Marty Niland: Grind of next month will tell us a lot about Nats

The Nationals are most likely spending a good bit of quality time with their loved ones on Monday's off-day because they won't be seeing much of each other for the next month.

Thanks to the rescheduling of the May 11 rainout against Baltimore, the Nats are scheduled to play every day from Tuesday through June 21. That's 29 straight days, easily their longest stretch of the season without an off-day, including the first of three West Coast road trips this season.

This is also a time when fans who believe the Nats may run away from a mediocre pack in the National League East will want to pay close attention to the team. In fact, we will all find out a lot about this team's character and resilience over the next four weeks.

Four weeks without a day off is taxing for anyone, let alone a veteran-led major league ballclub with a shaky bullpen. Manager Dusty Baker has already needed to extend his starters beyond their usual limits. Max Scherzer threw 211 pitches over 11 innings in the past week and played through a painful line drive to his knee. Stephen Strasburg gutted out 118 pitches in Sunday's win over Atlanta. With the state of the bullpen, who could blame Baker for leaving him in to face Dansby Swanson with two out and two on in the eighth?

With limited options and a penchant for playing matchups, Baker has already been forced to use ineffective relievers on successive days. He's been able to reset the bullpen on days off, but is now without that luxury for the next month. An extra-inning game or two thrown into the mix would leave him with few options. In that case, we may very well see what kind of relief help the Nats have in the minor leagues.

As well as Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth have been playing, Baker will have to give them - and everyone else, for that matter - a game off every now and again to keep them fresh and healthy. That means a bench including Chris Heisey (.130/.184/.217), Jose Lobaton (.140/.196./.233), Brian Goodwin (.188/.235/.313) and Wilmer Difo (.200/.268/.308) will have to help the Nats win some games. This would be a good time for Stephen Drew to come back from the strained hamstring he suffered on April 12. We're still awaiting word on a rehab assignment.

The Nats will also need to study up for this stretch. Except for the makeup game with the Orioles on June 8, the next three weeks will bring six teams they've not seen this season. After becoming overly familiar with the Phillies, Braves and Mets in the past six weeks, they will need to learn the book on the Mariners, Padres, Giants, Athletics, Dodgers and Rangers. By the time they finish this stretch, they'll also have played 14 of their 20 interleague games this season. That includes a jet-lagged makeup game against Baltimore on the day after they return from Los Angeles.

The next month will be one of the most grueling stretches any major league team will face this year, and the way the Nats respond will say a lot about how they can handle the rest of the season. With 15 of the 29 games on the road, it's not realistic to expect them to continue at their current .605 pace. They will be fortunate to emerge still nine games over .500 and six games clear of their closest division rival, with no significant injuries.

* The Nats have responded to Pete Van Fleet, who is seeking to have every major league team court his newborn son, Jack, as a fan. Van Fleet received a letter from Baker, himself, with an invitation to see a game and watch batting practice on the field, along with a selection of outfits. Props to Baker and the team for taking the time to help inspire the next generation of fans.

Marty Niland blogs about the Nationals for D.C. Baseball History. Follow him on Twitter: @martyball98. His thoughts on the Nationals will appear here as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our site. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.