Matt Williams hints at possible changes to scuffling lineup

The Nationals came out of the All-Star break by beating the Dodgers to climb a season-high 10 games over .500 on July 17 with a three-game hold on first place in the National League East. Since then, the Nats have gone 9-17 to drop 4 1/2 games behind the Mets in the race for the division.

With 48 games remaining, including six against the Mets, it's not time for panic. But with the continuing struggles of the offense, it's not far off.

After failing to score against Dodgers aces Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw in back-to-back shutouts Tuesday and Wednesday, the Nationals trotted out the humdrum "we ran into a couple pretty good pitchers" excuse.

That alibi doesn't fly after Friday night's dismal performance against Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong, who was making just his second start of the second half after being relegated to the bullpen. Vogelsong's ERA has lived above 4.00 all year and the veteran right-hander hadn't struck out more than six in a start all season. Last night, he fanned eight Nationals in five innings.

Yunel Escobar's leadoff homer ended a 19-inning scoreless drought for the Nationals, but it unfortunately also provided false hope. It looked promising when Vogelsong couldn't find the strike zone in the first, loading the bases with two outs after Jayson Werth drew the Nats' third walk of the frame. But Wilson Ramos bailed Vogelsong out with a routine groundout to end the threat.

The Nationals only advanced a runner into scoring position three more times the rest of the night, going 0-for-5 overall in those situations. The spiraling offense mustered just five hits off Vogelsong and a trio a Giants relievers while striking out 14 times.

"I think, for the most part, we're not even swinging at (fastballs)," Nationals manager Matt Williams said to reporters, searching for answers. "We didn't swing at the fastball. We didn't. Get in a count. It may be the first pitch of the at-bat, you never know. If we get a chance to swing at the fastball, we need to do that."

All season long, Williams has asked his hitters to attack, but his team couldn't appear more passive, with waning confidence, the past two weeks. The Nationals have scored just one run in the last 28 innings.

"We wanted an opportunity for our guys," he said to reporters. "We had some in the first inning and that one base hit didn't happen. But nonetheless, we gotta stay aggressive throughout the game. And if we're offered a fastball to hit, we gotta take a pass at it."

No doubt widespread injuries throughout the year wrecked any fluidity to the Nats offense. But the chatter around the clubhouse was filled with empty promises that hits and runs would pour in once the likes of Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman and Werth returned from the disabled list.

Zimmerman had a hot stretch, belting four homers and ripping off RBIs in eight straight games. But over his last three, the 10-year veteran is just 1-for-11 with seven strikeouts.

Rendon has shown flashes that his timing is improving, with hits in seven of his past nine game games. However, he's batting only .224 with two RBIs in 18 games since rejoining the lineup.

Werth doesn't appear to be close. The 36-year-old is slashing a lowly .143/.180/.250 with one homer, three doubles, 15 strikeouts and three walks in 61 plate appearances over 16 games since returning.

Gaining Rendon, Zimmerman and Werth was expected to not only spark the offense but to also give Bryce Harper loads of chances to fill up the stat sheet. But while the young slugger continues to hit for a high average, he hasn't homered in 14 games, driving in just one run over the stretch.

"We can make some changes, sure," Williams told reporters after the loss.

When asked for a hint on the possible shakeup, Williams simply offered to reporters, "You'll know when I make the lineup."

Stay tuned.