Lile's 10th triple of '25 adding to unreal finish to rookie year

WASHINGTON -- At only 22 years old and 81 games into his Major League career, Daylen Lile set the Nationals' rookie record (2005-present) for the most triples in a season.

Lile recorded his 10th triple on Tuesday afternoon in a 6-3 loss to the Braves in Game 1 of the Nationals’ day-night doubleheader at Nationals Park. He surpassed players among the likes of Bryce Harper (nine in 2012) and Trea Turner (eight in 2016).

The lefty-hitting Lile is only one triple shy of tying Denard Span’s mark for most by any Nationals player. Span collected 11 triples in 2013 during his sixth big league season.

“He doesn’t give an at-bat away,” said interim manager Miguel Cairo. “Against righties, against lefties, he goes over there and battles. … He’s been consistent. Hopefully, he stays like that and keeps going until the season is over.”

Lile is heading toward the conclusion of his rookie year on a hot streak. His run of reaching base safely in 16 consecutive games ended in Washington's 5-0 loss in 10 innings in Game 2 on Tuesday night, but his hot streak included 11 multihit contests. During that stretch, Lile batted .433 with two doubles, six triples, three homers, nine RBIs, 14 runs, seven walks and one stolen base. He has a 1.246 OPS and a .783 slugging percentage in September.

“People should respect my power more,” Lile said with a laugh. “But no, as long as I just keep barreling the balls and just keep using the big part of the field, things are going to go pretty good.”

Lile made his Major League debut on May 23. He was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on June 6, but returned to the Nats 10 days later with momentum.

Lile ranks first among all NL rookies in hits (58), triples (9), runs scored (32), batting average (.326), slugging percentage (.545) and OPS (.923) since the All-Star break (minimum 50 plate appearances).

“It’s a lot of fun,” Lile said Monday night after hitting his sixth home run of the season in an 11-3 loss to Atlanta. “Every day, I just feel like I'm getting more and more comfortable up here. I feel like my confidence has gotten a lot better.”

Lile, a second-round pick in the 2021 Draft out of Trinity High School in Louisville, is the second rookie in Nats team history to connect on two triples in a game, doing so on Sept. 5 at the Cubs. The feat had not been achieved since Bernie Castro did so on Sept. 16, 2006.

Cairo often lauds Lile for his compact swing. Lile has seen results from hitting drills with a weighted bat.

“[It helps with] bat speed, really,” Lile said. “Especially just trying to have faster hands and get more exit velocity so I can hit so many balls over the guy's head instead of right at them.”

Once he makes contact, Lile does damage on the basepaths to reach third base. Lile ranks in the 91st percentile in sprint speed. At 29.1 feet per second, he is well above the Major League average of 27 feet/second.

“He's fast,” said Cairo. “When he takes off, after the 30 yards -- he’s gone.”