Bryce Harper, Dan Uggla talk Nats' scuffling offense

MIAMI - The Nationals have played below expectations in the first month of the season. A 10-day road trip through three National League East cities seemed like an opportunity to reverse some ugly early trends and possibly build some momentum against some of the division's struggling teams. But in the loss to the Marlins last night in the trek's first game, it was the Nationals who continued to be bothered by the same common themes - poor situational hitting and a shaky bullpen - that have led to a 7-10 start.

"We're playing great," right fielder Bryce Harper said. "It's later innings. We can't get a guy in, they get a guy in and they win the ballgame. "If we keep plugging on, keep doing what we need to do, our pitching's gonna hold it. So we were talking at the beginning of the year, if we score four runs, four or more runs, you know, every single game, we'll win ballgames. We just gotta keep plugging along, keep swinging and make sure we're having fun, too. That's the biggest thing."

Sounds like a promising formula from Harper, except the Nats have only scored four or more runs in eight of their 17 games. Not only did the Nats waste another strong outing from one of their startersagain last night, but the lack of offense forced Jordan Zimmermann out of the game prematurely in order to get a better bat to the plate in a scoring opportunity in the seventh.

"Our starting pitching is best in the league," second baseman Dan Uggla said. "We've got a guy that's going to give us a great chance to win every time we take the field. We just need some timely hitting and we'll be off to the races."

The other side of it is the inability for the Nats to hold a lead. Despite scoring limited runs, the Nats have still been out in front in 12 of 17 games yet only have seven wins to show for it. The bullpen has either blown a lead or failed to maintain a tie after the seventh inning in three of the past four games.

Right-hander Tanner Roark put the eventual game-winning run on base last night when he gave up a leadoff double to Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria in the eighth. Roark maintains that spirits are still high among the crew of relievers, who remain undeterred by the resent disappointing results.

"I feel great," said Roark. "I know everybody else does, too. We're not worried about it. We're a confident team. As you saw last year, we were tough all the way to the last out. That's what's so great about this team."

The biggest problem is the Nats have found more ways to lose ballgames than win them in the first three weeks.

"It has been a struggle so far this year," said Uggla. "But it's not going to last forever. We're going to get it turned around. We've got Anthony (Rendon) coming back in a few days, I think, or a week or a week and a half, hopefully. He's going to make a big difference in our lineup. He's a guy that's just a tough out, hits the ball all over the field, hits for power, average. That's going to be a key thing for us."

Rendon's return will force a roster a decision for the Nationals that could impact Uggla. The three-time All-Star is only 4-for-34 (.118) in his comeback bid.

Rendon was 1-for-2 with a double in his first minor league rehab game for Double-A Harrisburg last night. He's expected to play seven innings tonight and on Monday and then ramp it up to nine innings on Tuesday.