Lineup delivers another big rally as Nationals stay hot (updated)

If the Nationals are going to claw their way back into a pennant race that seemingly left them in the dust 10 days ago, this is how they're going to have to do it: With offense. Lots and lots of offense.

As much as they talk about building a championship contender behind a dominant rotation, the Nationals' biggest strength at this moment - believe it or not - is their lineup. It's nearly at full health again. It has speed at the top, power in the middle and depth at the bottom. And as the weather heats up, the potential of this group to put up big numbers on any given night only grows.

"We have a lot of length in the lineup," said Stephen Strasburg, who counts his blessings that he doesn't have to face his teammates. "We have guys that can get on base and turn walks into triples, and guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark. We've shown that we can play really good baseball. And if we continue to do that, we can play with anybody."

Yes, there are other areas that must be addressed in order for this team to be considered a legitimate threat - cough, bullpen, cough - but until that happens, this is going to have to be the formula for success.

As the Nationals put on display for a boisterous crowd on South Capitol Street this evening.

Down five runs early to an up-and-coming White Sox club, the Nats stormed back with a big offensive explosion en route to a 9-5 victory to continue an upswing that is looking more sustainable with each passing day.

The Nationals have now won eight of their last 10 games. They're still six games under .500, but trending in the right direction. And they're doing it behind a lineup that has scored an average of 6.8 runs per game during this stretch.

"We talk about it all the time: We have length now all through our lineup," manager Davey Martinez said. "It's nice. If one guy can't get it done, there's a guy behind him that picks him up and gets it done. It's been that way now for the last 10 days. And they're playing really well."

It may have taken a few innings to fire up the engine tonight, and it only happened after Strasburg spotted Chicago a 5-0 lead. But once it got going, that engine was firing on all cylinders, and it was something to behold.

Anthony Rendon, as so often happens, was right in the thick of it. The potential All-Star third baseman ignited the rally with a two-run double in the third, getting the Nationals on the board against former prospect Reynaldo López.

Howie Kendrick, as so often happens, also made a big impact with his bat. Inserted at second base when Brian Dozier had to depart after taking a pitch off the inside of his right forearm - X-rays were negative, but Dozier had a Kendrick blasted a leadoff homer in the fourth to trim the deficit to 5-3.

"I think now as I've progressed in my career, I've learned how to take on that role and understand what I need to do to be prepared to come in the game," Kendrick said. "And once Dozier got hurt, I kind of had an idea I'd probably be going in. So I just went in prepared like I was going to pinch-hit or go in with a double-switch."

And then Rendon returned with the biggest blow of all: a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth moments after López received a mound visit from White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper. As he rounded the bases following his 11th homer of the season, having driven in five runs to night to extend his season RBI total to 40, Rendon was serenaded by the crowd of 32,513, some of them starting up the increasingly popular "Lock him up!" chant.

The Nationals weren't done. Kendrick doubled home another run, and Victor Robles added the final dagger: a two-run homer to center to complete a six-run rally and extend the lead to four runs.

"I definitely believe that hitting is contagious," Rendon said. "Once you see your other teammates succeed, you get up there and kind of don't want to be the person that stops it. So maybe you dig in a little deeper or try a little harder, I don't know. It worked tonight."

Strasburg's abbreviated start - after giving up four runs on 39 pitches in the top of the first, he lasted only five innings - put pressure on the Nats bullpen to come through with four innings to close this out. But that beleaguered group continues to make strides, and tonight it got the job done.

Matt Grace pitched a 1-2-3 sixth. Tanner Rainey tossed a scoreless seventh with a pair of strikeouts. Wander Suero retired the side in the eighth and returned to start the ninth. And after two runners reached base, Sean Doolittle entered to record the final two outs and secure his 13th save, not to mention ensure Strasburg would notch his 100th career win.

The Nationals bullpen now has allowed only one run over its last 15 1/3 innings, lowering its MLB-worst ERA from 7.23 to 6.66 in the process.

"They're starting to throw the ball like we knew they would," Martinez said. "And they're getting big outs for us."