Nats will use fifth starter Tuesday, sooner than expected

The second half schedule afforded the Nationals the option of waiting a while before using their fifth starter. They’ve decided, though, to go ahead and use him now.

The Nats will send that yet-to-be-announced starter to the mound Tuesday against the Padres in what is actually the team’s fourth game coming out of the All-Star break. That pushes left-hander Mitchell Parker back to Wednesday’s game, with Patrick Corbin (who started Friday night’s second half opener) pitching Thursday’s series finale against San Diego.

The presence of an off-day on the schedule this week gave the Nationals some room to maneuver if they wished. They don’t actually need a fifth starter until Saturday’s game in St. Louis, the eighth game coming out of the break.

But rather than offer all of the extra rest to one pitcher, the club decided to give others (especially Parker) an extra day before taking the mound.

“Exactly, that’s what it boils down to,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We want to try to give these guys as much rest as we possibly can. Some of these guys are going to pitch a lot more than they have in the past, so we’re trying to just stretch this out a little bit.”

The Nationals are for now listing Tuesday’s starter as “TBA,” and Martinez said he wouldn’t be able to name the planned pitcher until later this evening at the earliest. The most likely candidate, though, appears to be DJ Herz.

Herz made seven starts for the Nats through June and early July before he was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on July 8, a transaction the club explained was meant to give the rookie a much-needed breather. The idea all along was to bring him back to the majors sometime after the All-Star break, and it appears that could happen as soon as Tuesday.

Herz made one start for Rochester since his demotion, throwing 62 pitches over 3 1/3 innings July 14 in an outing that was intentionally planned to be short to conserve his innings during this stretch. In seven total big league starts, he went 1-3 with a 5.17 ERA and 1.404 WHIP, though included in that timeframe were two dominant outings in which the lefty struck out 10 or more hitters without issuing a walk and allowing one or fewer runs.

The Nationals wound up promoting 2019 first-round pick Jackson Rutledge to make a spot start in Herz’s place last weekend in Milwaukee. Rutledge impressed in that appearance, but returned to Triple-A and was roughed up for eight runs in only 3 1/3 innings Saturday night at Syracuse.

When they recall a fifth starter, the Nats will need to demote a reliever, bringing their bullpen total back down to eight. Right-hander Eduardo Salazar, who impressed in his club debut last weekend in Milwaukee, appears to be the most likely choice because he still has minor league options, unlike Tanner Rainey and Jordan Weems.