Scherzer ready, Eaton rests, first taxi squad deployed

After throwing two days ago and testing out his hamstring, Max Scherzer went up to Davey Martinez and said he could pitch that night. The manager chucked today as he recalled the story and the three-time Cy Young Award winner who would make such a ridiculous offer.

"Your day is coming up," Martinez told him. "So be ready."

That day is Tuesday. Scherzer will start against the Mets at Citi Field, making his scheduled turn in the rotation as promised when he had to depart his last outing after only one inning.

Scherzer hasn't reported any issues with his right hamstring, which he acknowledged he tweaked in the days leading up to each of his last two starts. It wasn't a factor against the Blue Jays, when he cruised through 7 1/3 scoreless innings. It was a major factor last week against the Mets at Nationals Park, when he gave up a quick run and needed 27 pitches to complete one inning before leaving the game.

Scherzer maintained he could take care of it and not miss a turn in the rotation. He was aided by an extra day off in the schedule, so he'll be pitching on five days' rest instead of the standard four. He passed every test he needed to in the meantime, playing catch, throwing a bullpen session and then going through his normal between-starts routine.

"He's good to go tomorrow," Martinez said from New York during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "He said he feels fine."

The Nationals might have to watch Scherzer's pitch count Tuesday night. Even though he threw 112 pitches in that start against Toronto, his extremely low total last time out and concern about his right leg will make the coaching staff more conservative than normal. The weather could also play a factor.

"Today it's really humid and muggy. So that takes a toll, especially if you're pitching," Martinez said. "And he's a sweater. So we've got to keep an eye on him."

* Tonight's lineup includes one significant tweak: Josh Harrison is starting in right field and batting second instead of Adam Eaton.

It's been a rough start to the season for Eaton, who is batting just .222 with three walks and 13 strikeouts. He's in a 3-for-23 slump with zero walks and eight strikeouts and looked particularly out of whack during an early at-bat Sunday against the Orioles' Asher Wojciechowski before a fifth-inning double down the left field line off reliever Shawn Armstrong.

"His last at-bat was good," Martinez said. "That's the Eaton we know. He stayed back, drove the ball to left field. He's going to be fine. He was hitting some balls hard earlier, kind of fallen off a little bit. But as long as he stays on the ball and uses the whole field, he's really good when he starts driving the ball to left-center field. We need him."

The decision to sit Eaton tonight was made both because Martinez felt like he was ready for a day off after starting 12 straight games and because he liked the matchup with Harrison against Mets starter Steven Matz.

Harrison is 5-for-10 in his career versus Matz with two homers, including one last week at Nationals Park.

"I thought today would be a perfect time to give (Eaton) a day off," Martinez said. "He's been playing every day. Getting Josh in there against Matz, I thought, was a good thing. He gets a day off. We've got all these games in a row now. So he'll come back and play a lot now."

* The first road trip of the season offers the Nationals their first opportunity to utilize a taxi squad. Major League Baseball is permitting teams to bring up to five players on the road who can participate in pregame workouts and are eligible to be added to the active roster if someone gets hurt.

The five players the Nats chose to bring with them to New York include some obvious names as well as some surprising ones: reliever Will Harris, outfielder Andrew Stevenson, catcher Raudy Read, left-hander Seth Romero and infielder Luis García.

Harris is rehabbing from a groin strain, and if all goes well Tuesday during a session against live hitters, he'll be ready to come off the injured list. Stevenson and Read have big league experience and can jump in if a position player (or, in Read's case, a catcher) go down. But Romero and García are inexperienced prospects aren't generally thought of as close to big-league ready.

In this unusual season, though, development can take a back seat to need. Romero and García have both been at the alternate training site in Fredericksburg, and Martinez and his coaching staff wanted to take this opportunity to watch both in person. But the manager also admitted they would be willing to activate either in case of emergency.

"I want them to get used to being around us," Martinez said. "But also, García can play short, he can play second. He can even play third base if need be if something happens. And Romero's just another left-handed arm. He's been throwing the ball well in Fredericksburg, so I wanted to put eyes on him and get him up here. But if somebody goes down, he's another guy we feel like could help us in the bullpen or even spot-start."