Rendon hopes run of walks are a positive step forward

Anthony Rendon has drawn 17 walks this season, and eight of them have come in his past seven games. Though his batting average has dipped from .311 on May 1 to .258 after Sunday's 5-2 victory over the Pirates, the more frequent free passes are an encouraging sign for a hitter who was viewed as a walk machine in college and the minors.

"I don't think he's being any more selective now than he has been in the last year-plus," said Nationals manager Matt Williams. "He's a good hitter. He understands the strike zone, understands what he can and can't hit. I think it's just a question of him seeing the ball good."

Rendon walked two more times Sunday, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI, two runs scored and his team-high fourth triple of the season. He's 2-for-6 after a 1-for-17 bender that dropped his average to a season-low .255, and feels like he might be turning a corner.

"I guess so," Rendon said. "It's only one game, two games, so we'll see how it is. But when I start drawing walks, it means I'm seeing the ball better, so we'll see how it goes."

Batting second in the Nats lineup, Rendon thinks he can be a little more selective - and that he gets better pitches to hit since opposing pitchers would prefer to pitch to him rather than the 3-4-5 hitters in the meat of the batting order.

"The more you grow accustomed to the game up here, they'll grow more accustomed to me and I'm sure I'll draw some more walks," he explained. "In college and in the minors, I was sort of that guy. Up here, I'm just a little guy again, so I'm pretty sure they'd rather pitch to me than pitching to Jayson (Werth) or someone like Ian (Desmond). They're going to pitch to me more."

Or, as Williams put it: "Here, he's got a big hairy guy standing on deck who can lose one in a hurry."

The one thing Rendon hasn't done as his average has dipped is show any signs that he's frustrated by slumps. He's been remarkably even keel for a guy in only his second major league season. To hear him tell it, they're inevitable and he might as well learn how to weather him.

"You got to stay positive through the whole thing," he said. "You can't get too high with your highs and you can't get too low with your lows."