WASHINGTON -- Luis Garc¨ªa Jr.¡¯s bat is scalding hot to start the month of August.

Garc¨ªa found himself batting third in the 6-4 win over the Brewers on Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park, and he made the most of being at the top of the lineup once again to help break Washington¡¯s five-game losing streak. Garc¨ªa started the four-run rally in the first inning to give the Nationals the early lead and added a homer in the third to extend the lead.

¡°I don't think it makes a difference hitting first or ninth,¡± he said through interpreter Octavio Martinez. ¡°I just got to go out there and be ready to hit, focused and do anything possible to help the team win.¡±

Garc¨ªa has been known to bat best with runners in scoring position. He leads the Nationals and is third in the league with a .361 average with runners in scoring position. But on the anniversary of being optioned back to Triple-A Rochester, he did the work with the bases empty.

With two outs and bases empty, Garc¨ªa used the opportunity to showcase some of his discipline at the plate. He took a ball from Brewers¡¯ starter Aaron Civale and then fouled off the second offering -- a sinker. Civale¡¯s curveball proved to be the pitch he was looking for in his first at-bat. The result: a double to get him in scoring position for Keibert Ruiz to follow. The catcher swatted an RBI single, bringing Garc¨ªa in to score the first run.

Following the four-year veteran were the most recent call-ups who followed suit. James Wood walked and set the stage for Travis Blankenhorn to drive a two-run double -- his first Major League hit of the season. Alex Call then added a fourth run in the inning -- swatting an RBI single.

"This team that we're playing ... they're catching us at a time when we're not at full strength,¡± Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "But it doesn't matter. They're playing free, playing the young guys and they are a fun team to watch. But they are catching us at a time when they know us a little bit and doing a great job of it."

Seeing the early runs up on the board gave Nationals starter DJ Herz a lot of confidence into his five-inning, 77-pitch outing. He threw 49 strikes and allowed one unearned run on two hits.

¡°[The four-run first inning] kind of lit me up and got me going,¡± the southpaw said. ¡°We took it off from there.¡±

Garc¨ªa was not done doing damage, though, and was patient in finding his pitch once again. Civale offered up two strikes and Garc¨ªa fouled off the third. The fourth was just right, as the New York native connected with the 78.2 mph sweeper and sent the ball a Statcast-projected 400 feet into right-center-field bleachers with an exit velocity of 102 mph.

According to Nationals manager Dave Martinez, Garc¨ªa has been working on not chasing every pitch and instead being more selective to put himself in good situations to swing.

¡°He¡¯s been a lot better, and I¡¯m proud of him because he¡¯s been working hard on where he wants the ball in certain situations, especially with guys on base,¡± Martinez said.

Since July 3 (21 games), the 23-year-old has hit .392 with five doubles, a triple, five dingers, 16 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He was a triple shy of completing the cycle on Saturday, and in Friday¡¯s series opener, Garc¨ªa went 3-for-4 against the Brewers with three singles. Most of that work is attributed to both his attention to detail and focus.

¡°I feel like sometimes, in the past, I would focus on the big things and not worry so much about the little things and they would affect my play,¡± he said. ¡°Now, it¡¯s the other way around, and I focus on the little things and just let the big things play themselves out, so it¡¯s definitely helped a lot.¡±