SAN DIEGO – In the moment, it was a small maneuver. Even Nasim Nuñez himself was a bit surprised at the timing of it, though he figured it was going to come in an 8-0 game.
But Nationals manager Davey Martinez waited until the last possible moment to let Nuñez know he was going to pinch-hit for CJ Abrams in the top of the ninth to give the starting shortstop a breather.
Jacob Young was already in the midst of drawing a leadoff walk when the Rule 5 pick gathered his things to step onto the on-deck circle. Except Martinez told him so late, he wasn’t even using his things.
“I was mentally prepared for it, but I didn't know if it was actually gonna happen,” Nuñez said of getting the call to get in the game. “So I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ And then I didn't have my batting gloves, so I was like, ‘CJ, let me get yours real quick.’”
Using Abrams’ gloves, the 23-year-old stepped into the batter’s box for his 12th big league plate appearance still in search of his first major league hit. Facing Padres left-handed reliever Tom Cosgrove, Nuñez fell behind 0-2 but battled back to even the count 2-2.