Thomas gets first day off, Meneses back to DH

MINNEAPOLIS – Two members of the Nationals lineup started each of the season’s first 20 games. Only one of them will have started each of the first 21 games.

Lane Thomas is not playing today’s series finale against the Twins, the right fielder finally getting a chance to rest more than three weeks after Opening Day.

“Just felt like giving him a day off today,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I’ve been wanting to give him a day off, so I thought today would be a good day for him.”

Thomas has been perhaps the team’s most consistent hitter so far, though he has cooled off in recent days. Owner of a .323 batting average through the first 16 games, he’s gone two for his last 17 with seven strikeouts, including three during Saturday’s 10-4 win at Target Field.

The 27-year-old talked this spring about his desire to get off to a strong start, recognizing how streaky he was last season. He’s been pleased with the way he’s put together quality at-bats for the most part this month.

“Just being aggressive,” he said. “I think all those situations, you can get passive and let the nerves get a hold of you a little bit. I’m just trying to be aggressive and get in that situational hitting mindset. It’s seemed to work so far.”

Thomas also has shined in right field, aside from a few notable fly balls that have fallen between him and center fielder Victor Robles when the two haven’t communicated well.

“He’s handled right field really well,” Martinez said. “His throws have been really good. He’s getting good jumps on balls. He’s playing really well.”

With Thomas sitting today, Jeimer Candelario is the only player left on the roster who has started every game this season. The club’s third baseman got off to a slow start at the plate, batting .195 through his first 10 games but has turned hot since, batting .342 over his last 10 games.

* Dominic Smith is back at first base today, with Joey Meneses back to serving as designated hitter after the two swapped positions Saturday.

The Nationals have prioritized Smith’s superior defense so far this season, leaving Meneses to spend almost every day as DH. But Martinez also sensed the 30-year-old slugger might have been hurt by not being more engaged in games, so he gave him the start at first base Saturday and watched him rack up four hits.

Will Martinez now try to find more opportunities to put Meneses in the field?

“We’re going to try to get him out there a little more and let Dom DH,” the manager said. “He’s swinging the bat a lot better. I don’t know if it’s because he played the field yesterday, but he’s been working the last week on getting ready early, being on time. And it’s helped him out a lot. We’ll see how he does today, but I definitely want to get him out there and get him more involved in the field, not just let him DH every day.”

There is a defensive trade-off, of course, because Smith is clearly the superior first baseman. That makes for a tricky calculation as Martinez tries to decide who to put there on a given day.

“It’s a tough task,” he said. “We’ll look at a lot of different things. Our starting pitchers. Whether it’s a team that hits more fly balls. We’ll look at all that stuff and try to get him out there as much as possible.”