Nationals' defense must improve

The Nationals have won two of the three series this season, but have had to come back to win four out of their five victories. They haven't blown out any team they have faced. The closest they got to a blowout was a 7-0 lead on the Phillies last week that turned into an anxiety-riddled 7-6 nailbiter.

So what gives?

The defense could certainly be tighter. It has allowed way too many extra baserunners. That translates into extra outs and gifted opportunities.

The Nationals have committed nine errors, second-worst in the National League to Arizona's 11. This one goes to 11. Not good.

The National League average after nine games is six errors.

Washington's .973 fielding percentage is tied for 12th in the National League.

After Tuesday's 8-3 win, center fielder Adam Eaton acknowledged that the Nats have to get better in the field. On Wednesday, Eaton had a spectacular outfield assist to get Dexter Fowler, who had rounded first too far. Some center fielders would just casually toss the ball back into the infield following a crisp single. Eaton charged the ball and gunned it in, with cutoff man Daniel Murphy's relay to first baseman Ryan Zimmerman recording the out.

"I think that something that we need to focus on is defensively," Eaton said. "There have been some plays here and there that aren't being made. You surely can't win a ton of games with defense, but you sure can lose a lot of games with bad defense.

"We got to continue to work on that. Like I said, it's a long season. I think all of us realize that. We just want to continue to put a couple of pennies in that jar and continue to build up and go 162."

Zimmerman, Murphy, third baseman Anthony Rendon and shortstop Wilmer Difo each have two errors. That is every spot in the infield. This week, the Nationals had one game where they committed four errors in the infield alone.

"It always concerns me when you don't catch it or throw it," manager Dusty Baker said. "Because you're giving away outs. You give away extra outs. And the game wasn't designed for 30 outs vs. 27. We've just got to tighten our defense up. We've got to tighten our defense, and we've got to tighten our entire game up."

Does Baker meet with each player individually? How do you fix fielding issues after the season has started?

"That's something I address all the time," Baker said. "But I address it from the time we're at spring training and we work on it. So we just got to keep working."

Fielding is mental as much as it is physical. Similar to a batter's approach in the box, the fielder must have a plan before a play unfolds. Which base does he throw to if the ball comes his way? What does a particular hitter usually do in this situation? Should a fielder expect the ball to his right or his left? What kind of power does he have?

Taking grounders and throwing to each base needs to be intensified in batting practice. If it means coming in for extra grounders at 1 p.m. and then repeating at 4 p.m. during regular drills, so be it. Come October, the likes of the Dodgers and the Cubs won't have fielding issues. You have to make sure you have seamless defense if you want to be an elite club.

"It's baseball. It's a hard game," said pitcher Max Scherzer. "Those guys are out there grinding, trying to do everything they can. Sometimes it's like hitting. Hitting is contagious; so is fielding. We're a very good defensive ball club. The fact that we have made errors, that just happens. We are baseball players. But when you have the team that we're on, those guys will end up making plays. I have no doubts about that."