Eaton adopts Turner's role and delivers in Nats' 14-6 win

Adam Eaton was acquired to be the leadoff guy for the Nationals, but early on this season, the club had shortstop Trea Turner play that role. Eaton was the second leadoff man.

Turner headed to the disabled list Monday before the Nationals began a three-game set against the Cardinals. The right hamstring strain will keep the Nats' top speedster on the disabled list for 10 days.

But Eaton set the tone tonight with a double in the bottom of the first. The center fielder later added a pair of run-scoring singles and a RBI sac fly. The Nationals rallied from a 5-3 deficit to beat St. Louis 14-6.

On Monday, Eaton demonstrated another facet of his game. The ability to drive in runs, something a leadoff hitter doesn't get to enjoy too many times. But Eaton believes these type of situations are possible with this team.

"The later in the order can get up and the leadoff man can drive in runs is always a good thing for sure," Eaton said. "Definitely want to get on base, but I'll never be upset when I get a hit with runners on for sure. Don't count me in for 100 RBIs, but I'll break a few bats and squander a few RBIs every now and again."

Eaton has now hit safely in six of the Nats' first seven games. He has reached base in all seven contests. Manager Dusty Baker didn't realize how proficient Eaton had been from opening day.

"I didn't even know that, but we had a double leadoff man from the time we got him," Baker said. "I told Trea it was a learning night until he gets back. Play the game in your mind. What do you think he's gonna throw? What the situation is. So when he gets back, it won't be foreign to him. Adam, I was telling him the whole time, Adam has to try to sleep like Tony Gwynn. He said that means you get two or three hits a night. I'm sure he'll sleep well tonight."

Eaton was the Nationals counterpuncher early on. He scored the first run of the game after reaching on the 99th double of his career. His RBI single tied the game at 2-2. His second run-scoring single evened the game again at 3-3. His RBI sac fly in the fifth gave the Nationals the lead for good at 6-5.

Baker had mentioned before the game he wanted Eaton to change his approach with two strikes; he had struck out seven times in the club's first six games. Eaton understood that his strategy leading off had to be to take more pitches. He had a good idea what Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright was trying to do all night.

"Every lineup is different, depending on a lefty hitting behind me, a righty hitting behind me," Eaton said. "Who's coming out of the 'pen? There's some many variables that I could bore with you for hours and hours and hours."

Eaton even credited Turner for his patience at the plate and how he might have adapted some of those techniques.

"I just got to be a little more grindy in the one hole than I do when I'm batting second," Eaton said. "Starting things off, you want to start things off on the right foot and that means taking pitches. Working a count. The two hole, Trea does that, and then I kind of work off him. Definitely is a different approach that I enjoy both. There's not one over the other, but there's definitely a difference."

Eaton finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. The club did a much better job as a whole with runners in scoring position than they had to begin the season, going 9-for-19 (.474).

"I've always said you're going to need 30-plus players to compete in an entire season," Eaton said. "When one goes down, hopefully another guy can come up and do a good job. That's my role right now is to hopefully fill his role the best of my ability and worked out tonight.

"It takes a full team effort to put that many runs up definitely, one through nine. Tanner (Roark) getting some bunts down, slash in there and pitching his butt off. Great team win. It's fun to see. There's a lot of talent in this room and being able to see it materialize is great for us."