WASHINGTON -- José Tena joined the Nationals organization on July 29, when he was acquired from the Guardians as part of the Lane Thomas trade. At the time, the 23-year-old had 21 games of Major League experience after he debuted on Aug. 5, 2023.

Fast forward five weeks: Tena has made 28 starts for the Nats -- including 27 at third base -- since he was called up from Triple-A Rochester on Aug. 10.

On Saturday, he tallied his 12th multihit game as the Nationals won, 4-1, over the Marlins. He leads the team in multihit outings during that stretch, ahead of both Jacob Young and James Wood, who have eight apiece.

Tena went 2-for-4 with a single, a home run and a stolen base against Miami right-hander Valente Bellozo at Nationals Park.

¡°The focus of every at-bat is to try to have the best swing every time,¡± Tena said.

After he grounded out to second base in his first at-bat, Tena roped a curveball to shortstop for a single in the fourth inning, his first hit of the day. He stole his fifth base of the season in the next at-bat.

¡°He gives himself a chance to hit,¡± manager Dave Martinez said. ¡°He gets good swings off when the ball¡¯s in the zone. He¡¯s another guy [who], when the ball¡¯s up in the zone and he doesn¡¯t chase, he hits the ball really well.¡±

In the sixth, Tena got into a battle with Bellozo, working the count full over seven pitches. Then, Tena made contact on a curveball and drove it to center field for his third homer of the season. It soared a Statcast-projected 412 feet with a 102.9 mph exit velocity, his longest home run of his career.

¡°He¡¯s fast, so [if] he put the ball in the ground -- he¡¯s gonna run,¡± Bellozo said. ¡°He¡¯s a really good hitter. The [homer] -- I executed the pitch. He got it. [I¡¯m] tipping my cap, and that¡¯s the game. He got it and just [gave] a fight over there. He¡¯s a really good hitter. It¡¯s going to be really good battles overall next year, or other games here.¡±

Tena extended his on-base streak to 10 games, over which he is batting .325 with three doubles, one home run, four RBIs, three walks, six runs scored and four stolen bases.

¡°He¡¯s a very, very good player overall, but [also] a very good hitter,¡± said Joey Gallo, who also went yard, as did Juan Yepez. ¡°To hit that ball out -- I watched the replay, it looks like a curveball down and away, and he was able to hit it out to right-center.

¡°I was able to play with him a little bit in Rochester in Triple-A right before he was called up. It was kind of the first time I got to see him, and I was very impressed. [He¡¯s a] very good player, so we¡¯re lucky to have him.¡±

There is a possibility Tena could continue gaining momentum by playing winter ball this season, to see more at-bats and further his comfortability at third base.

¡°He stays behind the ball really well,¡± said Martinez. ¡°... He¡¯s had a really good year. If you look at what he did in the Minor Leagues and then up here, he¡¯s hitting .300. But he¡¯s young -- and as much as he can play, we¡¯d love him to play.¡±