Nats' big bats live up to billing in 8-6 win (updated)

This is what they envisioned all along: A well-balanced, sustained offensive attack, with power from Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell.

In the dream scenario for the 2022 season they conjured up months ago, the Nationals believed that was possible. It probably wouldn’t have been enough to lift this team back into a pennant race, not with all its other flaws as it embarked on an organizational rebuild, but if nothing else this team would be competitive, especially from an offensive standpoint.

That hasn’t happened with any regularity through the season’s first 61 games, but on more than a few occasions it has managed to all come together at once. And in today’s 8-6 win over the Brewers, the Nats may have come as close to realizing that dream scenario as they have all year.

With another sustained power display against a pitching staff that shut them down only a few weeks ago in Milwaukee, the Nationals won behind back-to-back-to-back homers from the three biggest bats in the heart of their lineup.

All this on the heels of an 11-run, 19-hit onslaught Friday night, making it an ultra-rare example of back-to-back big offensive showings from this lineup. Though they’ve scored 10 or more runs eight times this season, second-most in the majors, this was only the second time they’ve followed up by scoring more than five runs in their next game.

"During the winter when we put these guys together and we signed Nellie, this is kind of what we envisioned," manager Davey Martinez said. "The vision is coming true. I love it. These guys are starting to swing the bat really well."

And the Nats needed the offense today, because despite jumping out to an 8-1 lead after six innings, Patrick Corbin and the bullpen let the Brewers make Martinez sweat this one out way more than he ever wanted.

Corbin’s day got off to a worst-case start when he served up an immediate home run to Christian Yelich, the sixth leadoff homer surrendered by a Nationals starter this year. But the left-hander quickly found himself and for the next six innings pitched as well as he has in a long time.

Corbin retired 18-of-23 batters following Yelich’s homer, and walked off the mound at the end of the sixth with a manageable pitch count of 88.

"It was just a really good swing by Yelich there, a slider that just spun out and caught a little too much of the plate," Corbin said. "Even though it's the first batter, there's a long way to go. You've just got to lock it in and make pitches."

With his starter's pitch count still manageable, Martinez let him re-take the mound for the seventh, but that backfired in a hurry. Corbin gave up two doubles, a homer to Mark Mathias and then a single to Yelich, and now Martinez had to come get the ball from the veteran, who wouldn’t even come out of the game with a quality start to his name.

Erasmo Ramirez added fuel to the fire allowed two more singles, and when Kyle Finnegan issued a walk to load the bases, he suddenly had to face Rowdy Tellez representing the tying run. Tellez would rip a 113 mph liner off Finnegan, but right at Bell at first base to end the rally and allow everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. Tanner Rainey would serve up a two-run homer to Luis Urías with two outs in the ninth to make everyone sweat again, but only for a moment before recording the final out.

"I don't really feel like we were sweating, because we had Rainey and we had Finnegan and we didn't use (Carl Edwards Jr.)," Martinez said. "But I was hoping to stay away from all those guys. Tomorrow's going to be a different story."

The Nationals will have a shot at their first series sweep of the season Sunday, and they'll give veteran swingman Paolo Espino the chance to make his first start of 2022 after a sustained run of success pitching in lopsided games out of the bullpen.

Unnecessary late drama aside today, the story of the game was the Nationals lineup, specifically the heart of it, which finally lived up to its full potential.

Soto, Cruz and Bell each drove in runs during a four-run bottom of the third, with Soto drawing a bases-loaded walk, Cruz ripping a two-run double down the left field line and Bell adding a sacrifice lineout to left.

Then they each drove in runs during a four-run bottom of the fifth, this time doing it in more emphatic fashion with a massive power display.

"It's awesome," Bell said. "It's what we had envisioned in spring training. We've shown it at times over the last couple months, but to put it all together there in the same inning was pretty special."

Soto got it started with a two-run homer to center off a 94 mph fastball from lefty Eric Lauer, his 13th of the season and his third straight day with a clutch hit to suggest he’s snapping out of his surprising offensive funk.

"Definitely," he said. "I don't know, it was just a different vibe today. I feel much better at the plate, and even in the outfield it feels good."

Cruz immediately followed with a homer to nearly the exact same location in center field, his sixth hit in eight at-bats to begin this weekend series and continue an offensive surge by the 41-year-old that dates back a month now.

"It feels like the ball is carrying the way it's supposed to be flying," he said. "I feel like early in April, we were hitting balls and they weren't going anywhere. That's part of baseball, too. The good thing is, we're playing good now. And hopefully we can keep doing it and playing the way we're playing."

And then Bell for good measure followed that by launching a 3-1 curveball from Lauer to left for his second homer in as many nights, making this the first time the Nationals hit back-to-back-to-back homers since they hit four in a row June 9, 2019 in San Diego.

"I was just taking off my gear, and I just see the ball flying all over the place, and the crowd goes crazy," Soto said. "I'm standing on the stairs, waiting for Nellie, and then I came back down to keep (taking off) my gear. And then Josh, he just hit another one. It was just amazing. It was a great moment."

All told, the three big bats in the middle of the lineup produced a combined four hits, reached base seven times, hit three homers and drove in eight runs. Exactly the kind of performance the Nats believed that group could do for them on a regular basis back when this season began.

"It was awesome, feeling that atmosphere, especially doing it here at home in a Saturday game," Bell said. "It was nuts. Hearing it three times, the stadium going crazy, the 'N-A-T-S, Nats, Nats, Nats!' cheer and all that. It's why we play, for moments like that."