Cabrera debuts at first base, Robles set HBP record (Nats win 7-5)

CHICAGO - The Nationals are playing their fourth straight game against a left-handed starter, an extremely rare occurrence during the course of a season. Howie Kendrick, who has battled hamstring issues all year, already started the first three games, including the day game in Chicago following a night game in Pittsburgh.

So Davey Martinez faced a dilemma when filling out his lineup card for the series finale against Cubs southpaw Cole Hamels: Start Kendrick a fourth straight day, start Matt Adams against the lefty or do something unconventional?

He chose the unconventional route, making Asdrúbal Cabrera a first baseman for the first time in his professional career.

"We played Howie for three days in a row," Martinez said. "We've got to be smart with Howie. (Cabrera) has been taking his ground balls over there with (infield coach Tim Bogar). We're trying to get him going. We thought today would be a perfect day for him."

Cabrera, a natural shortstop who has also played second and third base in recent years, has been working at first base since he joined the Nationals earlier this month. He was out there again this morning with Bogar, a career middle infielder who also played some first base later in his career, learning how to position his feet for various types of throws.

"He's played everywhere else in the infield, so catching the ball I don't think is a problem," Martinez said. "It's the footwork around first base that kind of worries me a little bit. Because you've got to remember you've got a runner coming to step on the base. So I don't want him to get his foot out there and get stepped on. We've got to be cautious about that. But he's been going out there with Bogey, and that's what they've been working on."

Beyond the defensive work, there was an offensive reason for Cabrera to start today. He's 4-for-13 with a homer in his career versus Hamels, while Adams is 0-for-4.

Meanwhile, Victor Robles moves up to the No. 2 spot in the lineup today after setting a new club record during Saturday's win. Robles was hit by a pitch for the 21st time this season, breaking Danny Espinosa's previous record from 2016.

"Congratulations!" Martinez said with more than a hint of sarcasm when informed of Robles' achievement today.

Martinez has worried about his young center fielder's health all year long, given his penchant for diving over the plate and leaving himself susceptible to up-and-in pitches. They've worked with Robles on better protecting his body, and just Saturday he began wearing a protective pad on his left hand.

But they aren't about to completely overhaul the way the rookie approaches at-bats.

"He's actually getting better at getting out of the way," Martinez said. "A couple of times, we've seen him, and I don't really know how he got out of the way. The good news is I finally convinced him to wear a hand pad. So he wore one yesterday for the first time. That kind of eased my mind a little bit. But he gets hit. That's part of (his game). It doesn't seem to bother him that much. We're working on him not diving as much. I think that's helping with his hitting. But he gets in that box, he has no fear. He stays in there and he wants to hit. That's just the way he plays."

Update: Stephen Strasburg is dealing at Wrigley Field. That's not surprising. He has faced the minimum through three innings, throwing only 39 pitches while striking out four. And his teammates have given him a lead, albeit a slim one. After being held in check for three innings by Cole Hamels, they watched Anthony Rendon crush an 0-2 fastball deep to left field and all the way onto Waveland Avenue in the top of the fourth. Rendon's 29th homer and 103rd RBI of the season have given the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

Update II: The Cubs finally got to Strasburg in the fifth. With two outs and nobody out, Addison Russell got a hold of a 2-2 changeup and sent it flying down the left field line, just deep enough to reach the basket hovering over the wall. That solo blast has tied this game 1-1, and Strasburg has now thrown 87 pitches in five innings.

Update III: The Nats are back on top, but they missed a chance to do some major damage in the top of the sixth. With runners on the corners and nobody out, Joe Maddon pulled Hamels and turned to reliever David Phelps to face Kurt Suzuki. Suzuki got the run home, but at the expense of a 6-4-3 double play. So the Nationals lead 2-1, with Strasburg perhaps only with one more inning in him today.

Update IV: In the seventh, the Nats went ahead 5-2 on a bases-loaded infield single by Juan Soto and Asdrúbal Cabrera's two-RBI single.

Update V: VIctor Caratini homered off Hunter Strickland in the bottom of the seventh to get the Cubs within 5-3.

Update VI: We've got a tie game after eight innings. Fernando Rodney yielded a two-out two-run homer to Kyle Schwarber to knot the score at 5-5. We've moved to extra innings.

Update VII: The Nats have taken a 7-5 lead in the 11th. Kendrick greeted reliever Tyler Chatwood with a groundball single up the middle and scampered to third when Trea Turner ripped a double into the right-center gap. After Robles grounded out, Kendrick came home on Chatwood's wild pitch. Rendon then singled to center, scoring Turner. Juan Soto grounded into an inning-ending double play. Now Daniel Hudson will try to keep the Cubs off the board in his second inning of work and deliver a sweep.

Update VIII: Hudson secures a three-game sweep, getting the Cubs in order in the 11th to finish off a 7-5 win.