Call is latest to get call as leadoff hitter

DENVER – In this, their eighth game of the season, the Nationals will use their third different leadoff hitter.

Alex Call gets the call tonight against the Rockies, batting first after Lane Thomas (five games) and Luis García (two games) previously handled the responsibility.

Why Call, particularly against José Ureña, a right-handed starter? His .400 on-base percentage so far this season makes a good case for him. So does this particular matchup with Ureña, who struggled with command in his season debut last week.

“The matchup with this guy, I like Alex up there,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He walks some guys. Alex does a great job of being that pesky hitter. We’ll see if we can get him on base.”

Call has performed well since being thrust into a semi-regular job as the starting left fielder while Corey Dickerson is on the injured list with a calf strain. The 28-year-old is batting just .214 (3-for-14) but he’s drawn a team-high five walks, elevating his on-base percentage. He’s also tied with Thomas for the team lead with four RBIs.

“I feel like I haven’t had a whole lot of pitches to work with that are really in my zone. So I’ve just kind of battled,” he said. “I feel solid about where I’m at. I want to be able to drive the ball in the gaps, and I know that stuff will come. But to be able to have so many walks to start off, and to be getting on base at a good rate, once the extra-base hits start coming, that’s really going to be beneficial for all of us.”

Martinez noted Call has cut down on his chase rate from last season, another reason he makes sense for the leadoff role. It’s a role, though, that always seems to take on added significance, even though it guarantees only one actual at-bat leading off an inning.

“You’re leading off the game, but after that you’re just another hitter and you’re going to come up in different situations in the game,” Martinez said. “For me, that first inning you want to try to get a guy to get the team going. We’ve tried a lot of guys. As you know, we’ve put some big heavy hitters up there to see if we can get that first run early. Today it’s Alex Call, just because of the matchup.”

Nobody’s going to confuse Call for Kyle Schwarber, who famously was thrown into the leadoff spot in June 2021 and proceeded to crank out game-opening home runs on a nightly basis. But Call’s not trying to be that guy.

If anything, he’s trying to treat this assignment no differently than he would if he was batting lower in the order.

“You really want it to just be another at-bat and take the same approach,” he said. “Sometimes I swing at the first pitch, sometimes I don’t. Same thing if I’m hitting seventh or eighth or whatever. But then after that, you’re settled in and you just try to put a good at-bat together and try to make the pitcher work as hard as he can and get your pitch.

“And if you don’t get it, then hopefully you walk to first base. That’s kind of the bottom line for me.”