Ruiz out with bone bruise, Adams gets first drills at first base

Keibert Ruiz has a bone bruise in his right knee, the result of a foul ball he hit off himself Saturday, and remains unavailable to catch for today's series finale against the Mets.

The Nationals planned to have their rookie start multiple games of this five-game weekend series, but he wound up catching only the first half of Saturday's doubleheader. Fouling a ball off his right knee in the second inning, he writhed in pain for several minutes before returning to the batter's box and completing the at-bat.

Ruiz did finish the game but reported a sore knee afterward and was held out of Sunday's game, which he likely would've caught if not for the injury.

"He's going to be day-to-day," manager Davey Martinez said in his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "He's got a bone bruise. I spoke to him yesterday when he left, and he's pretty sore. Just want to give him another day, see how he feels after the treatment today."

Fellow rookie Riley Adams caught Friday, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and Martinez didn't want to push him to catch a fourth straight day. So it'll be Alex Avila behind the plate for the first time in two months.

Avila, the club's No. 2 catcher behind Yan Gomes through the season's first three months, strained both of his calf muscles playing second base in an emergency July 1 after the Nationals were out of healthy infielders. He also landed on the COVID-19 injured list at the end of that month, delaying his return to the active roster until this week.

Martinez wanted to have Avila catch Corbin all along, hoping the experienced battery would work well together and help the lefty start a turnaround to his dismal season.

"I know he's familiar with Alex," Martinez said. "He's caught him a bunch. I want to make sure that by the time the season ends, Patrick is headed in the right direction. He's throwing the ball well. I think a lot of it has to do with location and how he utilizes his pitches. I talk a lot about him using both sides of the plate. I want to see that happen today. Hopefully, Alex can help guide him in that direction."

Adams, meanwhile, got his first opportunity to get some pregame work at first base this morning. The 25-year-old catcher took grounders and learned some footwork technique from infield coach Tim Bogar.

It's the first of what will likely be many such practice sessions as the Nationals try to get Adams comfortable with the idea of playing first base as a secondary position to his regular duties behind the plate. He may not see actual game action there this season, but the club wants him to get familiar with it enough to give it a try next spring.

"We'll see how the transition goes this first week, and we'll go from there. I don't want to jump into things," Martinez said. "I told Riley: 'Your primary position is catching, and you've done well. This is only something that, if in game something happens and say we pinch-hit Ruiz and we could keep you in the game with a double-switch, and we know we could put you at first base, we could possibly move Josh Bell to left field. This way we have both catchers still in the game.' "