García delivers first homer off lefty; Abrams still dealing with shoulder

Luis García Jr. has made strides in just about every aspect of his game during his breakthrough season. The Nationals second baseman has established career highs in batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.320) and slugging percentage (.445), is 21-for-25 in stolen base attempts and has turned himself into a better defensive player as well.

There’s still room for improvement in some areas, though, most notably at the plate against left-handers.

Manager Davey Martinez has been reluctant to start García against most lefties, concerned his swing mechanics haven’t been as consistent in those at-bats. García tends to let his front shoulder and hip fly open, leaving him vulnerable to pitches on the outer portion of the strike zone.

There have been a few more opportunities of late, though, and García took full advantage of his latest one Friday night. Facing Marlins lefty Anthony Veneziano in the bottom of the seventh, he put forth one of his best swings of the season and slammed a leadoff homer to help lead the Nats en route to a 4-1 victory.

“That was a big home run,” Martinez said. “He stayed on that ball, gave us another point, and then we scored another one. That was a big moment for us.”

It was García’s first homer off a left-hander in 101 plate appearances this year, only his fourth in 432 career plate appearances.

“The more I face left-handed pitching, the more comfortable I get,” he said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I’ve faced them lately a bit more often; I’ve felt a lot more comfortable. I saw that pitch up and was able to put a good swing on it and connect.”

While picking his spots for playing García more against left-handers, Martinez still isn’t ready to play him full-time. That day may come, but for now the 24-year-old still has to prove he can consistently produce in those matchups.

“Look, Luis can hit,” the manager said. “And he should tell himself: ‘I can hit anybody.’ He’s got to keep his legs underneath him and not try to do too much. When he does that, he can hit. I’m really proud of him, because I was hard on him, as we all know. And so far, he’s put up some pretty good numbers. And I only think he’s going to get better.”

* The Nationals still hadn’t announced their lineup for today’s game 1 hour, 15 minutes before first pitch, waiting to see if CJ Abrams might be able to return after sitting out Friday with a sore left shoulder.

Martinez, though, sounded skeptical his shortstop would be good to go.

“I really don’t think he’ll start the game,” the manager said. “We’ll see how he feels throughout the day. But we’re going to wait and see how he feels, and then I’ll get a lineup out there as soon as possible.”

The injury is not considered serious, and there were no plans at this point for Abrams to get an MRI. But the club doesn’t seem to feel it’s worth taking a chance.

“It’s just that impingement,” Martinez said. “When he moves that shoulder up, it kind of grabs on him a little bit. I’m very hesitant, because if he does dive again and reinjures himself, I don’t want that to happen.”