Martinez and Nats prepare for unknown in Urquidy

The Nationals are preparing for World Series Game 4 tonight and an unfamiliar foe in 24-year-old José Urquidy. The right-hander is making his first start since Sept. 27 in Los Angeles against the Angels.

Urquidy threw 2 2/3 innings in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, allowing one run on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He has a 2.08 ERA in two games this postseason.

Nationals manager Davey Martinez said facing an opponent and their bullpen is a unique challenge after prepping for well-known starters like Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke.

"We haven't seen (Urquidy)," Martinez said. "This is the first time we're going to see him. And when you face a guy for the first time, I like for our guys to be aggressive. We've got a bunch of aggressive hitters, but we've got to get the ball in the strike zone and we've got to see pitches.

"I think we want to get off early. I tell these guys all the time, 'Hey, scoring first in these big games like this, it's important. But let's get the ball in the strike zone, let them work a little bit.' And we'll go from there and see how he does."

Scoring early would also allow Patrick Corbin to get into a groove and not worry about being too precise. If the Nats can score early, Corbin can take some chances with placement of his fastball and spot his slider to get the Astros to fish for it.

"Yeah, when we talked about this coming into the series - that they don't chase," Martinez said. "So we've got to attack the strike zone, we really do, and let them make good pitches. They're going to swing as well. If the ball is over the plate, they'll swing. But we've got to stay in the strike zone, especially early in the count, and get ahead."

Baseball Savant says Urquidy doesn't sport overpowering stuff but has the ability to mix his pitches well.

"His best offering is a plus changeup with fade that he sells well by maintaining his fastball arm speed," according to a Baseball Savant scouting report. "His heater parks in the low 90s and peaks at 95 mph with some armside run. His biggest need is to improve his soft curveball because right-handers have teed off on Urquidy since his elbow reconstruction."

The Nats must be careful with Urquidy's mix of the four-seam fastball and changeup. He uses the four-seam 47.3 percent of the time, and the changeup 25.7 percent. He has a slider (17 percent) and a curveball (less than 10 percent).

And that is just the beginning for the Nats. There is potential that Urquidy would only pitch three or four innings. The Astros could then go to the remaining arms in their bullpen. But that might be where the Nats could retain an advantage, having seen these arms already in the series.

"We've got to recognize the guy we're facing first and, like I said, try to score early on him and then go from there," Martinez said. "For the most part, we faced these guys already in the first three games, so I think they know what to expect. So we've just got to go out there and work good at-bats. And we typically are good about doing that. We've just got to go out there and play our game."

As for the Nats bullpen, for a second straight game, the Nats did not have to use Sean Doolittle or Daniel Hudson. They are fresh and available for tonight's Game 4. The Nats were able to string together 3 2/3 shutout innings from Fernando Rodney, Joe Ross and Wander Suero. The Astros managed only one hit during that span.

"Those guys came in ... they did a great job, they really did, from Rodney to Ross, all of them," Martinez said. "They all came in and did. The fact we didn't have to use Doo or Huddie, even though we were prepared to. They're fresh today. But I liked what Joe did. And Rodney has had two really good appearances for us. I like him. And even Suero came in and threw the ball really well."

But as it has for the entire postseason, the Nats' success depends on their starting pitcher and how long he can go in the game.

"We're in a good position," Martinez said. "My concern, obviously, is Pat. Hopefully, Pat could keep us in the game and go deep in the game, and our bullpen will be ready to go."