On second thought, maybe Anthony Rendon will play third

The Nationals can't seem to catch a break. Teammates welcomed Anthony Rendon back to the lineup last night. The 24-year-old took the field at second base to start the game and then singled in his first at-bat. But when the second inning started, Rendon moved over to third base, replacing Yunel Escobar, who was forced to leave the game after feeling pain in his right wrist following a check swing.

Nationals manager Matt Williams said X-rays taken on Escobar's wrist were negative. Escobar will be evaluated further at Nats Park before tonight's game.

For Rendon, so much of the discussion during his rehab surrounded the Nationals' decision to have him play second base and not third. But if Escobar has to sit for an extended period of time, Rendon will return to third base like last night.

"I don't know," Rendon said when asked about the quick transition. "[It was] 2013 all over again. It's good though. I guess I'm fortunate enough to be able to move position around like that, so I guess that's a good thing."

When Rendon shifted to third base, Danny Espinosa entered the game at second. Espinosa, who is second on the Nats in home runs, was the odd man out upon Rendon's return from the disabled list. Now the versatile 28-year-old is seemingly right back in the equation.

"Espi provides us that flexibility," Williams said before last night's game. "And the fact that he can play third, he can certainly play second, Anthony can move over to third where it's familiar for him to give guys a day if they need it. So that's, it's good to have that."

Meanwhile, the Nats' offense continues trudging through the first week of June. They've scored six runs in their last 36 innings and have hit just one home run in the past seven games. Last night, the Nationals left nine men on base and were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

"We can look back a week and a half, and it seems like we were getting a hit every time there was a guy in scoring position," Williams said. "The key to this whole thing is not to be one way or the other. Everybody that steps up there wants to get a base hit when the guys is out there. They want to get the guy in from third. We gotta let them play. They understand. They're professional players. They feel it when they don't. And they support each other. So we'll come out there (Friday) and see if we can do a better job of that and score a whole bunch of runs and beat the Cubs."