Williams hopes to blend returning players with substitutes

Nationals manager Matt Williams provided an update on the returns of Anthony Rendon (quad), Jayson Werth (wrist) and Ryan Zimmerman (foot). All three starters got back in the lineup during last week's 10-game road trip.

Rendon returned July 25 and has eight hits in his last nine games with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs.

"Anthony I think is fine," Williams said. "He was able to continue to hit during his DL stint. So that helps."

Williams pointed to how Rendon and Zimmerman were able to get back to hitting faster than Werth was able to do during their disabled list stops.

"Zim also was ... able to continue to hit even though he couldn't run," Williams said. "The one that didn't get a chance to do that was Jayson. Having a broken wrist, you just simply can't do it. I think he's probably the furthest away. Zim hit a ball extremely hard last night and lined out two, three times in New York. So I think those are positives for him. Anthony hit a homer in New York, has had some hits, had another one last night. I think they're fine. They are getting there."

Werth is hitting .182 (4-for-22) in his last seven games. Zimmerman is hitting .231 (6-for-26) his past seven games, but also has two homers and two RBIs. Werth last hit a home run May 13 at Arizona.

Shortstop Ian Desmond has been able to hit the ball well in his last 15 games. During that span Desmond is hitting .283 with 15 hits, four homers and 10 RBIs. Prior to that, he had only six hits in a 15-game clip.

"(Desmond) has been better outside the strike zone," Williams said. "Getting in better hitter counts. That will be a byproduct of him having more success. The better pitches you see to hit, the better success you'll have."

With the return of these three starters, players like Danny Espinosa, Tyler Moore, Clint Robinson and Dan Uggla have gone back to their utility roles. Williams said they still look to get these players games and at-bats as well.

"You try," Williams said. "Last night, we had an opportunity to do that with Clint. As we go, we have to be mindful of Zim's foot and Jayson and the strength in his wrist, and Anthony's leg. There are going to be times where we're going to have to give them a day and make sure that we're mindful of them being available for us for the rest of the season and not having another setback."