Can occasional rest benefit Nats' first base and DH rotation?

Juan Yepez joined the Nationals on July 5, taking over the first base job for the struggling, demoted Joey Meneses, and proceeded to hold that job every day. For more than a month.

It wasn’t until Aug. 13 that someone else started at first base, in this case rookie Andres Chaparro. Even then, Yepez remained in the lineup, serving as the Nats’ designated hitter for the next three nights.

Finally on Sunday, after starting 37 consecutive games since his call-up from Triple-A Rochester, Yepez got to rest. He wasn’t in the lineup for the first time, though he still wound up appearing in the game as a pinch-hitter.

At this point, his production had cooled off. After posting a gargantuan slash line of .330/.380/.523 through his first 28 games, he saw those numbers plummet to .132/.191/.132 over an 11-game stretch that concluded with another game off Wednesday evening.

“It’s late-August,” Yepez said. “Some of us are tired. Some of us are going good. That’s how baseball works.”

Whether it was the rest, or whether that had nothing to do with it, Yepez returned to the Nationals lineup Thursday and delivered the kind of big hit that became commonplace during his first month with the team. His three-run homer helped propel his team to an 8-3 victory over the Rockies and bring a smile back to the 26-year-old’s face after a rough stretch.

Yepez gave credit to teammate Luis Garcia Jr., the red-hot second baseman who offered some words of advice and encouragement to the slumping first baseman.

“In my case, Luis was big-time,” Yepez said. “I was kind of going through some stuff, and he talked to me. He said: ‘Hey, relax. Enjoy the game.” And that homer came my way. I’m just glad I have a teammate like that.”

Though he became a stalwart in the lineup after his arrival, Yepez now finds himself part of a three-man rotation among the first base and DH positions. Chaparro, who started his first eight games in the majors, was on the bench Thursday for the first time. And those two are now joined by veteran Joey Gallo, who returned from a two-month stint on the injured list with a hamstring strain and started at first base each of the last two days.

Perhaps the occasional break will do them all some good, both physically and mentally.

“Obviously, we want to play every single day and do the best we can,” Yepez said. “At the end of the day, I feel like I come to the park and do what they tell me. If I’m the DH, if I’m playing first or whatever, I’m just trying to play hard and give the best I’ve got.”

Manager Davey Martinez said earlier this week Yepez and Chaparro likely would see more playing time the rest of the way than Gallo, with the organization wanting to prioritize younger players who could work their way into the long-term plan here over a veteran on a one-year contract.

Gallo, though, has looked solid in his first two games back from the IL. He has reached base in four of his nine plate appearances, with a single, an RBI double and two walks. He has struck out only once, perhaps the most eye-popping stat of them all given his propensity to whiff as much as any hitter in the game. And his outs have been well-struck, including a couple of line drive outs.

“He’s not really trying to do too much. He’s just trying to stay on the ball,” Martinez said. “He’s always had a good eye. We know he’s always walked. But his swing’s better. He’s starting to hit more line drives. He’s been great.”

Martinez also praised the 30-year-old Gallo for his intensity and hustle since returning.

“I can’t say enough about how he plays the game,” the manager said. “You watch him running – going first to third, yesterday a double into a triple, and the way he plays defense – if we can get him to understand moving the ball, putting the ball in play works. It worked today. It worked yesterday. He’ll be OK. I like where he’s at right now.”