More on Taylor's production and Romero's zeros

More from Tuesday night's 6-1 victory over the Cubs ...

* There may be no more pleasant development for the Nationals this season than the development of Michael A. Taylor into a more disciplined, more productive hitter, and it was on display again in this game.

Taylor was a major contributor to the win, using his legs to swipe two bases and induce a bad throw by catcher Miguel Montero to score a run in the fourth, then using his bat to drive a two-run double to right-center in the fifth.

That double was merely the latest big hit for Taylor, who is going to the opposite field with far more regularity than at any previous point in his career and is reaping the benefits for it.

Taylor now has 20 multi-hit games this season, not to mention 32 RBIs in only 228 plate appearances, most of those as the Nationals' No. 8 hitter.

He's batting .408 with 13 extra-base hits in his last 12 starts. And in 51 games now since taking over for the injured Adam Eaton as the everyday center fielder, he's batting .301 with 16 doubles, 11 homers, 31 RBIs and a .903 OPS. His 29 extra-base hits in that timeframe have been bested in the majors only by Cody Bellinger and Nolan Arenado.

"Michael has done a great job in that eighth spot since he's been there," manager Dusty Baker said. "That's a valuable spot. He's driven in a lot of key runs."

* You have to be careful saying these things, because (as we've seen) they can fall apart quickly. But a few members of the Nationals bullpen have slowly but surely been getting their act together.

Blake Treinen has been at the forefront, with a 2.45 ERA in his last 12 appearances, including a 1-2-3 top of the eighth during Tuesday's win.

Enny Romero also has blossomed into a key late-inning weapon. The left-hander tossed a scoreless seventh against the Cubs, making up for a walk with an inning-ending double play.

Romero has now allowed only one run (unearned) in his last 14 games, striking out 19 batters in 16 1/3 innings.

* Speaking of guys quietly on a roll ... Daniel Murphy's fifth-inning single on Tuesday extended his hitting streak to 11 games, his longest of the season.

Murphy is now batting .340, tied with Ryan Zimmerman for second place in the National League behind Buster Posey (.347). With the season not quite halfway complete, he also has 13 homers, 23 doubles and 54 RBIs.