Ramos' hot stick has earned trust of Nationals clubhouse

MILWAUKEE - As Wilson Ramos keeps chugging along, ripping hit after hit with an authoritative bat, he's pushing an indicator within the Nationals clubhouse to previously unseen heights.

A .341/.385/.567 slash line - boosted again after a 4-for-5 night in a 5-3 loss to the Brewers on Friday - is only part of the story. During June, when he's hitting .371 in 19 games while starting exclusively in the fourth, fifth and sixth spots in the lineup, Ramos has done a good job of gaining his teammates' trust.

How about last night, when he came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning, representing the potential go-ahead run with runners on the corners? Though Ramos struck out - the last of 16 Nationals whiffs on a night when they had trouble making contact - there wasn't a person in the dugout who thought he'd fail to come through.

The trust level in Ramos continues to rise.

"I think, probably to a man, there's nobody else we wanted up in the ninth inning in that situation," said second baseman Daniel Murphy, whose two-out single briefly extended Washington's hopes of a comeback completed by Ramos' sizzling stick.

When manager Dusty Baker started hitting Ramos fifth behind Murphy, it was a lineup tweak based on more than just riding the hot hand. It matched a productive left-handed cleanup hitter with a right-hander contact bat capable of doing damage. Ramos is slashing .300.353/.533 in nine games out of the five-hole and .339/.362/.539 in 15 games out of the sixth spot.

The recent surge shows that Ramos is capable of protecting Murphy in the cleanup spot and Baker is hopeful that he'll eventually get struggling first baseman Ryan Zimmerman some better pitches to hit. Zimmerman, who fanned three times in Friday's loss, has seen his average dip to .227 (its lowest point since May 27) and is now batting .164 with runners in scoring position, well off his career mark of .269.

"We had the right man up there to end the game," Baker said. "Ramos has been one of the best, one of the league's best. That's why I have him and Murph back to back. And they did what they have been doing. And Ramos even done more tonight. That was a hanging breaking back that didn't break. Just stayed inside, kind of backed up on him."

For his part, Ramos is taking his new-found confidence - and the faith in him that his teammates are demonstrating - in stride. He's still a quiet guy, reluctantly talking about his own successes in the midst of the season's longest losing streak, and seems a little surprised by all the attention he's getting.

Every day brings another question about whether he can make his first All-Star team, and since he's one of the few Nationals currently swinging a bat with any success, reporters are seeking him out to talk about offense or the lack thereof.

"Somehow we have to help our pitching staff," Ramos said Friday night through translator Octavio Martinez. "We have to help them as much as possible, which we haven't been doing."

When you're as hot as Ramos has been, you start to think a little of your offensive mojo will start to rub off on your scuffling teammates.

"I was almost sure we were going to be able to score some runs in the last few innings," Ramos said. "Especially when we had runners at second and third with nobody out, I was almost positive, we would at least tie the game, possibly take the lead. ... We had some opportunities in that last inning, as well, and didn't come through. That's just the way it goes."

Ramos said he's pleased with how he's producing, but again insisted he's only one piece of the puzzle. Acknowledging that he's gained the confidence of the rest of the clubhouse, he said, all goes back to Baker having faith that he could produce in higher-leverage situations.

"I appreciate our manager giving me confidence, putting me in the fourth, fifth, six-hole, and I've been doing the job for him all season," Ramos said. "I hope to continue producing like I have been and supporting the team."