The Washington Nationals have had distinct identities this season.
The difference is night and day.
The Nationals, who rank first in the majors with 345 runs after a 14-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night, have been much more dangerous under the lights.
They lead the majors in OPS (.804) at night and are tied with the D-backs for 25th (.675) in day games.
The Nationals have an immediate chance to change the narrative. The teams will meet in the first of two straight day games Saturday, when Washington right-hander Zack Littell (5-4, 5.01 ERA) opposes Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1, 2.24) in Phoenix.
Nationals first-year manager Blake Butera has noticed the difference in day/night performance but notes the small sample size.
“It’s definitely something to pay closer attention to, but I haven’t looked to see if it is league-wide or if it is just specific to the Nationals,” Butera said.
“We’ve won. I also don’t want to make a huge deal until I know a little bit more about it.”
The Nationals’ slugging percentage follows a similar pattern. They lead the league at .459 under the lights after hitting five homers Friday. They are 21st during the day, at .376.
The splits have not seemed to affect the Nationals’ record — they are 17-16 at night and 15-16 in day games for a 32-32 overall mark.
Rodriguez is 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA in his last six starts, five quality, and has given up as many as three runs only once in that span. His fastball velocity averaged 93.6 mph Monday in his last outing, when he permitted only one run over six innings in his team’s 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. That velocity was almost 2 mph higher than his season average.
“That’s the best I ever felt,” Rodriguez said. “My fastball, if I can remember a day like that, it was probably the WBC (championship) game against the Dominican.
“I’m feeling great body-wise. I just have to take advantage of it and keep doing it. You have 30-plus starts in the year, and you are going to have one of two like that. You just have to enjoy it when it happens because it doesn’t happen every day.”
Rodriguez is off to the best start of his career, reminiscent of his 2023 season in Detroit — 13-9, 3.30 ERA — that led to his four-year, $80 million free-agent contract with the D-backs this winter.
“I‘ve never had numbers like that in my career, and it’s something I want to keep doing, keep working,” Rodriguez said of his key stats this season.
Rodriguez is 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the Nationals. Keibert Ruiz is 2 for 3 against him.
Littell was 5-0 with a 2.35 ERA in six May starts. He gave up only two homers during the month and gave up two or fewer runs in all six starts.
“I’m not sure that the actual vibes changed all that much; the group is just more confident,” Littell said of the May surge.
“You got a team full of young guys, taking series from teams that are really good. It’s only going to continue to build confidence in these guys and then go out and compete with anybody.”
Littell is 1-1 with a 5.71 ERA in 10 career appearances, four starts, against the D-backs. He was 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in two starts against them with Tampa Bay last season. Nolan Arenado is 5-for-12 with a homer against him and Gabriel Moreno is 2-for-5 with a homer.
-Field Level Media
