Harper hitting his stride at plate crucial for Nats to get rolling again

The Nationals downed the Orioles 4-0 to end their four-game losing streak behind eight shutout innings from Max Scherzer.

Right fielder Bryce Harper perfectly placed a two-run double down the left field line to highlight a three-run eighth inning, adding crucial insurance to a 1-0 lead.

After watching the Orioles put up 18 runs in their last two games against the Nats, Harper knew that 1-0 would not hold up against a team with that kind of firepower. So the three runs in the eighth provided a key cushion.

"It's huge given the team that they are over there," Harper said. "They bang it up a little bit. You never know what's going to happen, so being able to have an extra few runs and (Mark) Melancon coming in and doing his job, it's huge."

Manager Dusty Baker had seen the Orioles rake at Camden Yards and then put up 10 runs on 12 hits Wednesday back at Nats Park. He knew that the eighth-inning rally was critical to finding a way to end the losing skid.

"We added on those key insurance runs, because you're always fearful when you're playing those guys, they got seven or eight guys that can reach the fences," Baker said. "If you can keep 'em in the ballpark, which is hard to do, and don't walk guys in front of them, then you got a chance. But man, that was a great game to watch. Everybody was probably on the edge of their seats. Boy, we needed that so badly."

Harper finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He hit .375 (6-for-16) in the series against the Orioles. In his last 12 games, he has 18 base hits with four doubles and 13 RBIs.

Baker was pleased to see Harper connect again, but he also hopes there is more where that came from.

"He's warm. He's not hot yet, but he's getting there," Baker said. "He's returning to April form. Remember, he was Player of the Month in April, and he carried us almost by himself, he and Daniel Murphy. Now you're seeing toward the end of the year, and I said before, most of the big hitters do 50 percent of their work in about 30 percent of the year. I'll take another April in September and October."

Harper hitting .391 (18-for-46) in his last 15 games is reminiscent of the beginning of the season. If he can even approach some of those April numbers in the next week or two, that will allow the wiggle room for a pitching staff to have a margin of error as they seek out that Sept. 1 scheduled off-day now within reach.