Hot bats mean cool treats for Nationals

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - During these dog days of spring training, when the bus rides feel longer than usual and opening day is still just too far away to get excited about, some extra motivation is sometimes needed.

So Davey Martinez made a promise to the young players who made the long trip to Fort Myers on Thursday: score 10 or more runs, and everybody would get to eat Popeyes on the ride home. They proceeded to defeat the Twins 10-4, so the bus smelled like chicken and biscuits for the next 2 1/2 hours.

Then the Nationals proceeded to score 11 runs in the first four innings of Friday's game against the Mets, with seven of their first 23 batters launching home runs. So was there another round of Popeyes for the ride home from Port St. Lucie? Nope, there was a new incentive for this game.

"I owe the boys Dairy Queen," Martinez said.

So what if everyone fattens up just a smidge on fried chicken and Blizzards in mid-March? As long as they keep hitting, no one will complain.

And there's not much to complain about the Nationals' offensive production at this point of the spring. They're averaging 6.25 runs per game, second-most among National League teams. They rank second in batting average (.271), on-base percentage (.353) and first in slugging percentage (.489) and OPS (.842).

Perhaps more telling, they've drawn more walks (83) than any other NL club while striking out the fewest times (152).

"I've said this before, but they're really working hard," Martinez said. "Even when they stayed back yesterday, they worked on a lot of fundamentals, situational hitting, staying on the ball, hitting the ball the other way. They're looking good."

Friday's home run barrage was a sight to see. Adam Eaton and Yan Gomes each took Mets starter Steven Matz deep during a five-run top of the first, then Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman went back-to-back off the lefty in the top of the second.

Gomes added his second homer in as many at-bats in the top of the third, then Rendon blasted his second of the day and Matt Adams followed with a solo shot in the top of the fourth, those last two coming against Mets closer Edwin Díaz.

"I think we're clicking," Adams said. "I think everybody's starting to get their timing where it needs to be. We're just putting together quality at-bats. And we're doing the little things: We're moving guys over, getting them in and just really making it tough on opposing pitchers."

By the time Jeremy Hellickson took the mound for the bottom of the first, his teammates had already staked him to a 5-0 lead. Sure, it's only spring training and the stats don't count, but Hellickson wasn't exactly complaining about the run support.

"I don't know how many homers we hit," he said before being told. "Seven? Yeah, I don't know if we're going to do that every time. But we're going to be fine offensively. We've got a great group out there. We're going to add a lot of speed where we're losing guys from last year. It's one of the best offenses in the game. I'll sit in the dugout as long as I need to that first inning. That was fun to see."

The production is coming from everywhere in the lineup. Nine different prominent players own an OPS of at least .900: Gomes, Adams, Rendon, Eaton, Carter Kieboom, Juan Soto, Victor Robles, Michael A. Taylor and Kurt Suzuki.

Of course, it's one thing to tear the cover off the ball on warm, 80-degree Florida afternoons in March. It'll be another thing if the Nationals can continue to do this two weeks from now on windy, 40-degree Washington nights.

"You try not to think about it too much," Adams said. "We know that it's going to happen, especially starting out the first couple weeks in the Northeast. We just keep doing our thing down here, getting our bodies where they need to be, staying healthy, stay strong and just go to business when the lights come on."

As far as Martinez is concerned right now, the process matters more than the results. So if the process at the plate carries over into the season, the results should naturally come.

"For me, it's all about getting the at-bats, hitting the ball hard, two-strike approach and what they do," he said. "And then when the season starts, the weather dictates a lot. But we've still got 10-12 days left. I like where they are right now, and I like the at-bats. With two strikes, for the most part they're putting the ball in play, which I like."