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Kyle Schwarber homered twice in Sunday afternoon’s game, leading off the bottom of the first, and then again with two on in the bottom of the second, giving the Nationals a boost they desperately needed in what ended up a 5-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
It has worked out well with Schwarber leading off recently, and Davey Martinez might keep him up top for a while.
“He got us off to a great start, a quick start, and his next at bat was huge as well,” Martinez said after Schwarber went 2 for 4 with the two home runs, 4 RBIs, and a walk in the win.
“Good day for him, with that being said, Trea [Turner], [Juan] Soto, we got to get those guys going as well because as you know those guys are huge in our lineup.
“Once we get those guys going, if Schwarber can continue to do what he’s doing in the leadoff spot, we’ll start scoring some runs.”
Turner went 3 for 15 in the four-game set with the NL West’s first-place team. Soto was 1 for 11 with two walks.
Martinez talked about Turner after the finale with the Giants, when asked if he’s looked a bit worn down in recent games, after starting in all 62 games so far this season.
“I’m watching him, and I talked a little bit before his last at bat about getting his hands up, a little bit, I thought his hands were a little lower, he got his hands up a little bit and lined out, hopefully that will get him going,” the manager said.
“But he understands that he’s got to play. He’s our shortstop, he’s the guy — I’ve always said — he’s the guy that really makes our lineup go.
“When he gets on base he makes things happen. So if he needs a day off, he knows that he can come to my office and if I can give him a day off I will.”
On the positive side, Josh Harrison went 4 for 4 in Sunday’s series finale and 6 for 8 overall in the series, bouncing back after he’d slowed a bit over the last few weeks.
“Here’s a guy that he brings that energy for us every day, as you can tell, he’s an exciting player, he loves to play the game,” Martinez said in his post game Zoom call on Sunday.
“He found something yesterday and today he came out and you saw him get four hits today, so we got to keep him going as well.”
Will the Nationals keep it going after a split with the Giants?
HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE OPENER WITH THE PIRATES:
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