Doolittle, Harvey remain in D.C. until cleared to throw

SAN FRANCISCO – Though Sean Doolittle and Hunter Harvey will be eligible to come off the 10-day injured list this weekend, both relievers remain in Washington as the Nationals open a nine-game West Coast tonight, neither having been cleared to resume throwing yet.

Doolittle (left elbow sprain) went on the IL on April 20, which means he’s eligible to return Saturday. That, of course, won’t happen. The veteran left-hander is working daily at Nationals Park with a physical therapist, trying to get his arm ready to throw again.

The same applies to Harvey (right pronator strain), who went on the IL on April 21 and is eligible to return Sunday. He likewise is working with the physical therapist in D.C., though the right-hander has been itching to start throwing as soon as possible.

Harvey, whose career is littered with injuries both to his arm and nearly every other part of his body, does appear to be closer to picking up a ball again than Doolittle.

“I know that Harvey’s itching to throw already, but we’ve got to be very careful because of his history,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Doolittle, I don’t think he’s going to be ready probably until we get back (from the road trip).”

Martinez said both pitchers will be on the first flight to West Palm Beach, Fla., as soon as they’re cleared to throw. They’ll commence their rehab there at the Nationals’ spring training facility, then potentially go on short minor league rehab assignments to build their arms back up before rejoining the big league bullpen.

The Nats have survived the losses of both thanks to the surprisingly effective work of their beleaguered bullpen, which enters play tonight with a 3.61 ERA (compared to the rotation’s 6.33 ERA). That bullpen, though, is about to be thinned even further.

Beginning Sunday, all major league clubs must reduce their active roster from 28 to 26 players. The Nationals, who have been carrying an 11-man bullpen, will have to remove two members of that group from the roster.

In turn, others will be asked to pitch more regularly, and some will be asked to pitch more innings within a particular game. Martinez mentioned Josh Rogers (who opened the season in the rotation), Paolo Espino and Erasmo Ramírez as relievers who are being built up now to throw multiple innings in the near future.

* Two regulars who had the last two days off are back in tonight’s lineup against the Giants: Lane Thomas and Alcides Escobar.

Both have struggled early this season. Thomas enters the evening batting .185/.237/.241 with 21 strikeouts and only four walks. Escobar enters batting .123/.194/.140 with 17 strikeouts and only four walks.

Martinez said both players used the back-to-back days off to work on specific things with their swings. Thomas’ goal: Get ready to swing earlier.

“We talked a lot about his leg kick and getting his hands back,” Martinez said. “He shortened up his leg kick, trying to get his foot down. Hopefully, that will help him today.”

Escobar, meanwhile, was tasked with trying to make sure he hits the ball more out in front of the plate instead of waiting as long as he is, too much so as he tries to hit the ball to the opposite field. The result has been a lot of popups to the right side of the infield.

“He’s almost pushing at the ball, and it’s causing him to get under the ball,” Martinez said. “He just can’t catch up. They talked to him about getting back, loading a little bit earlier and trying to hit the ball more out front. He’s so worried about hitting the ball the other way, because that’s what he’s so good at. But sometimes you get into bad habits by trying to hit the ball the other way and getting underneath it. Just hit the ball out in front and stay on top. If he’s a little late, it’s going to go that way.”