WASHINGTON -- The last time the Nationals faced the Brewers, they connected on 14 hits and left Milwaukee on May 22 with a series finale victory. Two weeks later, they picked up where they left off and recorded 19 hits in a commanding 11-5 series opening win Friday night at Nationals Park.
The Nats had landed in Washington, D.C., around 3 a.m. ET from Miami following an 11-day, three-city road trip, but their bats weren’t tired. Every player tallied at least one hit (six had multi-hit nights), which manager Dave Martinez credits to their game plan of staying in the strike zone and avoiding chasing.
“We got some hits that we normally don’t get, which was kind of nice tonight. You need those every now and then,” Martinez said. “But for the most part, we hit the ball hard. Our big boys came through with some RBIs for us today, so that’s awesome.”
Here are four standout offensive performances from the Nationals’ win.
Cruz’s stellar bounce-back
Nelson Cruz was scratched from Thursday's lineup in Miami after experiencing discomfort in his back/oblique area that made him so uncomfortable he had trouble falling asleep when the team arrived back in Washington. So he was surprised when he woke up feeling “brand new,” and he made the most of this at the plate.
The 41-year-old designated hitter went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs and a homer. Following a slow April, in which he hit .155 in 22 games, Cruz is batting .400 in eight contests this month.
“He’s amazing,” said starter Erick Fedde, who improved to 4-4 on the season. “He’s a great guy to have around the clubhouse. Then, especially seeing him after his tough start to the year really kick it on, it’s awesome and it makes our lineup that much better.”
Franco stays hot
Maikel Franco extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his fifth home run of the season -- a Statcast-estimated 428-foot dinger with a 106.9 mph exit velocity. The third baseman is batting .350 during this stretch, his longest hitting streak since the 2016 season. Franco credits simplicity, focus and consistency with his location for his success, a turnaround from his .210 batting average last year with Baltimore.
“He’s been good,” Martinez said. “I’ve seen him play for many, many years, and I know what he can do. He had some years where he wasn’t as good, but we really felt like when he was available this winter that bringing him here -- not having any backups or anything for third base or even first base, for that matter -- that he could probably fit the bill. And he’s worked hard.”
Thomas’ leadoff spark
Lane Thomas compiled his second three-hit, three-run performance in a week, while jumpstarting the offense batting leadoff. In the month of June, he is hitting .438 with trios of doubles and homers, five RBIs and 10 runs over 7 games. Thomas, who platoons left- and center-field duties with Victor Robles and Yadiel Hernandez, has been delivering when he gets the nod.
“He’s got a pretty good approach,” said Cruz. “He’s a great hitter. Definitely, he can go line-to-line, take good at-bats and he is starting to heat it up, so it’s nice to see him.”
Twice as nice
After Josh Bell belted his 15th career triple (and only his second since 2019) in the fifth inning, he followed it up with his sixth homer of ‘22. Keibert Ruiz then stepped on the gas and hit his second home run of the season in the next at-bat. It was the third time this season the Nats have hit back-to-back homers, and the first sequence that did not involve Juan Soto. They previously did it on April 12 at Atlanta (Soto and Bell) and last Friday in Cincinnati (Thomas and Soto).