Streaky Desmond heating up again

There weren't many bright spots for the Nationals yesterday in the 8-1 drubbing by the Phillies. But if you're stretching for positives, look toward Ian Desmond's eighth-inning RBI double that not only prevented a shutout but also extended the shortstop's hitting streak to eight games.

On Friday, Desmond drove in the eventual game-winning run with another double high off the center field wall. The two games prior to that, Desmond hit solo homers to center in the first inning to answer early runs from the Yankees.

"He's a little bit calmer at the plate, he's staying on the baseball a little bit better," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "He's staying through the middle of the diamond. He's working extremely hard in batting practice to groove that swing back through the middle. I think that'll pay dividends for him because generally he'll be on the breaking ball long enough that he'll be able to drive it to his pull side, as well. So he's working hard. He's reaping the benefits."

Desmond has been streaky this year in the field and at the plate. He followed an earlier 10-game hitting streak with an 0-for-27 slump before bouncing back. In this current stretch, Desmond is hitting .333 with two homers, three doubles, seven RBIs and seven runs scored.

"I don't really cares where it goes, as long as I don't get out," Desmond said. "Just trying to hit it on the barrel. Not really aiming, just trying to get a pitch and hit it as hard as I can."

The seven-year veteran was asked if he is starting to feel more relaxed at the plate during his recent success.

"I don't really want to feel relaxed in the box," Desmond said. "More like controlled aggression. Sometimes not so controlled."

Desmond's numbers this year are still down. For his career, he slashes .268/.316/.429. But through 43 games this year, Desmond is at .246/.299/.392. Even with his two home runs this week, he only has four for the season to go with 14 RBIs. This is after averaging 23 homers and 81 RBIs the last three seasons for the Nats.

But Desmond can be a slow starter. Despite a tough error on Saturday, he has cleaned up his fielding issues drastically since a horrendous April. And this latest hitting spurt may be an indication that his power numbers are returning to closer to what he it used to. It would fit in well with his teammates' resurgence at the plate in the month of May, which has propelled the Nationals to an 18-5 mark in their past 23 games.

"It's still early," Desmond said. "We're just glad that we're playing better baseball. Every man in here is continuing to work just as hard now as we did when we were struggling. So, really, it's just about putting in work, and at the end of the day, our record's going to be what it's going to be. But as long as we're working and trying to get better every day, we're going to be in a good place, I think."