Matt of Matt's Bats: May will be a good test for the Nationals

Thankfully, April is over. Now that it's May, the Nationals are winning. Winning is what Nats fans expected; it just has not been how we planned it. After a full month, the Nats sit just below .500 at 13-14.

The Nats looked like they were going to end April on a losing streak. On April 27, they were on a six-game skid. However, to end the month, they turned up the gas and won three in a row against the Braves and Mets. Between Tuesday and Thursday, the bats heated up to produce 34 runs in three games. In the last week of April, they won five out of seven. I said after the Wednesday game, when they scored 26 runs in the span of two nights, that this could be the turning point to the early problems if they were able to take the series against the Mets.

And they did! The Nats won three of four against the Mets on the road but with a surprising lack of offense, scoring only two runs in the last three games. It was the first time that the Nats got back-to-back 1-0 shutouts since moving from Montreal. It was disappointing that they had lots of chances to score with runners on the bases, though. On Sunday, the team had bases loaded with no one out, but Mets reliever Alex Torres came in and struck out the side.

The two 1-0 wins with the Nationals' No. 4 and No. 5 starters show how deep our rotation is. We just need to get our offense back up there. It's a good sign that the Nats have enough hitting talent to score 13 runs in two straight games, and enough pitching talent to shut out their opponents in their home ballparks, but wouldn't it be great if the Nats could do both at the same time?

The Mets still lead the division, and getting three wins off them was a good way to narrow the gap. The Nats are still 3 1/2 games behind them, but really it's too early in the season to look at standings. However, we don't play the Mets again until July 20, if you can believe that, so winning this series was very important.

In terms of how the schedule looks, last night and continuing on through Wednesday, the Nats face the red-hot Marlins, who swept the Nationals last time they met in Miami. After that, the Nationals take on Atlanta, followed by series against the Diamondbacks and Padres. They finish the months playing games against the Yankees, Phillies, Cubs and Reds.

The Atlanta matchup is not as tough as last year's division rivals, but the Padres are no longer an easy win. (In terms of weaker teams, the Phillies and Reds series should allow the Nats put record some curly Ws). The Yankees and Cubs are tough opponents this year. All in all, this is a pretty balanced schedule, and this month will be a good test of the Nationals' ability to play teams that are playing at about a .500 level. Unfortunately, the Nationals didn't take advantage of an easy April schedule, and now they will be facing a series of a better teams.

Here's what I'm looking for in May. I want the hitting and pitching to be on at the same time. I want to see a series sweep. I want to see the team have another 20-homer month. I want Anthony Rendon to come back. I want the team to stop making errors. I want to #VoteNats. I want to see the team on top of the division.

I was at the game on Monday. Here are three quick observations before I go:

* We're still making errors. Jayson Werth missed a Giancarlo Stanton liner that hit him in his glove. It might have saved a run if he caught it.
* Ian Desmond homered. I think he's back on track, y'all.
* Tanner Roark got his first career save. He struck out Stanton for the last out. It's nice to see him get some meaningful innings.

Ten-year-old Matt blogs about the Nationals at Matt's Bats. Follow him on Twitter: @MattsBats. He shares his views weekly as part of MASNsports.com's initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.