Soroka building up to bullpen session; Young and Call return to lineup with Lowe scratched

MIAMI – The Nationals rotation is set for this weekend, with Mitchell Parker, Trevor Williams and MacKenzie Gore lined up to face the Marlins. Then, Jake Irvin will be ready to start Monday’s series opener in Pittsburgh. But by Tuesday, manager Davey Martinez will need a fifth starter.

That fifth spot was reserved for Michael Soroka, the right-hander who signed a one–year, $9 million contract with the Nats over the offseason. But the 27-year-old was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 4 (backdated to April 1) with a right biceps strain after leaving his season debut following his third pitch of the sixth inning in Toronto.

Soroka was charged with five hits, four runs, one walk and three strikeouts in his five-plus innings against the Blue Jays. And although landing on the IL this early in the season is never a good thing, the Nats believed he wouldn’t be down for long.

He played catch on Tuesday back at Nationals Park, and while he felt good, the Nats do have to build him back up before he can be ready to return to game action again.

“He threw the other day. He said he felt good,” Martinez said during his pregame media session ahead of the series opener against the Marlins. “So we just got to build him back up now. So hopefully, we get him back soon.”

This early in the season, that may sound like Soroka has to essentially repeat spring training again. But Martinez is confident that won’t be necessary for the right-hander, with an extended bullpen scheduled as his next baseball activity.

“His (buildup) is not going to be as drastic,” the skipper said. “I think he's going to be ready a lot quicker than we had hoped for. And that's great. But we want to make sure that when he comes back, we have no issues. So we'll get him out there. He's going to throw another extended bullpen here the next time again, and then we'll see where we're at from there.”

Soroka is eligible to come off the injured list Wednesday, so the Nats will have to fill Tuesday’s start without him.

The Nationals filled this spot in the rotation with a bullpen game this past Tuesday against the Dodgers. The group of Brad Lord (making his first major league start), Colin Poche, Orlando Ribalta and Jackson Rutledge held Los Angeles’ dangerous lineup to just two runs (both on solo home runs), eight hits, five walks and 15 strikeouts. That gives Martinez confidence if they decide to go a similar route on this upcoming Tuesday against the Pirates.

“I want them to go out there as they're going to relieve,” he said. “And like I said, we go batter-to-batter. Just get outs. That's the biggest thing. And they did a really good job the other day when they came in and had to do it.”

* Jacob Young will make just his third start in the Nats’ last eight games tonight. The center fielder has struggled in the early portion of the new season, going 3-for-18 (.167) with only one stolen base in four attempts.

Even though Alex Call has been performing well (8-for-20 for a .400 average, five walks to one strikeout and a .941 OPS in seven games), Martinez likes how Young matches up against Marlins starter Edward Cabrera’s changeup.

“I wanted him to play today,” Martinez said of Young, who is back in center field and his usual No. 9 spot in the lineup. “Cabrera's got a really nasty changeup. I think it's a good fit for us. Plus, too, if he can get on base for us, good things could happen.”

Cabrera, making his season debut tonight, used his changeup the most last year, throwing it offering 33.4 percent of the time, with batters only hitting .147 off it and whiffing 34.2 percent of the time.

As it turns out, both Young and Call will get a chance to face Cabrera with Nathaniel Lowe being a late scratch from the lineup due to an illness. Young remains in center field and Call enters in left as James Wood becomes the designated hitter and Josh Bell slides to first base.

Thank goodness for the depth the Nationals have.

“So far, so good. They've all helped us here in some ways or another,” Martinez said of the four-man rotation in the outfield before the lineup change. “Alex is playing well. He understands his role. I'll get him in there again here soon. But I want to play these other three guys, Jacob included. He's a big part of our success moving forward. So he's got to get an opportunity to get some at-bats.”