Danny Espinosa a pleasant surprise in Nats offense

The Nationals return home as the hottest team in baseball for a quick two-game taste of interleague play with the New York Yankees. Mired in an offensive quagmire for much of the season's first month, the Nats offense has exploded after being detonated in the April 28 mind-blowing comeback win in Atlanta. So far this year, the Nats have scored 10 or more runs in a game six times and their 194 runs overall are best in the National League.

The obvious reason for the turnaround has been the torrid bat of Bryce Harper. But we expected that. It was never a matter of if, but when for Harper.

What nobody predicted is what Danny Espinosa has provided for the Nationals. Espinosa, easily the Nats' biggest surprise, is slashing .275/.373/.490 with seven doubles and 13 RBIs. His five homers are second-best on the Nats behind Harper.

And though Harper stole most of the headlines after blasting his 14th longball in Sunday's 10-5 series win in San Diego, it was Espinosa's three-run fifth-inning shot that was the team's biggest hit on the day.

"He's a lot more (fluid)," Harper said of Espinosa. "He's a lot more relaxed in the box. He's not trying to do too much and hitting the ball to left-center a lot more. He's a damn good player, plain and simple. He can play. He can pick it. He's a lot of fun to watch. He's got a lot going on. It's exciting to see what he's doing right now. I'm excited for him."

It would have been impossible to predict what Espinosa has done so far, especially considering that most of his damage has been accomplished from the left side of the batter's box where he was never supposed to be standing at all this season. Espinosa spent all of spring training, every single at-bat in the Grapefruit League, digging in from the right side of the plate after the Nats asked him to abandon switch-hitting. But switch-hitting was the only approach that Espinosa had ever used since picking up a bat early in his youth.

So when Espinosa entered his first game of the year on April 11, it was a shock to most to see Espinosa standing in on the left side. The result was a double off the right field wall. Somehow, after spending all of that time trying to get himself acclimated to only hitting right-handed, Espinosa found time to tinker with his left-handed swing, which is now much shorter and compact.

"It feels good," Espinosa said. "For the most part, I've been staying within myself. At times, I've gotten big still. It happens. I'll stick with what I'm trying to do and stick with my plan and just try to hit."

All five of Espinosa's home runs have come from the left side. He's also showing much more patience at the plate, drawing 14 walks, again second only to Harper on the Nats. Over his last 19 games, Espinosa is hitting .333 (22-for-66) with three homers, five doubles, 10 RBIs and 16 runs scored. Espinosa had a four-hit game in a win on April 29 and a two-homer game in a win on May 8.

All of this comes after Espinosa hit just .200 in a combined 158 games over the past two seasons.

"Last year, his head was getting out in front of the baseball and out in front of his body a little bit," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "This year, he's sitting down at the plate a little bit more and he's letting the ball come to him. Anytime you can do that, you got a better chance of having a little bit of success. He loves to play. We love to put him in there and he delivered again (Sunday) for us."

When the season began, Dan Uggla was the Nationals' starting second baseman. Espinosa didn't even receive an at-bat in the first series. Times have changed now though, and the idea of an Espinosa/Uggla platoon at second base seems to have been brushed aside as Espinosa has started 26 of the Nats' 39 games. That number would probably be even higher if the versatile Espinosa wasn't asked to move over to third base to start in place of an injured Yunel Escobar four times.

Anthony Rendon remains in Florida rehabbing his oblique strain, leaving a timetable for his return in question. When Rendon does make it back, that figures to spell the end of Espinosa's consistent playing time as either Rendon or Escobar will take over second base with the other occupying third.

Until then, Espinosa continues to make his case while giving the Nats an added and unexpected boost at the bottom of the lineup.