Consistency has been hallmark of García's recent success

ARLINGTON, Texas – There’s a lot to like about Luis García’s offensive performance this month, and maybe the thing to like the most is that there is so much to like.

García has excelled in just about every significant situation since the Nationals called him up from Triple-A Rochester on June 1. He enters today’s game against the Rangers batting .326 with six doubles, two homers and 11 RBIs. He’s batting .312 vs. righties, .360 vs. lefties. He’s batting .357 with two outs. He’s batting .347 with runners in scoring position. He’s batting .500 (6-for-12) with two outs and runners in scoring position. He’s batting .227 with two strikes, which is significantly better than the leaguewide average of .169.

Pick your situation, chances are García is thriving in it right now.

“It’s very important, because those situations are big to helping the team win,” the 22-year-old shortstop said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “It just comes down to whatever you can do to help the team win.”

García has been helping the Nationals win, delivering one of their two run-scoring hits during Friday night’s 2-1 victory over Texas. He did so while batting fifth for the third time this season, manager Davey Martinez having slowly moved him up from the bottom of the lineup over the course of the last week.

“I don’t think about it,” García insisted when asked about any pressure he feels batting in a more prominent spot in the order. “The important thing is I go out there ready to play and to have fun, wherever I’m placed in that lineup. That’s all I focus on.”

García had already flashed some of his offensive potential during his time in the big leagues in 2020 and 2021, but what stands out about this stint is his consistency. He has at least one hit in 17 of the 22 games he’s played this month and has never gone more than two days in a row without recording a hit.

It’s all part of his progression as a hitter over the last few years, a craft he honed while at Triple-A Rochester and is now applying in the majors.

“I can say he’s worked really hard,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We talked to him last year about what we felt like he needed to do. He’s not a guy that’s going to get tons of walks right now. He may in the future. But he’s very aggressive. It was understanding the strike zone, for him, knowing what balls he can hit and what balls he hits hard, locations. Once he did that, we’ve seen he’s been hitting a fairly (large) amount of balls in the zone very well. I know he notices that.

“So his whole approach is to get the ball in the zone, up. It doesn’t have to be in, it doesn’t have to up away, it just has to be up in the zone. And he’s putting a good swing on those pitches.”

García, for his part, is grateful he’s been able to continue producing on a daily basis during this latest big league stint, one he hopes is permanent.

“It’s very important to me,” he said. “I’ve always worked toward finding consistency up here and thank God I’ve been able to do that since I’ve been up here and kept working. I’m going to keep working to stay as consistent as possible.”