Soto returning to form to help Nats offense get back on track

If you asked Juan Soto how his second season with the Nationals would begin, he certainly would not have hoped for a copious amount of off-speed pitches to work with and then an injury to his core.

But in this league one has to adapt and Soto is finding a way to do just that, a week into his return from back spasms.

Saturday night, Soto displayed how far he has come in returning to his rookie season form with four quality at-bats that included a pair of timely hits, a walk and an initial at-bat that came up short in the 5-2 Nationals win over the Cubs.

In the first inning, with two men in scoring position with two outs and no score, Soto desperately wanted to set the tone against Chicago's veteran lefty Jon Lester. But on a full-count cutter, Soto popped up weakly behind the plate to catcher Willson Contreras.

Soto slammed his bat down on home plate in frustration in reaction to the opportunity lost. In his first season, or even in his tough at-bats to begin 2019, Soto might have let that bother him for the rest of the game.

But there he was the rest of the game, reacting with three outstanding at-bats: a two-run double in the third that lifted the Nationals to a 4-0 lead, a run-scoring single that padded the lead to 5-1 in the fifth and a walk in his final at-bat.

"I was thinking like, get the lead in the first inning," Soto said of his night. "So, when I made that pitch it was right in the middle, a little cutter, when I missed it I was just like oh, I missed (a chance) to get the lead and to keep it going. But then I just forget about it and keep working and taking good at-bats."

In his second at-bat, Soto did not waste any time and jumped on Lester's first pitch, a sinker, to lace a ball deep to right field to score two runs. The game-changing base hit gave starter Stephen Strasburg plenty to work with as the Nats held on to even the series.

"Every time I come here I just try to think, go game-by-game, at-bat by at-bat, pitch-by-pitch," Soto said. "I just tried to forget what happened. If they make a bad call or do something it don't matter. Just try to forget about it and concentrate on the next one. Because the next one is going to be the good one."

He has put together four hits, two doubles and three RBIs in the first two games of the series. He has five hits in his last two games.

Manager Davey Martinez sees progress at the plate for his 20-year-old left fielder, who has played all of 151 games in seven months of major league baseball.

"(He) didn't try to do too much. Just use his hands, put the ball in play," Martinez noticed. "The biggest thing for him is hit strikes. If they're going to walk you, they walk you. He took a walk today which is beautiful. I keep telling him, take your walks. Our hits will come, just take your walks and don't try to do too much."

It was surprising to see a youngster of Soto's caliber go on the injured list with back spasms. But he said on his return last week that he knows now how to act on signals his body gives him. Instead of pushing through and being "tough" when he doesn't feel right, he will slow down next time. That was he doesn't have to miss 10 valuable days on the shelf mending.

"My injury feels really good right now. I feel very strong," Soto said. "My whole body feels really strong. I feel ready to play baseball. Just try to make adjustments, I going to come back and started working hard, and get in my at-bats."

One focus he has had to work on with hitting coach Kevin Long and assistant hitting coach Joe Dillon is getting his bat timing back at the plate. That doesn't come instantly after not facing major league pitching for almost two weeks.

"I'm working on it. I'm working with Kevin and Joe D. trying to get the timing back," Soto said. "That's what we are working on now. We try to work early BP and other stuff. I feel like I'm getting it.

Soto again displaying the maturity, patience and grit with each at-bat that one would more likely expect from a player like Daniel Murphy or Melky Cabrera - a player with years and years of major league experience. But no, it's Soto, showing that he belongs in only his second season in the bigs.

"Just keep it going," Soto said. "It's a process. You got to trust in the process. You got to (keep) working every day. You got to work then you got to trust in your work. So, every time at an at-bat I just try to be patient."