Total team effort leaves Nats in first at halfway mark

The Nationals reached the halfway point of this year at 45-36 with a season-high 4 1/2- game lead in the National League East after yesterday's 9-3 win over the Giants.

How does that compare to the Nats' previous years with division titles?

In 2012, the Nats held an identical 4 1/2-game lead with a 48-33 record at this point, while last season, they found themselves tied atop the division and five games over .500 at 43-38.

Not one other team in the NL East is currently floating above .500. The second-place Mets at 41-41, while the third-place Braves are 40-41 and five games back.

The Nationals have been dominant times, running off victories in 21 of 26 in May and owning winning streaks of six and eight games. But a rash of injuries to star players has left them vulnerable for a large part of the year. Of the 81 games played so far, take a look at how many games these normal key contributors have missed:

* Anthony Rendon, 63
* Jayson Werth, 54
* Ryan Zimmerman, 25
* Denard Span, 24
* Yunel Escobar, eight
* Bryce Harper, six

That's just position players. right-hander Stephen Strasburg's season has yet to get on track. A number of nagging injuries forced Strasburg to go on the disabled list. He ended up going 25 days in between starts before returning healthy. But his status is once again unknown after experiencing tightness in his left side during yesterday's game.

Right-handed starter Doug Fister missed more than a month with a right flexor muscle strain. And the bullpen has taken its fair share of hits, as well. Valuable right-hander Craig Stammen only appeared in five games before his season ended with a torn flexor muscle in his throwing arm. And right-hander Casey Janssen, who was signed to be a major factor in the back end of the Nats bullpen, didn't make his season debut until May 23 after dealing with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder.

The Nationals have already used 22 different pitchers this year. Only 18 took the mound over all of last season.

Through all of that, the Nationals own a comfortable division lead just over a week away from a much-needed All-Star break.

"I think it just shows how deep we are and how good we are in the minor leagues and how good our scouting has been," Harper said. "Give a lot of credit to our bullpen and all the young guys that have been coming up and doing what they've been doing. It shows how deep we are. It kinda makes you excited for October and beyond that."

Harper put the Nats on his back in May, when they made a run to get back into contention after a poor start. But he's right to acknowledge the immeasurable contributions delivered from guys like Danny Espinosa, Tyler Moore, and rookies Michael A. Taylor and Clint Robinson.

Harper's flashy patriotic bat got all the headlines yesterday after crushing a two-run homer off Giants ace Madison Bumgarner in the first, part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate. He increased his season batting average to .344, just five points behind Arizona's Paul Goldshmidt for the NL lead.

But it was Taylor's aggressive approach, mashing Bumgarner's first pitch fastball over the left field wall for a leadoff homer, that set the tone against the reigning World Series champs.

"It's nice that we have the opportunity to play," Taylor said. "It's tough that we've had so many injuries and you never want to see that. Hopefully, those guys will be back but whenever our numbers are called, I think we're excited and ready to play."

Taylor is batting .246 with six homers and his 28 RBIs are fourth-best on the Nationals. His defense has been stellar in place of Span in center and Werth in left.

Robinson followed his game-winning homer on Friday with a 2-for-3 afternoon yesterday in his first start against Bumgarner.

And Moore broke through going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a season-high four RBIs.

"It's not ideal," manager Matt Williams said. "It's not the way we planned it to have so many guys but it gives opportunity to Tyler and Clint and Michael to get in there and get consistent at-bats. The more they do, the better timing they have and the more productive they can be."

With Fister and Strasburg battling injuries, 22-year-old rookie Joe Ross jumped in from Double-A Harrisburg and delivered three strong starts, which resulted in two big wins.

And like yesterday, Williams has turned to the ever-reliable Tanner Roark to handle the jack-of-all-trades role on the pitching staff.

When Strasburg's Saturday ended abruptly with two outs in the fourth, a cold Roark went into action.

"I saw the trainers and everybody go out there, so I have to hurry up and try to get loose as much as I can," Roark said.

In emergency duty, Roark held the Giants to two runs on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings to help secure victory.

"Thankfully, we have a 15-game winner in the bullpen that can come in and do what he did and shut the door like that," Harper said.

Throughout all of the injuries, Williams hasn't complained and his team has followed with an impressive attitude from top to bottom.

"Guys are stepping up," Roark said. "It's fun to watch. It gives life to everybody else to see guys thriving and doing well."