Over the past week, the Washington Nationals put on a scoring showcase, where they maintained their MLB-leading offensive numbers and scored more runs than the Kansas City Royals have all season.
In the last week, the Washington Nationals went 4-3 and scored 77 runs, including 46 during their four-game series at Coors Field. A majority of these came during Washington’s blowout of the New York Mets on April 30, where Anthony Rendon‘s historic game helped his team to score 23 runs.
As he became the fourth player since 1900 to go 6-for-6 and hit three home runs, Rendon set a franchise single-game record with 10 RBI.
After double-digit run-scoring performances against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 10, the Atlanta Braves on April 19 and three against the Colorado Rockies last week, the Nationals are the first team in MLB history to score at least 14 runs in a game five times in April.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals are in the basement of the AL Central at 7-16 with only 63 runs scored this season. The San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox barely top the Nationals’ week total with just 87 total runs on the year.
Promising Start
The Nationals turned many heads with their offensive outburst this week, but did we expect anything less? If the Nationals are able to utilize their entire lineup, like they have thus far, their offense looks to be unstoppable.
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While signing Daniel Murphy, who is batting .343 with five home runs and 26 RBI, is clearly paying off, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman are showing signs of rebounds.
By his standards, Harper slumped his way to a .243 batting average and 24 home runs while striking out 117 times last season. As of Sunday, he leads the majors with a .509 OBP and set a major-league record with 32 runs scored in April. He already brags nine home runs while batting .391.
Like Harper, Zimmerman is showing convincing signs of a resurgence in his career, only his slump lasted through 2015 and 2016. Now, he is tied for the most home runs in baseball (11) with the highest number of RBI (29) and batting average (.420) in the majors.
Not to mention Trea Turner is picking up where he left off in 2016. While returning to his primary position at shortstop, Turner is batting .317 with 13 RBI, four stolen bases and hit the third cycle in franchise history on April 26.
As a team the Nationals own the best slash line in baseball at .295/.369/.510. They lead the majors in nearly every offensive category, including RBI (166), runs (177) and hits (265).
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It’s best to exercise caution when making judgments in the first month of the season, but the Nationals are off to a promising start.