

But that didn’t last long. In the third inning, Ruiz smacked a double just inside first base and into the right-field corner and came around to score on an RBI single from Jacob Young. He singled in the third and made it to third base before he was stranded. And in the sixth, he gave Washington a key insurance run, smacking his 13th homer of the season -- a two-out solo long ball -- into the visitors' bullpen in right field.

For the Nationals -- who would like to see more production from their backstop, sure, but aren’t pressed -- the focus is more on Ruiz’s growth defensively and mentally.

Ruiz has made strides behind the plate this season. He’s made just one error in 98 games (91 starts) at the position (a .999 fielding percentage) and turned a career-high eight double plays. Ruiz has also allowed just two passed balls, compared to eight last season -- in part because he started setting up on one knee instead of on two feet. The change, which he made at the start of the season, has also helped Ruiz snag more calls low in the zone. (He has zero catcher framing runs -- which can be considered league average -- compared to -13 last season.)

And Ruiz isn’t carrying his offensive lows into his defense -- though there wasn’t much threat of that vs. the Marlins on Tuesday night.

“I love it that he's not … taking his at-bats right now into his defense,” manager Dave Martinez said pregame. “He's done really well. I mean, it's something that he's worked on with [catching and strategy coach Henry Blanco] all year long, and he's getting better. So that, to me, that's a bonus for us right now.”