The good, the bad and the ugly of that homestand

The Nationals just completed a seven-game homestand, one that featured all sorts of twists and turns. It began with two straight wins over the Pirates, giving them six wins over an eight-game stretch and giving everyone reason to feel optimistic for the first time in a while. Then it concluded with five straight losses, the last four to the Marlins, who came to town and ransacked the home club over the holiday weekend.

As they now prepare for what looks like a difficult, six-game road trip to Philadelphia and Atlanta, let’s look back at the homestand, breaking it down between the good, the bad and the ugly …

GOOD: JOSH BELL
It doesn’t matter how poorly the team is playing, Josh Bell continues to shine on an individual level. The big first baseman went 11-for-26 on the homestand. Include the big weekend he had just prior to that in Texas, and he’s 18 for his last 38 (a .474 average) with nine extra-base hits, four walks, a .535 on-base percentage and .789 slugging percentage. For the season, Bell is now batting .318 with a .399 on-base percentage (both second best in the National League behind Paul Goldschmidt) and a .913 OPS that ranks fourth (behind Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado). All-Star rosters are going to be announced at the end of the week. It’s hard to see how Bell doesn’t get his first career selection at this point.

BAD: THE REST OF THE LINEUP
The Nationals as a whole had a dismal weekend at the plate. In getting swept by the Marlins, they hit a measly .194 with a brutal .295 slugging percentage. The lack of power outside of Bell is killing them. The lack of clutch hitting from just about everyone is causing just as much damage. They were no-hit for six innings Sunday by Pablo López. Then they were shut out for seven innings Monday by Braxton Garrett. The worst realization of all: The Nats just lost four straight to Miami, with a feeble offensive performance, and they never even had to go up against ace and early Cy Young Award favorite Sandy Alcantara.

UGLY: ROTATION DEPTH
Just when it looked like they had settled on five quality starters, the Nationals saw Jackson Tetreault succumb to a stress fracture in his right scapula, an injury that figures to sideline the rookie for some time. Which means they need a replacement starter Thursday in Philadelphia. Except the options aren’t all that appealing. Aníbal Sánchez and Josh Rogers likely aren’t ready to be activated off the injured list, needing more time to build their arms up in rehab starts. Cade Cavalli seems to still need to prove he can have consistent success at Triple-A before the organization calls him up, hopefully for good. Joan Adon may be the only remaining choice at this point.

GOOD: PATRICK CORBIN
Yes, that’s right. Corbin has been good, not just for one start but for multiple starts in a row. The left-hander struck out a career-high 12 on Tuesday against the Pirates, then tossed seven innings of one-run ball Monday against the Marlins. In the process, he lowered his ERA from a ghastly 6.60 to a slightly less unsightly 5.68. (That’s actually no small feat this far into the season.) Truth be told, Corbin has quietly put together a longer stretch of serviceable outings. Over his last six starts, he’s got a 3.67 ERA. No, he hasn’t been fixed altogether, and there’s no telling what he might do his next time out. But he’s not currently the worst starter in the majors, as he was earlier in the season. And right now, that counts as progress.

BAD: TANNER RAINEY
It’s not just the two devastating home runs Rainey surrendered the last two days, costing his team dearly each time. It’s the fact the reliever hasn’t pitched a clean inning in more than a month. In none of his last 13 appearances has Rainey pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Every single one of them has included at least one baserunner via walk or hit. He’s issued a walk in each of his last five appearances, a recurring problem. And now he’s serving up towering home runs at the worst possible moment. Davey Martinez insists he’s sticking with his beleaguered closer, but it’s worth noting Kyle Finnegan was on the mound for the top of the ninth Monday in what was a 1-1 game. Even if the Nats were ahead, though, Finnegan was positioned to close the game. We might see more of that in the days to come.

UGLY: FACING THE MARLINS, THE NL EAST OR EXTRA INNINGS
The Nationals, as you probably have heard by now, have gone 1-12 against the Marlins this season. That’s pretty awful. The only good news: They won’t be seeing them again until mid-September. But it’s not just their record against Miami. The Nats have been terrible against the entire National League East. They’re now 6-28 against division opponents, having lost 17 of their last 18 games. That’s atrocious. And then to top it all off, they continue to look helpless in extra innings. Over the last two seasons, the Nationals are now 3-16 when the game lasts more than nine.