Dylan Crews says ‘it’s huge’ to end the season strong after trying year. His homer Monday helps.

SAN DIEGO — If Dylan Crews felt good after his two-double performance Saturday, one could only imagine the elation he felt after hammering a two-run bomb Monday.

He continued his recent surge with a clutch ninth-inning single against All-Star closer Mason Miller.

Major-league hitters tout the importance of adhering to their training regimen and trying to not live and die with results. That’s understandable, but baseball is a results-oriented game.

Sustaining his productivity at the plate has been Crews’ Achilles’ heel, but maybe his two-hit day in Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Padres could be a jumping off point for him as the season nears its conclusion.

Crews has had positive moments before the past two games. There was the walk-off against the Marlins last week. There was the Phillies series in June when he recorded seven hits over a four-game set. But turning moments into stretches of standout play has eluded Crews this season.

He’s a plus baserunner and a strong defender, capable of manning all three outfield spots. But he was drafted No. 2 in the 2023 draft to be a threat in the lineup. An actualized version of Crews is that of a hitter who could control the zone while supplying solid power. That hasn’t translated for Crews in his major-league career.

But he delivered a key two-out RBI double Saturday that put the Nationals in front in a game they ultimately lost to the Dodgers. He recorded another double in the seventh that drove Tyler Glasnow out of the game. In a season full of stops and starts, Crews is running out of time to prove to the front office that they should make him a fixture in their long-term plans.

“It’s huge,” Crews told The Banner of the importance of finishing the season strong. “I mean, not just for me, but for all of us. We want to build off this last month off and carry on to next year, so I think everybody’s on the same page with that, and we got some good momentum going on right now.”

Sticking to his plan consistently will help Crews. When he’s able to key in on a few specific pitches, it makes him a markedly better hitter. Manager Blake Butera said Crews is at his best when he’s able to “shut it down on pitches that are outside of that tunnel or location.”

After struggling immensely in spring training and being sent to Triple-A Rochester, Crews worked on his game out of the spotlight of the majors. He focused on pulling the ball in the air more consistently by standing more upright at the plate.

Though he’s pulling the ball in the air more, it’s not leading to improved numbers. He’s recording more weak contact with fewer barreled balls per game than last season. He has solid exit velocities and hard-hit rates, but the peripheral numbers haven’t translated to the box score.

His high rates of chasing pitches out the zone (32.5%) and striking out (24.6%) are concerning for Crews given that he doesn’t provide overwhelming power or draw walks.

To remedy his woes, Crews has been in constant communication with the hitting staff before games, after games — like last Friday against the Marlins, where he and hitting coach Matt Borgschulte were deep in conversation at his locker — and during games. Communication throughout the game on how he’s seeing pitchers attack him is paramount to getting him back on track.

Sustaining the highs would go a long way for Crews’ productivity, particularly as the club evaluates the roster heading into next season.

“I think it’s really important for that,” Butera said Sunday of the importance of knowing what they have next season. “I think it’s really important [on] the other side too, for these guys to experience what it feels like to be here.”

As the organization learned with Curtis Mead, development isn’t linear. They’ve poured resources into helping Crews maximize the potential that made him a top prospect, and it hasn’t clicked yet. Truthfully, it might not click in D.C. But for an organization reticent to spend, maximizing Crews’ talents is worth the effort.