Cloud Nine: Washington Nationals offense firing on all cylinders with three straight 9 run games

The Washington Nationals offense is clicking right now and they are getting production from a lot of players including Josh Bell and Luis Garcia Jr.

The Washington Nationals offense has been clicking lately, and it is not just the top guys producing. The Nats have scored 9 runs in each of their past three games. Interestingly, this surge has coincided with a CJ Abrams slump. The Nationals shortstop has been carrying the offense for much of the season, but is 2/28 in his last seven games.

That means the Nats are relying on some of the guys who have been letting them down for much of the season. In particular, Josh Bell and Luis Garcia Jr. have really heated up. Ever since I suggested the Nationals pull the plug on the Josh Bell experiment, the big many has taken off. In the three games since the story, Bell is 7/14 with three home runs.

Davey Martinez has been adamant that even with Bell struggling, there would be a point in the season where the big slugger would carry the lineup. That time as come, as Bell is finally hitting the ball hard consistently. I am so happy to be proven wrong by Bell, who is one of the best people in baseball.

Another guy who has been in the middle of everything is Luis Garcia Jr. Garcia had been getting unlucky all season, but it looks like that luck is finally coming. The Nationals second baseman is 11/24 in his last seven games and has zero strikeouts in that time. At his best, Garcia is a pure hitter who can spray the ball all over the yard while also running into the occasional homer. That is exactly what he is doing right now.

When a star like Abrams is struggling, good offenses find a way to pick up the slack around him. That is exactly what the Nats are doing right now. Abrams has bailed out this offense for a lot of the season, and has taken the heat off of some of the struggling bats that are now bailing him out.

Another guy who has been picking it up over the last couple games is Nathaniel Lowe. Lowe has had a miserable May overall, but had his best game in a while last night. It was a vintage Nathaniel Lowe performance, with two hits and two walks. One of those hits was a clutch broken bat single which gave the Nationals a lead they would never relinquish. It was nice to see him turn around a 100 MPH fastball, with Lowe struggling to catch up to velocity for a lot of this month.

Of course, it almost goes without saying that James Wood has been a big part of this offensive barrage. Like Bell, he has hit homers in three straight games. However, his greatness is something we are just getting used to at this point. At just 22 years old, Wood has 16 homers 42 RBI’S, a .287 batting average and an insane .964 OPS. After producing Bryce Harper and Juan Soto, the Nationals have another special corner outfielder on their hands. Hopefully the can keep this one around for the long haul.

While they aren’t going to score 9 runs every game forever, I want to see the Nationals offense build off these performances and show more consistency. If the “other guys” in the Nats lineup can keep hitting, the offense is going to be much more sustainable. For most of the season, the Nationals have been so reliant on CJ Abrams and James Wood to do everything for the offense.

If they can get more production from more guys, the results will be more consistent. It gives pitchers more to worry about, and makes life harder. A lot of these guys are just finding their level. Guys like Garcia and Bell weren’t going to be that bad all season.

As a whole, the Nationals offense has been pretty good, even if they are maddeningly inconsistent. They rank 15th in OPS at .707, 13th in home runs, 12th in doubles, and 11th in runs scored. Even with their fair share of clunkers, the Nationals offense is a solid unit that has room to be even better. This is an offense that is on cloud nine right now.