For the 4: Fueled by family, Lile's multi-HR night powers Nationals

When the Nationals were informed of the available uniform numbers for this season, Daylen Lile knew exactly which one he wanted.

Four isn’t just a number Lile wears on his back; it represents the family he carries with him to the ballpark every day.

“DL4” is tattooed on his arm and embroidered on his belt to signify his bond with his mother, Deborah; father, Danny; and brother, Danny Jr. Lile is very close with his entire family, which also includes his half-brother and sister, Travis and Devan.

Now, the No. 4 is embroidered along with “Lile” on his Major League jersey.

“My family was smiling from ear to ear,” Lile, 23, said. “I used to wear it in travel ball for a little bit. Once they saw I changed my number, they were pretty happy.”

Family is what makes Lile’s first big league game in Cincinnati so special this week. Great American Ball Park is the closest stadium to his hometown of Louisville, Ky., and Lile has been anticipating seeing those who helped him get to this stage during the series.

“I'm going to have people from high school to travel ball coaches to teachers to my family,” Lile said last week. “I'm very excited to be literally two hours away from home and see people I haven't seen in a while.”

Lile put on a show for his large cheering section with the first multi-home run game of his Major League career in the Nationals’ 10-4 win over the Reds on Tuesday.

In the fourth inning, Lile demolished a solo home run off a Statcast-projected 415 feet at 105.7 mph off Brady Singer. In the next frame, he crushed a three-run homer against Luis Mey. Lile set career-bests in exit velocity (109.2 mph) and distance (429 feet) on the swing.

Lile was selected by the Nationals out of Trinity High School in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He was named the back-to-back state of Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year in ‘20 and ‘21.

From 2008-25, the only Kentucky high schooler drafted earlier than him (47th overall) was Jo Adell (10th overall in ‘17). Lile is only one of seven players born in Kentucky in the Majors this season.

“My mom said the whole city of Louisville is going to come and support me because it’s really small,” Lile said. “It’s real small, and there’s not a lot of baseball players that come out of Louisville. The people that know me well know that this is a dream I've always had. So for them to actually watch me play in a big league stadium is going to be pretty cool.”

At the center of this support foundation are Lile’s parents. His father worked as a supervisor for the Louisville metro government before he retired. His mother still works in medical billing.

“Growing up, I was just a little kid that didn't come from much, a middle-class family,” Lile said. “My parents took a lot of time off work, [spent] money, took me to out-of-town trips to get me showcased in front of the right people because they knew that I wanted to become a professional baseball player.”

Lile’s Major League aspirations hit a roadblock after getting a glimpse at 19 games of rookie-level ball. The next spring, Lile required Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He was sidelined for the entire 2022 season.

While Lile recovered at the Nationals' training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., his parents visited as much as possible. Their trips included days at the beach and family dinners.

“It meant a lot because they knew that the one thing that I love was taken away from me, and I couldn't really do much about it,” Lile said. “They did a lot of stuff just to keep my mind off of baseball, regroup and just learn how to be a young man and go have fun and stuff.”

With his family behind him, Lile made his Major League debut just three years later at age 22. A year later, he breezed around the basepaths and tipped his cap to his supporters in the stands, his No. 4 jersey connecting him with his loved ones.

“I'm a big family-oriented person,” Lile said. “Wearing it, I’ve always got my family with me. I know how much they sacrificed to get me to the point where I am. It’s just my token to say thank you, I appreciate them and I love them.

“Anytime I'm on that field, they're always with me.”