Nats notes: Decision time on Rendon, bullpen suddenly hot

Just about every day over the last week-plus, Davey Martinez has been asked if Anthony Rendon will be available to pinch-hit that night, and the Nationals manager has almost always answered in a hopeful manner.

Martinez, though, sounded less hopeful when asked about the possibility Monday afternoon as the Nationals prepared to face the Cardinals with their star third baseman still out of the lineup with a bruised left elbow.

"He's going to take swings later on in the day, and we'll see," Martinez said.

The final confirmation came in the bottom of the eighth inning. Down 6-3 and with the bases loaded and two outs, Brian Dozier stepped to the plate to face Cardinals reliever John Brebbia. It would've been an ideal scenario for Rendon to emerge from the dugout and bring his 1.182 OPS to the plate to a roar from the crowd.

But Rendon was nowhere to be found. Dozier batted for himself and popped out on the second pitch he saw, killing the Nationals' last realistic chance to rally and sending them on their way to their ninth loss in 10 series openers to begin this season.

Afterward, Martinez admitted Rendon indeed wasn't available.

"No, he tried again today and he couldn't do it," the manager said. "So we're going to sit back here and re-evaluate and see what's going on tomorrow."

This is now seven times in eight games Rendon has been unable to play since getting struck in the elbow by a pitch in Miami. The only time he appeared (Friday against the Padres) he went 0-for-3 and was hit by another pitch.

It's been a maddening week-plus for those who have seen this happen before. (The Nationals waited a week to put Rendon on the disabled list in April 2018 after he fouled a ball off his foot, leaving them with a short roster.) And perhaps they're now inching closer to a comparable decision on the slow-healing third baseman.

If Rendon can't play again today, the Nats could place him on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Saturday (the day after he last played). He'd be eligible to return May 7.

Of course, had they simply placed him on the IL last week after he had been unable to play for three days, he would be eligible to return May 1.

It's too late to do anything about that now.

* It's only two games, but it's certainly worth mentioning: The Nationals bullpen has pitched a whole lot better of late.

After churning out eight scoreless innings to make Sunday's 11-inning win over the Padres possible, the Nats relief corps put up four more zeros Monday night. It came in a losing effort, but that didn't diminish the performance.

Owners of an major league-worst 7.34 ERA before this stretch, the Nationals bullpen has reduced that number more than an entire run, down to 6.25. The group no longer ranks 30th in the majors, having now leapfrogged the Orioles (6.68).

The most impressive aspect of this quick turnaround? Seven different relievers have contributed: Erick Fedde, Kyle Barraclough, Joe Ross, Tony Sipp, Wander Suero, Matt Grace and Justin Miller (who pitched in both games).

In fact, the only reliever on the roster who hasn't appeared the last two days is Sean Doolittle, the one guy who hadn't been a concern.

The question now is whether there may be any carryover effect and actual long-term success.

"That could be a carryover," Martinez said. "They are starting to pitch like they are capable of pitching. And the biggest thing is they are starting to throw strikes, which is nice."