Xavier Edwards kept his bat locked in Monday night, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in the Marlins' 12-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. He drove a 397-foot shot off Aaron Bummer in the fifth inning, one of the big blows in a game that was over in a hurry.
The performance extended Edwards' hitting streak to four games, and he has multiple hits in three of those contests. That kind of production is backing up the numbers he has put together all season, with a.322/.406/.486 slash line that ranks second among second basemen in batting average and slugging percentage and first in on-base percentage.
For Miami, the night was another example of Edwards turning a lineup spot into a threat rather than a placeholder. At 3:25 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, the game line reflected the same thing his season has shown: when he is seeing the ball well, he changes the shape of an inning with one swing.
The only real question now is how long he can keep that pace before pitchers adjust. For the moment, Edwards looks less like a player riding a short surge and more like one of the most productive second basemen in the game.
