Thomas moves up to leadoff spot, Cruz returns from ankle sprain

For the second straight day, the Nationals have someone new batting in a key spot at the top of their lineup.

Following Sunday’s decision to move Keibert Ruiz up to the No. 2 position in Milwaukee, manager Davey Martinez decided to bump Lane Thomas up to the leadoff role for tonight’s series opener against the Dodgers.

It’s only the second time this season Thomas has hit leadoff for the Nationals, but it’s hardly foreign territory for him. He started 39 games in the No. 1 position after his acquisition last summer from the Cardinals and produced an eye-opening .852 OPS from that spot.

Martinez had been thinking about giving Thomas another chance to bat leadoff against left-handers, and with Tyler Anderson starting tonight for Los Angeles, the manager felt this was the right moment to try it out.

“He’s swinging the bat well,” Martinez said of Thomas, who went 5-for-12 with two doubles, a triple and a homer over the weekend against the Brewers. “He hits lefties really well. For me, it’s just trying to get him up there against this lefty. … It’s something I thought about last night after looking at everything. I feel very comfortable with him leading off. He did it last year and did well. So with him and moving Keibert up to two, let’s see what happens.”

Ruiz moved to No. 2 for Sunday’s game in Milwaukee, pushing Juan Soto to No. 3, and the end result was an 8-2 victory. Whether those specific lineup changes were responsible for the offensive surge is debatable, but Martinez wasn’t about to switch up a good thing one day later.

With another lefty, Julio Urías, scheduled to start Wednesday, Thomas could find himself leading off a second time in this series. It remains to be seen if Martinez would consider keeping him there against righties, or if he’ll stick with César Hernández, who has led off 41 of the Nats’ 42 games prior to tonight.

* Nelson Cruz is back in the lineup tonight after departing Sunday’s game with what Martinez termed at the time a sprained right ankle.

Cruz hurt himself sliding into second base as he tried to stretch a fourth-inning single to right into a double. The 41-year-old designated hitter tried to take some swings in the cage as the game progressed, but when his spot in the order came up again in the top of the seventh, backup catcher Riley Adams pinch-hit for him.

Martinez said Sunday he didn’t think the team would need to bring in another position player as insurance in case Cruz couldn’t play tonight. Sure enough, the veteran DH informed him he was good to go.

“He called me this morning, said he felt good, said he wanted to play,” Martinez said. “So that’s awesome. He’s back in there today.”

* Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross were both at Nationals Park this afternoon, getting a workout in before heading out to make rehab starts Tuesday.

Strasburg, who will start for low Single-A Fredericksburg, and Ross, who will start for Double-A Harrisburg, had been in West Palm Beach, Fla., since the end of spring training, eventually building their arms up to throw simulated games in advance of their respective rehab assignments.

Each right-hander is scheduled for four innings and/or 60 pitches on Tuesday (weather permitting). Each is likely to make at least three rehab starts, building up to six innings and 90 pitches, before coming off the 60-day injured list sometime in early-to-mid June.

Asked what it was like seeing them back at the ballpark at last, Martinez replied: “It was nice. I just can’t wait to see them every day.”