Martinez hopes to find days off soon for Harper, Turner

The 162-games-a-year player is nearly extinct. Five big leaguers actually did it last season (Joey Votto, Rougned Odor, Eric Hosmer, Alcides Escobar, Freddy Galvis) but that was the league's highest total in a decade.

Only one player in Nationals history has done it: Ryan Zimmerman in 2007. And only two others have even reached the 160-game mark in club history: Austin Kearns in 2007, Danny Espinosa in 2012.

So the odds of anybody making it all the way through this season without getting a day off are quite slim. And yet, with the season today reaching the 20 percent mark, three Nationals have appeared in every game: Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Michael A. Taylor. Harper and Turner have started all 32 games, with Taylor coming off the bench three times.

This isn't what Davey Martinez intended when he took over as manager. But injuries to other key players, not to mention the club's slow start to the season and need to try to scratch out as many April wins as possible, has left Martinez with little choice but to keep sending his younger everyday players out there, well, every day.

"It is worrisome, cause you do want to give these guys a day off," Martinez said. "Luckily we scored enough runs (Tuesday night) to give Trea a couple innings off. He thought it was funny. I told him 'There's your day off.'"

Turner got a chance to sit for the final two innings of that 12-4 rout. He and Harper have been pulled from a couple of lopsided games early, but each has played in 273 of the Nationals' 279 innings this season.

Martinez intends to put a stop to this sometime soon, probably once injured players return to the lineup. Anthony Rendon, who is DH'ing tonight for Single-A Potomac and figures to come off the disabled list this weekend, could set in motion some dominoes that allow Turner to sit one day coming up, with Wilmer Difo no longer needed at third base and able to fill in at shortstop.

It's not just about the three guys who have played in all 32 games so far, though. Others aren't getting much time off lately, either. Zimmerman has played in 30-of-32 games. Howie Kendrick, who was supposed to come off the bench, is playing in his 29th game today and has started 16 of the last 17 games.

Martinez wanted to give Kendrick today's matinee off, but the veteran refused the offer when the two spoke after Wednesday night's game.

"I had a good conversation yesterday with Howie about giving him a day off today, and he said no," Martinez said. "He wanted to play. So there it is, he's playing."

The key to all of this, Martinez said, is an open line of communication between player and manager. And the importance of players being honest about their physical state on any given day.

"If guys need a day off, they need a day off," Martinez said. "It all depends on where they're at and where I feel they're at, and we'll go from there. I talk to Harp all the time and I tell him: 'You've got to be honest with me. You need a day off, you're going to get a day off.' Perfectly, it's against a left-handed pitcher, but it doesn't matter. If he needs one, he needs one. And I'm always communicating with them about that."