Williams updates LaRoche's back, discusses facing Kershaw
By Josh Land
Adam LaRoche's back has landed him on the bench for the second time in seven games.
After his bout with his back last week against the Phillies, LaRoche didn't miss a game, pinch-hitting in the one contest he didn't start, and then returning to the lineup the next five in a row before being removed from Monday's game in the seventh because of tightness.
LaRoche is out again tonight against the Dodgers, as the Nationals take a cautious approach with the veteran first baseman.
"His back's tight, so we're going to give him today and re-evaluate tomorrow morning, see how he is. But it's pretty tight on him," manager Matt Williams said at Dodger Stadium. "So he's getting worked on, getting lots of stuff done and trying to loosen it up a little bit."
Williams said he's giving serious consideration to not making this a one-night thing. LaRoche might also be given Wednesday to rest, especially with an off-day coming Thursday.
"We'll see how he is after tonight, but he's not going to do anything today. We'll see how he feels tomorrow," Williams said. "We're not going to have any BP on the field tomorrow to test him out. So I would imagine that he's probably going to get another day. But we'll see. If he comes in tomorrow and says, 'Hey, I feel great. I want to be in there,' then I can't deny him that."
LaRoche's back troubles have overlapped with a slump that has seen his average dip from .276 to .257. The 34-year-old is 6-for-51 with a .118/.246/.196 slash line, one double, one homer and four RBIs over his last 15 games.
Does Williams believe health is the reason for LaRoche's struggles?
"It affects you. Anytime you have issues with your body, it affects how you play," Williams said. "I wouldn't say that's the only reason. I think he's been swinging at balls that aren't necessarily pitches he wants to hit. But when you're not feeling good, it could be the start of trying to do a little bit too much or getting timing off or any of that stuff, too. So we'll give him some rest and see how he recovers from it."
Williams and the Nats medical staff will likely have to continue to check in with LaRoche about his back over the course of September, even after the first baseman returns to action.
"He'll let me know. All the guys are very honest about how they're feeling," Williams said. "That's important for them to be able to come in and say, 'Listen, I'm hurting,' or 'I feel great. I know today could be an off-day, but I feel good. I want to go.' Those types of conversations happen all the time. But yeah, especially with Adam and his back, he's had this issue in the past. It's never been anything serious, but it jumps up and grabs him every once in a while. So we've got to be conscious of that."
With Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw starting and LaRoche out, the Nats have Scott Hairston in left field with Bryce Harper in center and Kevin Frandsen at first. The reason is Hairston's success against Kershaw. He's hitting .360/.360/.400 in 25 at-bats against the left-hander.
"Hairy's got some history against him," Williams said. "Clayton's really tough on everybody, but especially left-handers and so we're trying to stack it a little bit and see if we can mount something against him. I've seen him good, but I don't know if anybody's ever seen him this good. So try to create some opportunities and hopefully take advantage of him tonight."
Williams discussed the challenge the Nats face in going up against a pitcher with a 1.73 ERA, 16 wins and six complete games in 22 starts. The 26-year-old Kershaw has allowed more than one run only seven times this season.
Williams believes the Nats have to have an aggressive mindset.
"I think it's important for anybody to try to hit his fastball," the manager said. "Again, being on this coast as a coach, we got a chance to see him a lot, and he's big on getting ahead. Once he gets ahead, all of his secondary pitches are so good that you really don't want to hit them. You want to hit the fastball. So it's a double-edged sword because you want to swing early at the heater. He's going to get ahead with the heater, but if you don't capitalize, it could be a really quick night. So we want to make sure we're getting good pitches to hit if we can and look to swing early, look to be aggressive on it and try to hit the fastball because you don't want to get to the other stuff. But he's been really, really good this year. So we'll see if we can scratch a few across and keep them close and see what we can do."
If the Nats do get baserunners, it'll be tough to run on Kershaw as well.
"I think it's important for us to do the things that we do, and that's going first to third. But he's got an exceptional move," Williams said. "He picks off a lot of guys, he's quick to the plate as well. So all aspects of the game, he's a pro. He knows what he's doing. And he can control running games with the best of them, so I don't know if that's an option, but we certainly want to go first to third and second to home if we get that opportunity."
LaRoche is out again tonight against the Dodgers, as the Nationals take a cautious approach with the veteran first baseman.
"His back's tight, so we're going to give him today and re-evaluate tomorrow morning, see how he is. But it's pretty tight on him," manager Matt Williams said at Dodger Stadium. "So he's getting worked on, getting lots of stuff done and trying to loosen it up a little bit."
Williams said he's giving serious consideration to not making this a one-night thing. LaRoche might also be given Wednesday to rest, especially with an off-day coming Thursday.
"We'll see how he is after tonight, but he's not going to do anything today. We'll see how he feels tomorrow," Williams said. "We're not going to have any BP on the field tomorrow to test him out. So I would imagine that he's probably going to get another day. But we'll see. If he comes in tomorrow and says, 'Hey, I feel great. I want to be in there,' then I can't deny him that."
LaRoche's back troubles have overlapped with a slump that has seen his average dip from .276 to .257. The 34-year-old is 6-for-51 with a .118/.246/.196 slash line, one double, one homer and four RBIs over his last 15 games.
Does Williams believe health is the reason for LaRoche's struggles?
"It affects you. Anytime you have issues with your body, it affects how you play," Williams said. "I wouldn't say that's the only reason. I think he's been swinging at balls that aren't necessarily pitches he wants to hit. But when you're not feeling good, it could be the start of trying to do a little bit too much or getting timing off or any of that stuff, too. So we'll give him some rest and see how he recovers from it."
Williams and the Nats medical staff will likely have to continue to check in with LaRoche about his back over the course of September, even after the first baseman returns to action.
"He'll let me know. All the guys are very honest about how they're feeling," Williams said. "That's important for them to be able to come in and say, 'Listen, I'm hurting,' or 'I feel great. I know today could be an off-day, but I feel good. I want to go.' Those types of conversations happen all the time. But yeah, especially with Adam and his back, he's had this issue in the past. It's never been anything serious, but it jumps up and grabs him every once in a while. So we've got to be conscious of that."
With Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw starting and LaRoche out, the Nats have Scott Hairston in left field with Bryce Harper in center and Kevin Frandsen at first. The reason is Hairston's success against Kershaw. He's hitting .360/.360/.400 in 25 at-bats against the left-hander.
"Hairy's got some history against him," Williams said. "Clayton's really tough on everybody, but especially left-handers and so we're trying to stack it a little bit and see if we can mount something against him. I've seen him good, but I don't know if anybody's ever seen him this good. So try to create some opportunities and hopefully take advantage of him tonight."
Williams discussed the challenge the Nats face in going up against a pitcher with a 1.73 ERA, 16 wins and six complete games in 22 starts. The 26-year-old Kershaw has allowed more than one run only seven times this season.
Williams believes the Nats have to have an aggressive mindset.
"I think it's important for anybody to try to hit his fastball," the manager said. "Again, being on this coast as a coach, we got a chance to see him a lot, and he's big on getting ahead. Once he gets ahead, all of his secondary pitches are so good that you really don't want to hit them. You want to hit the fastball. So it's a double-edged sword because you want to swing early at the heater. He's going to get ahead with the heater, but if you don't capitalize, it could be a really quick night. So we want to make sure we're getting good pitches to hit if we can and look to swing early, look to be aggressive on it and try to hit the fastball because you don't want to get to the other stuff. But he's been really, really good this year. So we'll see if we can scratch a few across and keep them close and see what we can do."
If the Nats do get baserunners, it'll be tough to run on Kershaw as well.
"I think it's important for us to do the things that we do, and that's going first to third. But he's got an exceptional move," Williams said. "He picks off a lot of guys, he's quick to the plate as well. So all aspects of the game, he's a pro. He knows what he's doing. And he can control running games with the best of them, so I don't know if that's an option, but we certainly want to go first to third and second to home if we get that opportunity."
LATEST ORIOLES NEWS
LATEST NATIONALS NEWS
About the author
By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://www.masnsports.com/