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Two of the Nationals’ regulars, each of them struggling mightily at the moment, are getting the day off.
Both CJ Abrams and Keibert Ruiz are sitting for this afternoon’s series finale against the Rangers. That’s a product both of the matchup, with Texas sending left-hander Jacob Latz to the mound to open a bullpen game, and of those hitters’ recent struggles.
Abrams, who hasn’t had a day off since returning from a brief stint on the 10-day injured list April 24, is batting just .169 with a .247 on-base percentage and .312 slugging percentage over his last 19 games. In that time, the 24-year-old shortstop has seen his OPS plummet from .926 to .787, potentially taking him out of All-Star consideration.
“He’s chasing a lot,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We’ve got to get him back in the zone. Everything’s up. He’s got to get the ball down in the zone a little bit. When he does get the ball down, he hits the ball hard. But it’s all about chasing.”
Abrams, who has drawn only two walks over his last 61 plate appearances, has been quite swing-happy of late. He swung at six of the first nine pitches he saw during Saturday’s 2-0 loss before finally working a seven-pitch at-bat in the bottom of the ninth (though that still ended with a strikeout on a cutter up in the zone).
“When you feel like you’re in a funk, you think by swinging more you’ll get out of it,” Martinez said. “I always say less is more sometimes. Seeing more pitches, getting deeper in counts could help. …
“Accept your walks. That’s going to be a big key for all of our guys. When we start accepting our walks, we extend a lot of those innings. We did it really well for a week there. We’ve got to get back to that.”
Ruiz falls into the same category. The notoriously swing-happy catcher is batting just .176 over his last 19 games, hasn’t walked once and has only struck out six times over 75 plate appearances. The problem: The contact he has made hasn’t been solid, leading to a plethora of weak ground balls, usually to the right side of the infield.
“Get his chase rate down, he’ll start hitting the ball hard again,” Martinez said. “And it’s got to happen. For him, it has to happen. Because he’s so good at putting balls in play … a lot of times, I don’t want him to put the ball in play. I just want him to get a good pitch to hit and take a good, healthy swing on it. That’s when he’s really good.”
* Derek Law will travel with the Nationals to New York this week and face hitters in a simulated game, the first time the veteran reliever has done that since the end of spring training. Law, on the 15-day injured list with right forearm inflammation, has been building up slowly over the last month. He’s still several weeks away from returning but is finally progressing.
* Paul DeJong also will travel with the team on this short road trip, the first time the veteran infielder has done so since he was struck in the face by a pitch April 15 in Pittsburgh. DeJong, who suffered multiple fractures to his cheekbone, nose and orbital area, is finally ready to begin some light baseball activities.
* Orlando Ribalta, on the 15-day IL since April 10 with a right biceps strain, will head to West Palm Beach, Fla., to begin ramping up his throwing program.
