Adam Kilgore notices the strength behind the disappointment for the Nationals offense:

The Nationals’ maddening work with the bases loaded had continued. They’re now 3 for 16 with three walks, and it would be worse if Adam LaRoche – the supposed slow starter who leads the Nationals with two homers and eight RBI – had not drilled a two-run, bases-loaded single yesterday. The Nationals have also had 19 chances with a man on third and less than two outs, and only five times have they scored the runner.

“We definitely aren’t taking advantage of the opportunities that we’ve had,” Ryan Zimmerman said.

The other takeaway, though, is that the Nationals are finally producing base runners at a respectable clip. Led by Ian Desmond at .441, the Nationals have a .344 on-base percentage, fifth in the majors and second in the National League. It’s only been a week, and so it may well be a mirage. But it’s a promising start for a team that punched up a .309 on-base percentage last year, 25th in the majors and 13th in the NL.

These things tend to even out. If you put enough runners on base, eventually they do get pushed around to score. The main problem now for Washington is a lack of power. One reason they are getting into so many bases loaded situations is that they are just slugging .351, 25th percentile in the NL. They are moving just one base at a time, so they need three or four men getting on to score a run. With more doubles and homers, they’ll start driving in runners from first, and we’ll see fewer left on base.

Given that they are allowing the fewest runs per game in the league, I’ll take the high OBP and four runs scored per game, and let the power develop on it’s own. The way the Nationals are configured is a perfectly good way to win games.