On Bell's oblique, Soto's doubles and reaching .500 again

More news and observations after Thursday night's 7-3 win over the Marlins, the Nationals' 10th win in 11 games ...

* Josh Bell was a late scratch from the lineup after reporting soreness on his right side. The Nats don't seem to believe it's anything serious, but they want to make sure he didn't strain an oblique muscle before putting him back on the field.

"I didn't want to take any chances," manager Davey Martinez said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "He's going to go get an MRI (today). I talked to him a little while ago. He said he doesn't feel anything right now, but we want to get him an MRI just to see what's going on."

Bell initially was supposed to bat cleanup for the game, hoping to stay hot following his grand slam during Wednesday's 13-12 win in Philadelphia. But about 45 minutes before first pitch, the Nationals announced the lineup change, with Ryan Zimmerman replacing him in the batting order and at first base.

"When you're talking about the oblique area, I want to be cautious, especially with him," Martinez said.

Bell has quietly been the productive middle-of-the-order bat the Nationals hoped they were getting all along with him over the last month-plus. He entered play on May 13 batting .133 with a .198 on-base percentage and paltry .289 slugging percentage. Since then, he's batting .298 with a .360 on-base percentage and .544 slugging percentage. His .904 OPS over that time ranks 10th in the National League.

* Juan Soto didn't contribute to this victory as much as Kyle Schwarber did, but his pair of RBI doubles was important nonetheless. Not just toward winning the game, but toward getting Soto back into a power-hitting groove again.

It's been a frustrating season for Soto, especially when he tries to pull the ball in the air. Though he's been driving the ball to the opposite field with more regularity in recent weeks, he still was pounding the ball into the ground to the right side of the infield more often than not.

But with a hard lineout to right field during Wednesday's game and then well-struck double on line drives to center and right fields on Thursday, Soto is starting to hit the ball as we've all come to expect from him.

"Especially when he's hitting the ball to the right side, pulling the ball in the air," Martinez said. "That's a good sign. When he hits the ball to left-center field, left field, it seems like it's always been in the air. When he starts to pull the ball in the air, that means he's getting on time. He's getting the barrel out in front of home plate where he needs to be."

* This win lifted the Nationals' record to 36-36, putting them back at the .500 mark for the first time since May 2. That's a not-insignificant milestone and one this team in particular should be able to appreciate.

Two years ago after opening the season a dismal 19-31, the Nats went 21-9 to get themselves back to .500 after their 80th game. They of course never let up after that, finishing 93-69 and then winning the World Series.

This time around, they hit rock bottom at nine games under .500, most recently at 26-35. In winning 10 of their last 11, they got back to the .500 make in their 72nd game of the season, ahead of their 2019 pace.

That, of course, guarantees nothing. But it seems notable that they reached the break-even point earlier this season than they did two seasons ago.