Irvin back to mound after brief physical, mental break

HOUSTON – Upon learning the Nationals were skipping his turn in the rotation so he could take a physical and mental break, Jake Irvin almost didn’t know what to do with himself. The rookie right-hander had grown so accustomed to the regimented, five-day schedule for starters since arriving in the big leagues last month, the idea of a layoff for non-injury reasons was quite foreign to him.

Now that he’s had more than a week of rest, though, Irvin has come to understand how valuable it was in the wake of everything that came before.

“Making your debut and going through the whirlwind of the first month in the big leagues is something you can’t really explain,” he said. “It’s something you go through once and hopefully get your feet wet. I’ve taken this time to kind of reflect on what’s happened so far, and how you can move forward as best as possible. Not only does it give the body a chance to reset, but it really gives your mind a chance to reset and move forward and grow.”

The Nationals took advantage of Monday’s scheduled off-day to skip over Irvin’s spot in the rotation. Patrick Corbin went ahead and started Tuesday’s series opener against the Astros on normal rest, and Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore will follow to round out this series.

Irvin, who last pitched June 6 against the Diamondbacks, is likely to return to the mound either Friday or Saturday against the Marlins. Manager Davey Martinez said he planned to meet with pitching coach Jim Hickey today to settle on a plan.

After a couple of impressive outings to begin his career, Irvin has struggled since. He’s 0-3 with an 8.41 ERA and 1.918 WHIP over his last five starts.

Irvin was back on a mound this afternoon, throwing a 25-pitch bullpen session at Minute Maid Park. He went into the session with a specific plan: Hit his intended target. And how did he feel about how things went?

“Today was fantastic,” he said. “I threw the crap out of the ball. My body felt great, so that definitely helps. But like we had been talking about, I took the week to really lock in on what the plan was moving forward, took that into the bullpen today and it went really, really well.”

* Luis García is not in tonight’s lineup, not for any injury or performance reason, but because Martinez wanted to give his young second baseman a day off.

García had started 18 straight games, a stretch that dated back to May 23 against the Padres. He’s hit well in that time, batting .320 with a .791 OPS.

“Just a day off. It’s a part of the process with those guys,” Martinez said. “They play every day. Just have to get him off his feet. We’ve got a weird schedule coming up, with no day games (in this series). We leave here tomorrow night, play Friday (in D.C.). I want to get these guys a day off.”

Ildemaro Vargas is starting in García’s place, hoping to keep his production up. The veteran utilityman is batting .309 with an .831 OPS in the 57 plate appearances he has received coming off the bench.