District 34 podcast: Nats rolling to start season

If you're Capitals or Wizards fan like I am, you'll probably join me in being thankful that the Nationals are cruising along through these first couple of weeks of the season. While stressing during the Caps and Wizards' playoff wins last night, it was nice to watch the Nats roll the Braves for an easy 14-4 victory.

And with the big win at the new SunTrust Park came a lot of news out of the Nationals clubhouse, giving Byron Kerr and myself a lot to talk about on this week's episode of the District 34 podcast.

To start, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman had huge nights on Wednesday to continue their scorching starts to the season. They each hit a grand slam (the first in SunTrust Park history) and recorded multi-hit games. Harper finished 4-for-4 with an intentional walk, five RBIs and three runs scored, while Zimmerman went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored.

They each rank in the top five in the National League in batting average, and Harper is second in the league with six homers and 18 RBIs. And how about their OPS numbers? Harper's 1.362 OPS ranks third in all of baseball and Zimmerman's 1.146 is sixth.

But between the two sluggers in the Nationals lineup is Daniel Murphy, who seems to have gone cold over the past couple of games. Do we think the small slump is a bad sign for one of the best hitters in the majors?

Then, of course, there's the bullpen, which had some roles shuffled around before last night's game. What went wrong with Blake Treinen that led to his demotion from the closer's role? And can Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover tag-team to cover the ninth inning with more efficiency?

All of that and so much more (Joe Ross' 2017 debut, Trea Turner's status and Wilmer Difo's contributions) are covered in this episode, so let's get to it. Thanks for listening and spreading the word, and be sure to subscribe, rate and review District 34 on iTunes and Google Play!

Also, please leave any questions or topic suggestions in the comments section below, or hit us up on Twitter @Bobby_Blanco and @masnKerr; we would love to incorporate more fan input into each episode throughout the season!