Nats hope Kendrick is ready Friday, need starter Saturday

Though he's out of the lineup for the fifth consecutive day, the Nationals continue to believe Howie Kendrick will be ready to return from a tight hamstring soon enough to make a trip to the injured list unnecessary.

Kendrick last played Friday night in Baltimore, going 1-for-5 with a sacrifice fly in the Nationals' 15-3 rout of the Orioles. He has complained of a tight hamstring since, and despite some hope he would be available to pinch-hit, it hasn't happened yet.

With an off-day scheduled Thursday, manager Davey Martinez felt it made more sense to sit Kendrick again and hope he returns Friday against the Marlins than try to push him to play in tonight's series finale against the Braves.

"It's getting close," Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters from Atlanta. "And I don't want to risk him hitting ... a ball in the gap and stretching it out for a double and reinjure it, and then we lose him for three or four weeks."

Any stint on the IL would have to be for a minimum of 10 days, and the transaction can only be backdated three days. So as long as he returns to play by Monday at the latest, the Nationals would still be better off than they would if they put him on the IL as soon as he got hurt.

Hamstring injuries are nothing new for Kendrick, who made two short stints on the IL last season with that ailment. Martinez has tried to go out of his way to make sure the 37-year-old postseason hero isn't overworked.

"I know it's kind of frustrating that he's not in the lineup," Martinez said. "We love when he's in the lineup. But then again, I've said this before, I'm going to take care of him. He knows that. And get him right. When he's in there, he helps us win a lot of games."

* With their first true doubleheader of the season coming up Saturday, the Nationals will need to find a sixth starter. And it appears the most likely choice is one of two prospects who would be making his major league debut if selected.

Right-hander Wil Crowe and left-hander Ben Braymer are currently with the team in Atlanta as part of the five-man taxi squad. Both are on the organization's 40-man roster and are permitted to be called up as the designated 29th man for a doubleheader game.

Crowe, the Nats' second-round pick in the 2017 draft from South Carolina, had a 3.87 ERA and 1.122 WHIP in 16 starts for Double-A Harrisburg last season before struggling in 10 starts for Triple-A Fresno in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League (6.17 ERA, 1.704 WHIP).

Braymer, an 18th-round pick in 2016 from Auburn, had a similar 2019 season. He opened eyes with a 2.51 ERA and 0.975 WHIP in 13 starts for Harrisburg before seeing those numbers balloon to 7.20 and 1.933 in 13 starts for Fresno.

Though the notion of giving 2017 first-round pick Seth Romero (who is currently in the big league bullpen) the start is intriguing, the Nationals aren't going to take that kind of risk with the left-hander, who missed all of last season following reconstructive elbow surgery.

"I would say if he didn't have Tommy John surgery and he was stretched out, yeah I'd like to see him get the start," Martinez said. "But because we're trying to limit his innings, I think he's going to be fine and do well just as a bullpen guy for right now."

The organization also isn't ready to promote 2019 first-round pick Jackson Rutledge, who is pitching at the alternate training site in Fredericksburg. Martinez did say there's a chance the tall right-hander could get a look in September.

* Sean Doolittle threw 20 pitches off a mound today in Fredericksburg and reported he felt "OK," according to Martinez. The struggling reliever, who went on the IL last week with right knee fatigue, is scheduled to face live hitters Friday.

* Though Braves right fielder Nick Markakis remains on the IL for the second straight day after potentially being exposed to COVID-19, the Nationals do not appear to be concerned any of their players could be in danger. Markakis doubled twice and reached first base twice during Monday night's game, but the only opponent he came into close contact with was Eric Thames. According to Martinez, all of the Nationals' coronavirus test results that came back this morning were negative.