Kendrick winning over Nats with professional approach at plate

There are few compliments one ballplayer can heap on another more telling than to refer to him as a "professional hitter."

It sounds silly, but that's the kind of designation that is reserved for only a select few, those who consistently produce the kind of quality at-bats that impress even the best this game has to offer.

So when Dusty Baker referred to Howie Kendrick last night by that term, you knew he meant it as the highest compliment.

"He knows how to hit," the Nationals manager said. "He's a professional hitter."

Kendrick certainly has been showing it since joining the Nationals two weeks ago. With a 3-for-4 performance during Wednesday night's 10-1 win over the Marlins, the veteran utilityman continued his torrid season at the plate.

Kendrick is now 13-for-34 since his acquisition from the Phillies, good enough for a cool .382 batting average. He has three doubles, a homer, five RBIs and a .959 OPS, further cementing his legitimacy.

And this is a guy who already was tearing the cover off the ball with his former team. In 175 total at-bats this season, Kendrick is now batting .349 with a .398 on-base percentage and .872 OPS.

"He can hit," Baker reiterated. "He could hit before he got here. We have to spot him sometimes, but the guy could hit."

Kendrick actually was out of the lineup Tuesday due to a sore back, but he was good to play Wednesday and start in left field. And Baker suggested that with Anthony Rendon feeling sick and needing a day off, Kendrick is likely to start at third base in Thursday's series finale against Miami.

The Nationals will happily take his quality at-bats, no matter where he's playing in the field. Wednesday's game offered the latest evidence of his abilities, never more so than in his at-bat in the bottom of the fifth.

With two on and one out, Kendrick took three straight balls from left-hander Adam Conley. Baker gave him the green light to swing away on the 3-0 count, which can be a dangerous offer for some.

"A lot of times," Baker said, "you let a guy hit 3-0, they try to do too much."

Not Kendrick. He calmly drove Conley's fastball down the left field line and into the corner for an RBI double.

"I've never really been a guy that swung 3-0, but you see it a lot more now," Kendrick said. "Even last year with the Dodgers, you saw a lot of guys swung 3-0, (Corey) Seager loves to do it. A lot of guys here love to do it. I think it's just something that the pitchers are the one in the hole; you're not in the hole. You want to get your pitch and be aggressive on it. It's something I actually started liking more now."

What's not to like about Kendrick these days, from the Nationals' perspective?

"He's strong. He takes care of himself. He fits right in with the team," Baker said. "He's been on good teams before. In the past, we knew we were trying to get guys who were good teammates. He has a reputation of being an outstanding teammate, so I've had my eye on him. He's probably had his eye on me - well, his eye on me probably longer - but he's got a great attitude.

"I see him helping the younger players, as well as the older players, and he has the respect already of the guys on the team because he came here with a good reputation."