With a key single, then two blasts, Soto found his swing

Juan Soto became Juan Soto again - not on the two-run homer he hit for the Nationals in the eighth inning Tuesday night in Atlanta, not on the two-run homer he hit in the fifth inning Wednesday night in Atlanta.

Juan Soto became Juan Soto again when he took an outside fastball from Braves left-hander Max Fried and hit a line drive single to left in the top of the fourth Tuesday, driving in a pair of teammates. The ball left his bat at a modest 93.7 mph and traveled a mere 245 feet in the air.

But the way that at-bat played out, and the way Soto felt producing that result were as uplifting as anything he'd done in weeks. And the 22-year-old slugger's reaction upon reaching first base - pounding his fists together, looking to the sky and raising both arms high - confirmed it.

"It set everything up for the next at-bats," Soto said later during a Zoom session with reporters. "It got me on time. It showed me where I can hit the ball, how far I can let it travel and how good I can hit it anywhere at the plate."

What has transpired since should not come as a surprise. Soto homered two at-bats later Tuesday night, then homered to nearly the exact same spot in left-center field in his third at-bat Wednesday night. And though he had a quiet day at the plate during Thursday's 5-1 loss, his total numbers during the four-game series against the Braves (5-for-11, two homers, six RBIs, six walks) were phenomenal.

The numbers obviously were good. But so was the approach, the swing, the timing, everything the Nationals have been waiting to see from their struggling star.

"I watched his swing last night again, and his bat is staying in the zone like it used to be for a very long time," manager Davey Martinez said before Thursday's game. "He's catching the ball a little bit more out front. So I think you're seeing Juan being Juan, and it's good to see."

The previous two weeks, Soto hadn't looked like Soto at all. Over his previous 10 games, he went just 7-for-34 with one double and one RBI. He still drew his walks, producing a .357 on-base percentage. But he slugged a meager .235 during that stretch, failing to drive anything in the air.

He also looked visibly frustrated at times, whether letting an umpire's borderline calls affect him later in the at-bat or failing to run out a popup straight in the air that wound up falling to the ground in fair territory and prevented the Nats from scoring a run.

Now, though, there are signs Soto is coming out of his rare slump. And the Nationals desperately need it.

It's not unfair to say he's far and away the most important member of a lineup that has struggled to consistently score runs this season. In the 16 games he's played when the Nats won, he has hit .333 with a .416 on-base percentage and .530 slugging percentage. In the 27 games he's played when the Nats lost, he has hit only .238. He's still drawing enough walks to reach base at a .408 clip, but his .350 slugging percentage is abysmal by his standards.

"That's a bat in the lineup that we rely on," second baseman Josh Harrison said. "At the same time, we can't sit here and say we need Juan to get going for us to get going. One hundred sixty-two games is a long season. You know for 162 games, Juan isn't going to go out there and go 3-for-4 with a homer and whatever the case may be. That's why the urgency of 1-through-9, making sure we have good at-bats and move the line to protect each other, is going to be the main thing."

Indeed, the Nationals need more production from their entire lineup. But given the lack of depth they've got, it's pretty clear they're only going to go as far as their best hitters take them. That includes Trea Turner, Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and (when he plays) Ryan Zimmerman.

But mostly, it means Soto. It's probably unfair to ask for so much from a 22-year-old. But that's the situation the Nationals find themselves in as the season reaches the one-third mark tonight in Philadelphia.