Morse starting to come around

This is starting to look like the Michael Morse we saw last season. It took a few weeks to find him, but that's to be expected. Given how long Morse was out with that strained lat and given how little time he had on a rehab appearance before returning to the Nationals' lineup, it was bound to take a bit for him to find his timing and his stroke. The first 21 games were frustrating for the Nationals' slugger. He was hitting just .217, slugging .313 and had more strikeouts than hits. Fearing he was hurting the team, Morse asked Davey Johnson to move him down in the batting order. But Johnson wouldn't do any such thing. He stuck with his power-hitting outfielder, and lately, his patience has paid off. Morse has caught fire over the last four games, going 12-for-his-last-19 with two homers and six RBIs. His batting average has jumped nearly 80 points all the way up to .294, his OPS is now .750 and the clutch hitting has returned, as well. With the Nats tied in the late innings last night, Morse provided a monster knock, ripping a solo homer in the eighth to propel the Nationals to a 5-4 win over the rival Braves. Morse has been dealing with a bit of a hamstring issue recently, but has been battling through it. His power is returning, as is his confidence. And with summer heating up and the Nationals battling it out in a tough division, it's coming at the perfect time.