Kendrick fitting right in with Nats after 5-for-5 night

MIAMI - Howie Kendrick joined the Nationals last weekend saying he simply wanted to fit in with a first-place club that already boasted no shortage of star power and big personalities.

It took five games, but Kendrick ensured Tuesday night he'll fit in just fine here. Because after a 5-for-5 night at the plate, he looks very much like any other member of the National League's most productive lineup.

On a night when - aside from Max Scherzer's surprise three-run homer - the Nationals didn't do much of note at the plate, Kendrick was a lone shining beacon. He singled in the first, homered in the second, then singled again in the fourth, seventh and ninth in a 7-6 loss to the Marlins.

At one point, Kendrick had produced the Nationals' only four hits over a seven-inning span, with the rest of the lineup going a collective 0-for-21 around him.

It was Kendrick's second career five-hit game, the other coming in 2010 when he played for the Angels. And it raised his season batting average to a stout .353, the third-highest mark among all major leaguers with at least 150 at-bats this season.

"Hey, man, he can hit," manager Dusty Baker said. "That's why we got him, and he's perfect in that spot. He gives us a guy that can get the ball to all fields, and he runs well. That was lost in the shuffle, but after the second or third inning he was our whole offense until the ninth, and he was part of that, too."

For the 34-year-old Kendrick, who was acquired from the Phillies on Friday night for minor league left-hander McKenzie Mills, the transition to a new club has been smooth.

"I think the biggest thing is just to fit in," he said. "The team's already winning. I came from over at the Phillies playing against these guys to being a part of this team. They already have something special here, and I think my goal is just to come in and fit in and to continue to do my job as a player."