Apparently a trip to San Francisco is what the doctor ordered for the Washington Nationals. The Nats offense surged to 28 runs during their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants.
The catalyst of Washington’s offensive explosion was the least likely of options, embattled center fielder Victor Robles.
Robles entered the series with just seven hits in 46 at-bats in the season. That was good for a batting average of .152. However, the scenery of San Francisco’s Oracle Park brought out the best of Robles at the plate.
Robles produced eight hits during the series. He went 8-for-12 with five RBIs, two walks and four runs scored over the weekend against the Giants’ pitching. He slashed .667/.400/.750, not bad for a batter trying to find his swing.
Could this be a turning point for Robles? Was the trip to San Francisco where it started to all click?
Last season, Robles’ struggles came to a head. He was demoted stripping him of the role of every day center fielder for the Nationals. After finishing the season in the minors, Robles was given an opportunity to rewrite his story.
Nationals hitting coach Darnell Coles worked with the 24-year old. Recently, the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden laminated Coles’ work with Robles.
Still Robles remained a work in progress, starting the season 0-for-18 at the plate.
But, he broke through hitting 15-of-40 at the plate since. He broke through with a three-game hit streak from Apr. 17-19. He followed that with a two-hit performance on Apr. 21 against the Diamondbacks.
This past weekend his hard work and resilience paid off. The Nationals were energized by his emergence. They scored 14 runs in Friday’s win and another 11 in Sunday’s win.
Now, Robles is hitting .259 with a .317 on-base percentage with a boatload of confidence. And now supporters of both he and the team ave hope that finally Victor Robles could be turning the corner.
