Martinez goes into more detail on first base plan

Davey Martinez began his afternoon touting the positives of his logjam at first base, with Ryan Zimmerman back from the injured list to join the already productive Matt Adams and Howie Kendrick at a suddenly overcrowded position.

"For me, this is a great problem to have," the Nationals manager said. "When Zim does play, Matty's on the bench ready to go. We can plop him into any situation at any time and drive in some big runs. Same thing with Howie."

When just such a situation arose Tuesday night, though, it was Zimmerman who stepped to the plate to face Marlins right-hander Nick Anderson with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a tie game. Adams remained on the bench for a situation that never materialized.

Anderson does have reverse splits; he holds left-handed batters to a .197 batting average and .640 OPS. That played a role in Martinez's decision.

But there was another reason the manager decided to let Zimmerman, now 2-for-11 since coming off the IL, bat for himself.

"In that situation, how tough is it to pinch-hit for a guy that has 999 RBIs?" he said "I believe that he was the right guy at the right spot."

Zimmerman, of course, didn't record his milestone RBI. He grounded out to short, leaving the game tied heading into the ninth (at which point the Nationals won on Trea Turner's walk-off RBI double).

It served as the perfect lynchpin for those who adamantly believe Zimmerman should not be playing more than Adams or Kendrick. Those opinions don't matter much to Martinez, though. Before the game, he not only explained why Zimmerman was in the lineup against Marlins right-hander Zac Gallen, but why he's likely to be in the lineup a lot more in the days and weeks to come.

"I like the matchup with Zim," he began. "And let's be clear: If Zim's healthy, he's our first baseman. With that being said, I know Howie's doing well, Adams is doing well. They're going to get plenty of playing time."

Martinez didn't specify how much precisely Zimmerman will play, but he went much farther in declaring the 34-year-old his starting first baseman than he had when previously discussing the situation.

Zimmerman is now batting .207/.298/.354 with three homers and 11 RBIs, though he has played in only 24 games because of his injury. Adams has 12 homers and 35 RBIs but is batting .242/.273/.522. Kendrick, who started Tuesday night at second base, has 12 homers and 45 RBIs to go along with .325/.378/.569 slash line.

Right-hander Sandy Alcantara starts for the Marlins tonight. Martinez's lineup decision could be telling.