Photo by MudflapDC.

Last year, Nyjer Morgan fractured his hand on August 27th, ending his season. The Nationals went on to lose 10 of the next 11 games.

Fast-forward to the present day, where Morgan is again on the disabled list with a strained hip flexor, a decision with which he is apparently none too pleased. In Morgan’s absence, the Nats will look to Roger Bernadina to fill the hole at the top of the order. What Morgan lacks in power (only 18 extra base hits out of 103 total — 17.5 percent — this year), he makes up for by causing havoc on the basepaths. Bernadina, while speedy, doesn’t steal as much (only 8 of 10 for the year), but does hit for more power (21 of 66 hits — 31.8 percent — have gone for extra bases). He’s made the most of the opportunity so far, getting two hits in four at-bats on both Wednesday and Thursday night. Morgan’s absence will also diminish the amount of small-ball the Nats can play: that’s a good thing.

Hitting with runners on base hasn’t been a strong point for the team this year, as evidenced by the nine double plays in the Arizona series. Thursday’s four-home-run effort shows the Nats don’t need to sacrifice outs to move runners along, but swinging for the fences is a perilous feast-or-famine affair. On a positive note, what Morgan’s absence does allow for is Michael Morse to get more consistent playing time and create a 3-4-5-6 stretch in the batting order that pitchers will not be able to pitch around (Zimmerman, Dunn, Willingham, Morse).