

Ryan Zimmerman after a home run. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

The Nationals‘ lineup is healthier now than it has been for much of the season. But still, since Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon returned from their stints on the disabled list, the Nationals are 5-8 and averaging 3.8 runs per game in that span of 13 games. That is, albeit, a small sample size, and those previously injured players are easing their way back after missing a chunk of the season. It takes time to get into a groove and find consistency.

“It’s important for us to execute properly,” Manager Matt Williams said. “We had a couple, especially over the home stand, of guys on second base with nobody out and couldn’t get him over. So, that being said, in the same breath, its guys coming back and starting to hit well. We had 14 opportunities [Sunday], which is great. That’s what we want. We were one swing away from breaking the game open. We want to create those opportunities and have guys out there on the base paths. Hopefully that continue and that one swing can come, where the ball gets in the gap with the bases loaded and helps us get to the point in the game where we get the starter out of there or it takes us from a one-run lead to a four-run lead. It makes all the different in the world for your team.”

With a rough July and some of August, the Nationals have fallen to 16th overall in the majors with a .710 OPS. They are averaging 4.17 runs per game, around major league average. The Nationals entered the season with a goal of improving offensive efficiency and it is still a work in progress.

“We want to make sure we’re doing it right,” Williams said. “If we get a guy on second base, we want to get him to third and get him in. Everybody does. Every team does. So it’s important for us and we want to continue to work on that.”

The biggest key to consistency is players such as Zimmerman, Rendon and Werth. Since he returned, Zimmerman is hitting .318 with four home runs in 13 games. He is hitting the ball with more authority than before his disabled list stint for left plantar fasciitis. A potent Zimmerman behind Bryce Harper helps the Nationals’ offense. With runners on base, Harper often sees few pitches to hit. Zimmerman can change that.

“When [Zimmerman is] locked in, we’ll see a lot of balls that are lined low to right field,” Williams said. “We saw that [Sunday, when he homered twice.] He’ll drive balls, too. For him, the key is to get on top of the ball and line the ball low and hard and back through the middle and the other way. That’s why he drives in runs. He’ll pull balls, too, but he’ll pick his spots for that, too.”

>>> Denard Span, who recently had what the Nationals are calling a minor setback in his back strengthening program, will rest for a few days, Williams said. Even though he had the hiccup over the weekend, Span still played catch. He said he wasn’t sure if he would play again this season.

The Nationals had hoped Span could go to the team’s spring training facility in Viera, Fla., to continue working out while the team was on the West Coast road trip. But the issue with that right now, Williams said, is the weather in Florida. The fields have been too soggy for Span to use.

“He’s taking a few days and then we’ll see how the weather is and then see what we can going forward,” Williams said.

>>> It’s a small and almost inconsequential detail because it has long appeared Nate McLouth wouldn’t play again this season, but Williams said the outfielder is still working through shoulder issues. McLouth had surgery to repair a torn labrum last August but suffered so many setbacks throwing and hitting that he never even started a rehab assignment this season. McLouth has yet to overcome the seven small anchors put inserted into his shoulder to stabilize it.

Williams said McLouth is home in Tennessee working out at a local college. McLouth is in the final year of a two-year, $10.75 million deal. He appeared only 79 games last season and hit .173.