Candelario scratched, forcing further lineup tinkering

When the Nationals embarked on a 16-games-in-16-days stretch earlier this week, Davey Martinez began to map out scheduled days off for various members of his everyday lineup. The idea: Make sure everyone gets a break at some point, hopefully on a day when the pitching matchup is conducive to it.

So, Luis García sat Wednesday against Astros left-hander Framber Valdez. Joey Meneses sat Thursday against Houston right-hander Christian Javier. Keibert Ruiz sat Saturday against Marlins lefty Braxton Garrett. And today, Martinez planned to sit both Dominic Smith and CJ Abrams against Miami lefty Jesús Luzardo … until circumstances forced a late change.

“I planned these probably a week ago,” Martinez said. “We’ve had a tough go, all the day games, traveling. I wanted to try to give these guys some days off.”

Smith was due to sit for only the second time in 46 games, but the second time in eight days. In both cases, Michael Chavis was set to make the start at first base in his place, with Meneses remaining as designated hitter.

That plan, however, changed about an hour before first pitch when Jeimer Candelario was scratched from the lineup with a sore right thumb. The veteran third baseman is still available to pinch-hit, according to the Nationals.

The domino effect: Chavis will now slide over to third base, and Smith will start at first base after all.

Martinez had suggested earlier in the season he wanted to try to find more opportunities for Meneses to play the field, but that hasn’t happened with any regularity. Meneses has started only five games in the field, four of those at first base and one in right field.

“He’s another guy where, honestly, he’s been out there every day,” Martinez said. “Having his bat is a big thing for us, having his bat in the lineup and doing what he’s doing, it’s been great. Eventually, I’ll try to get him out there soon. But (Chavis) is fresh. He’s played a good first base in the past. He’s been working out at first base a lot, second base a lot. Just trying to get him out in the field and get him involved.”

Abrams, meanwhile, sits for the fifth time in 20 games. The 22-year-old shortstop has been in a prolonged funk at the plate, batting a mere .122 (5-for-41) with zero walks and 12 strikeouts in June. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a critical groundout with two on and two out in the seventh inning Saturday afternoon.

“We’ve got to get him, one, to stop chasing,” Martinez said. “He’s chasing a lot. Get him back on time. And get him to stay above the baseball a little bit. He’s underneath. Balls he can hit, he’s fouling off. A lot of it is his timing.”

Abrams was set to work today with hitting coach Darnell Coles on hitting the top of the baseball more.

“When he does that, he hits the ball hard,” Martinez said. “It’s all about consistency. We’ve got to get him consistent to give him a chance to hit every pitch he swings at hard.”