Morning coffee: Let's play Nats math, plus notes on Giolito, Turner and Difo

The Nationals seem to be winning more than a few games by 2-1 margins recently. The pitching has been so good that they have been able to score just enough runs to win, a mark of a solid team.

The recent amazing run reached 20 wins in their past 25 games with a 2-1 with at Chicago over the Cubs on Monday.

They are 3-1 in games decided by 2-1 scores so far this season, and led Sunday's game 2-1 before notching a pair of big insurance runs late to topple the Phillies 4-1. The Nationals are 10-4 in one-run games.

On Monday, they won the game with the longball, solo home runs by Denard Span and Wilson Ramos in the first and sixth frames, respectively. It was all they needed to hold off the Cubs, who also pitched well.

The Nationals have now hit 50 home runs in their first 45 games, good for third in the National League and seventh tin the majors to begin the season. The Dodgers lead the NL with 60 and the Astros top the majors with 65.

In May, only Milwaukee has hit more homers in the National League. The Brewers have 31 through Memorial Day, while the Nationals have hit 30. The Nationals' .460 slugging percentage n May is the best on the senior circuit, while their 111 runs in the month are second only to the Giants's 123 during that span.

The Nationals also lead the National League in RBIs with 208 so far, while the Blue Jays have the top number at 230.

The pitching, as you can imagine, has been solid with a 3.64 team ERA, good for fifth best in the NL (the Cardinals have a 2.79 ERA, best in the league).

The Nationals have opened up a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL East over the Mets. The Braves have played well recently, winning seven of their last 10, trailing only by 4 1/2 games in the division.

Only three teams in the NL have winning records on the road: the Cardinals (13-11), Nationals (13-11) and Giants (12-11).

In the first game of road series, the Nationals lost the first four times this season. But the four most recent road series, the Nationals have now won the openers over the Mets, Diamondbacks, Padres and Cubs.

If they can win one of the next two games in Chicago, that would also mean five consecutive road series wins.

The schedule has been front-loaded, heavy on road games. After Sunday's game at Cincinnati, the Nationals will have 15 of their first 23 games in June at home, where they are 14-7.

* Lucas Giolito, the Nationals' top pitching prospect, did not get any run support as high Single-A Potomac dropped a 3-0 game at Myrtle Beach.

Giolito (1-3) went five innings, allowing six hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts. He tossed 78 pitches, 50 for strikes, and his ERA is 4.84. The Pelicans managed three doubles and a triple off of Giolito.

His 29 strikeouts is already third-msot for the P-Nats, even though he has started half the games as the rest of the roster because he was in extended spring training the first month of the season.

* Double-A San Antonio shortstop Trea Turner has an 11-game hit streak, including base hits in both ends of Monday's doubleheader. Turner is batting .417 (15-for-36) in his last 10 games with two doubles, two homers, five stolen bases and eight RBIs.

Turner is hitting .340 with 10 doubles, one triple, five homers, eight stolen bases and 24 RBIs in 41 games this season.

His college team, N.C. State, made it to the field of 64 in the NCAA baseball regionals. The Wolfpack will play Stony Brook to begin their four-team double elimination matchup. Sacred Heart and TCU are the other two teams in their regional.

Turner will become Nationals property officially in about two weeks. When he does, Turner would likely report to Double-A Harrisburg. Will shortstop Wilmer Difo still be with the Nationals at that time? Would Difo then go to Triple-A Syracuse or will they keep him with the big club?

It would seem these few games/weeks for Difo or a huge opportunity to get a taste of the big leagues. It would be nice to see Difo play some defense, as well. I heard he was strong in early fielding, with smooth and effortless throws to first base.

Some interesting decisions will need to be made by the middle of June.