Martinez hints at possible return for Taylor (Nats fall 7-3)

With the influx of talent and depth added yesterday for the September stretch drive, Nationals manager Davey Martinez continues to work on how he wants the roster to work down the stretch to maximize the club's ability to get into the post season in a good spot. It is important to give regular players some rest, but not at the expense of the quality of play on the field.

"We talked yesterday at length about bringing a couple more guys up," Martinez said. "The season is still going down there. We'll see what transpires over the next couple days."

Andrew Stevenson was the only everyday outfielder added Sunday. Martinez appeared to hint at the possibility of calling up veteran center fielder Michael A. Taylor soon.

"You look at needs and stuff," Martinez said. "For me, moving forward, it'd be nice to have a guy that you could count on to pinch-run or steal a base. But other than that, if you look at our team, we got guys that can do a bunch of different things. The way the roster sits right now, it is pretty solidified moving forward."

Taylor can steal bases, plays plus-plus defense, can direct the outfield and has a clutch postseason home run on his resume. He has played 56 games with Double-A Harrisburg and was recently named Eastern League player of the week. In the past 10 games, Taylor has hit .342 with 13 hits, two homers and 10 RBIs. He has struck out only five times in his last 38 at-bats.

Martinez cautioned that all of the September call-ups are high character players, including the Nats' top prospects. He expects these call-ups to deliver and it is not just a reward for a job well done. The focus of these call-ups this season is to help the Nats secure a postseason berth so they can be well positioned for a long October run.

"For me you really got to be careful for the most part the guys we brought up are pretty good kids," Martinez said. "They've been here before. They get it. They understand what's going on. They are not going to be a nuisance. And if they are then they won't be here very long. They are guys that we value that have an upside here in the future for us so we want to see them."

The Nats' top prospect, shortstop Carter Kieboom, made his major league debut in April. He appeared in 11 games, but has spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Fresno.

Kieboom has been playing very well, slashing .305/.411/.496 in 108 games for the Grizzlies, connecting on 24 doubles, three triples, 16 homers and 79 RBIs. He hit .128 in 39 at-bats with the Nats very early in the season.

"It's been a thought," Martinez said of Kieboom's possible return for Stepmber. "We will see what happens."

Stevenson and Taylor could be excellent choices as defensive replacements here in September, especially in right field where Martinez wants to be extra careful with Adam Eaton as he returns from a hit by pitch last week.

"Adam Eaton is our right fielder and he's gotten way better on defense over the course of the year," Martinez said. "I think it has a lot to do with his injury to his leg, his ankle and his knee. It takes a while. He's been really good.

"But moving forward, especially now that he got hit, we'll see it plays out. (B)ecause we got extra guys, I'd like to see if we could substitute guys out. (Ryan Zimmerman's) a good defensive first baseman, (Gerardo) Parra is a good outfielder, so we will see how that plays out."

* Here are the potential probables for the huge Atlanta Braves four-game set starting Thursday night at SunTrust Park: Stephen Strasburg vs. Max Fried, Patrick Corbin vs. Dallas Keuchel, Joe Ross vs. Julio Teheran, Max Scherzer vs. Mike Soroka.

* Interesting to look at the Nats' record against division opponents this season. They will have a losing record this season against today's opponent, the New York Mets (6-10). The Nats are 9-5 versus the Phillies with five games to play, all in a span of four days at the end of September. The Nats are 6-6 against the Braves, and have a whopping seven of their remaining 27 games against first-place Atlanta. They play Atlanta coming up in back-to-back weekends, Sept. 13-15 here at Nats Park. And the Nats are 13-3 against the Marlins with three more against the Fish September 20-22 at Marlins Park.

Update: The Mets tallied twice against Ross in the second inning. Joe Panik hit a run-scoring double and René Rivera followed with an RBI single. Noah Syndergaard struck out six batters through three frames and held the Nats to one base hit.

Eaton left the game at the end of the second inning, probably due to reoccurrence of nagging knee soreness. He was replaced by Parra.

After three innings, the Mets lead the Nats 2-0.

Update II: Jeff McNeil cranked a two-run shot and J.D. Davis added a two-run double to pad the Mets' lead, chasing Ross in the fourth. Brandon Nimmo drilled an RBI double off reliever Austin Voth.

Ross lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits with three walks and four strikeouts. He threw 85 pitches, 53 for strikes.

Mid-fourth, the Mets lead the Nats 7-0.

Update III: Trea Turner singled and Anthony Rendon walked in the ninth. Asdrúbal Cabrera crushed a three-run shot over the right field wall to get the Nats on the board. It was his 15th homer of the season. With two outs, Matt Adams struck out to end the game. Mets win 7-3.