Robles still not seeing results out of leadoff spot

The Nationals' decision to sell off veterans at the trade deadline and transition into a rebuilding phase freed up Davey Martinez to try some different things with his lineup without the pressure to win every night. And high on that list was the return of Victor Robles to the leadoff spot.

It's a look the fourth-year manager liked when this season began, but after a week of less-than-ideal results, Martinez bumped Robles all the way down to the bottom of the lineup, where he remained for four months.

Robles has had a chance to try things out in the leadoff spot again over the last week. The results, though, have been anything but encouraging. In six games batting first, he's a mere 2-for-22 with a .231 on-base percentage and .227 slugging percentage.

There was a leadoff homer in the first inning Wednesday against the Phillies, and there have been three walks as well. But in the larger picture, Robles hasn't seen any more success batting first than he did batting eighth.

"Overall, I think he's doing better. He's actually giving himself a chance to hit every pitch, which is nice," Martinez said Saturday during one of his Zoom sessions with reporters. "He's missing some balls. I know he's hit some balls in the air, sometimes it's just a timing thing. But I'd rather see a ball hit in the air than on the ground at times. I think he's doing fine. He's handled himself well."

This stretch, though, brought Robles' season batting average down to a paltry .193, his OPS down to .599. Those kind of numbers can loom large in a young player's head.

"The biggest thing with Vic right now is not to worry what his batting average is, or that stuff. Just continue to get better," Martinez said. "Because we need him to get better. He's a big part of our future, still. We want to see him grow and continue to get better."

Robles continues to point to his No. 1 objective when leading off as his primary motivation.

"That is the most important thing for me, to get on base," he said Wednesday night, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I need to be on base to allow the hitters behind me to be able to have runners on base and drive me in, basically. So the big thing is to make sure I try as much as possible to get on base any way I can."

Out of the lineup Saturday night because Martinez didn't like the matchup against Braves right-hander Charlie Morton, Robles did come off the bench late and wound up delivering a pair of hits. He doubled down the left field line in the top of the eighth, then immediately followed Riley Adams' go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth with a sharp grounder deep in the hole at shortstop for an infield single.

Small steps, to be sure, and they didn't come out of the leadoff spot. But right now, Robles and the Nationals will take any positive developments they can get.

"We talk to him a lot: 'Just go out there and focus on today's game, and every at-bat. Don't worry about the outcome,'" Martinez said. "'Just go out there and try to help us win today.' His attitude has been great. He's been working hard."