Not to confuse you, but Danny Espinosa switches back

PHILADELPHIA - It appears that infielder Danny Espinosa is returning to switch-hitting. Espinosa's first two at-bats of the season resulted in groundball outs from the right side of the plate against Phillies lefty Cole Hamels. But when Espinosa's turn came to lead off the eighth against right-hander Jeanmar Gomez, he stepped into the left side of the batter's box.

The debate over whether Espinosa should be a switch-hitter has been going on in the Nationals organization for a few years. His struggles from the plate are well-documented. Over the past two seasons, he's hit a dismal .199 in 158 games. Much of the 2013 season was spent in the minor leagues. Last year, he was expected to be a bench player until Ryan Zimmerman's injury forced Anthony Rendon to third base, leaving a need at second.

Espinosa had 97 strikeouts in 249 at-bats and hit just .183 from the left side of the plate in 2014. However, as a right-handed hitter, he produced three home runs and 10 RBIs while batting .301. The career numbers reflect similar results. He owns a lifetime .213 batting average as a left-handed hitter facing right-handed pitching versus a .271 average from the right side against left-handers.

The saga took an interesting turn when Nats general manager Mike Rizzo announced a few weeks before spring training that Espinosa would scrap switch-hitting and bat exclusively from the right side no matter who was on the mound. Sure enough, when Espinosa showed up in Viera, Fla., he began taking batting practice from the right side. Virtually every day, the 27-year-old would take the Space Coast Stadium field after practice to get extra hitting work with Nationals manager Matt Williams and hitting coach Rick Schu. The experiment continued throughout the Grapefruit League season. In 56 at-bats, he hit a team-low .125 for players who made the Nats' opening day roster.

It seems as if the six weeks were just a trial run and that Espinosa wasn't buying the idea. He may have proven his point after ripping a double against Gomez that rolled to the right field wall to start the eighth last night. Moments later, he crossed the plate when Clint Robinson banged a single up the middle for the Nats' second run.

"You know, I feel like left-handed I can go up there and compete and that's what I feel comfortable with right now," Espinosa said. "It's just a matter of comfort and getting in there and feeling comfortable and being comfortable in my at-bat and that's what I want to do."

Williams appeared on board with the idea for Espinosa to return to switch-hitting when he spoke about it after last night's loss.

"It's a mutual decision," Williams said. "We want him to be free of mind when he gets out there. He hit a lot right-handed in spring, so he's got experience doing that, so if he gets a matchup that he feels comfortable with, righty-righty, he can do that. But tonight, he got a good ball to hit and whacked it. Got himself in scoring position for us."

Meanwhile, Espinosa wasn't exactly enthusiastic when asked about how the experience was throughout the spring.

"I felt all right," Espinosa said. "It's a matter of repetition and you don't get a ton of at-bats in spring training, so you're going up there right-on-right, and when the games matter, you don't really know how they're going to attack you. You've never done it, you've never faced them. So you know, I kind of have an idea of what they're going to do to me left-handed, so I felt better."

Espinosa struck out from the left side of the plate to end the ninth inning against Phillies right-handed closer Jonathan Papelbon.