The Washington Nationals have a problem behind the plate, and it's not about their defensive skills—it's about what they're doing with the bat. Both of the team's primary catchers, Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas, are struggling mightily, hitting well below the Mendoza Line and leaving the lineup with a gaping hole in the order.
Tuesday night's 11-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Nationals Park was a perfect example of the offensive woes. With the Nationals trailing 2-1 in the second inning, they had a golden opportunity to strike back after Nasim Núñez walked and José Tena singled to center. But Ruiz stepped to the plate and struck out on four pitches, failing to offer at a single one. The momentum vanished.
Things didn't get any better as the game wore on. Down 6-1 in the fifth, Ruiz led off with a groundout to second base. The Nationals did manage to scratch across a run later in the inning on Curtis Mead's two-out single, but it was a small consolation. By the seventh, trailing 7-2, Tena led off with a double to give Washington another chance. Ruiz came up again, and this time he struck out on just three pitches—the first two he watched go by, and the third he swung through on an 84-mph splitter that appeared to be out of the strike zone. It was the kind of at-bat that leaves a manager shaking his head.
The ninth inning summed it all up. Down 11-3, Tena drew a one-out walk, giving the Nationals a flicker of hope. But Ruiz grounded into a game-ending double play, extinguishing it for good. He finished the night 0-for-4, leaving a team-high four runners on base. His slash line now sits at a dismal .182/.203/.303.
His partner behind the plate, Drew Millas, isn't faring much better with a .148 average. Together, they form one of the least productive catching duos in baseball. The Nationals had hoped for a bounce-back year from Ruiz, who showed promise in previous seasons, but the results just aren't there yet.
The struggles extend beyond the big-league club. Harry Ford, who was expected to challenge Ruiz for the starting job out of spring training, has been hitting just .174 in 86 at-bats with Triple-A Rochester. Riley Adams, the other backup option, is batting .216 in a limited role. There's no cavalry coming from the minors right now.
For a Nationals team sitting at 16-20 and already nine games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, every at-bat matters. The pitching staff has been competitive at times, but without run production from the catching position, the lineup has a soft spot that opposing pitchers are happy to exploit. If Washington wants to climb back into the race, Ruiz and Millas will need to find their swings—and fast.