DJ HERZ is back:
The Washington Nationals optioned 23-year-old left-hander DJ Hurts to Triple-A Rochester earlier this month as he made his seventh major league start and 17th overall this season.
“He’s another young pitcher that we’re really taking care of and trying to keep healthy,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez explained. “We’re going to give him a few days off, but we’ve got to get him ready to throw again, so we’re going to look at the schedule and start him up, and then hopefully later in the season, when he’s feeling good again, he’ll be ready to throw.”
When asked what he wants Hurts to focus on before returning to the rotation, Martinez said, “Honestly, I want him to keep doing what he’s been doing.”
Hurts finished the first half of the season with a 5.17 ERA, 3.98 FIP and a .271/.324/.457 slash line in 31 at-bats. 1⁄3 Number of innings pitched.
“He’s been doing well while he’s been here so he’s been able to get some rest,” Martinez said after Hertz’s return to action. San Diego Padres Last night at Nationals Park.
“I know he started there once, but he’ll be OK. Like we always talk about with him, it’s about attacking the strike zone and getting out in front. He looked good when he first got here, so we’ll see if he can replicate that.”
Hurts pitched well as the eighth pitcher in the Nationals’ starting rotation, holding the Padres to just two earned runs (both on solo home runs) in five innings, allowing just five hits, walking just two and striking out four of the 21 batters he faced. Seven of Hurts’ only nine strikeouts came on fastballs, and seven of his 12 four-seam fastballs were strikes.
“He’s been good. He’s been good,” Martinez said after a 4-0 loss in the series opener at Washington.
“I gave up a couple of home runs, but other than that I was really good. I attacked the zone. I was in good form.”
Hertz had thrown just 79 pitches through five innings when the manager called in the bullpen. How was he able to pitch so efficiently?
“I led off with strikes and used all my pitches well. My slider was good. I had talked about coming off the mound and working a little bit. It was good.”
“The fastball was really good. It was awesome. Well done.”
Unfortunately, the left-hander didn’t get any scoring support, as Nationals batters went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and five on base, handing the team their 11th shutout loss of the season.
“We allowed a lot of swings early on and didn’t have any good at-bats,” Martinez said, criticizing the offense.
“I hit some balls hard, but I just didn’t make a good swing. I swung the bat today, but I just didn’t get a good turn at bat.”
“We missed a lot of balls we should have hit and that was it,” he added. “We hit a lot of balls we should have hit and missed a few balls we shouldn’t have hit, but we were swinging the bat today.”
Yepes is still naked:
Juan Yepes batted .263/.357/.438 with “…15 doubles, 11 home runs and 41 RBIs.”[s]In 74 games, he walked 40, stole three bases, scored 38 runs and appeared at bat 319 times. [Triple-A Rochester] He’s from the Red Wings, as the Washington Nationals noted in a press release when they promoted him earlier this month. Before last night’s series opener against San Diego, he had a hit in all 13 of his major league games.
The club added that Yepes’ hitting streak is “…the longest ever.” [Nationals’] When a player (as of 2005) begins his time with a club, “Elias Sports Bureau” The 26-year-old slugger had a batting average of .367 (18 hits in 49 at-bats), 7 doubles, 1 home run, and 3 RBIs.[s]During this period, he recorded a batting average of .436 and an on-base percentage of .571 (OPS 1.008).
Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Before Yepes went 1-for-4 with one home run in the Nationals’ game against Cincinnati in Washington’s capital city on Sunday afternoon, Washington captain Davey Martinez told reporters that former St. Louis CardinalHe was non-offered by the Cardinals and signed with the Nationals this winter.) was doing something to capitalize on his latest opportunity in the major leagues.
“He’s been great. He’s been great all spring,” Martinez said. “He loves to play. He really does. You can see it. He really wants to play well. And he’s played really well. So people think highly of him because he plays hard. And he’s been great. He really does. Ever since I told him, when he didn’t make the team, [out of Spring Training] He was a little disappointed, but I said, “You have a chance to help us somewhere this year, so you just need to go down and keep getting better.”
The opportunity came when the team demoted him to Triple-A in hopes that veteran Joey Meneses could regain his swing and power after a struggling few months as a first baseman and designated hitter.
“[Yepez has] “You come here and you put him in the lineup and he moves the ball,” the captain said.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25543531/2163344639.jpg)
Photo: Scott Tetch/Getty Images
“He really puts in the effort. He handles it well when it’s two strikes, he tries to stay in the middle of the field, he doesn’t try too hard, but he can hit it. That’s what we knew.”
“He had a really good year in St. Louis a few years ago. I liked the way he swung the bat.”
Yepes was hitless in two at-bats Tuesday but hit a double in the top of the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and then added his second hit with two outs in the ninth inning.
“In those 14 games, he is batting .377 (20-for-53) with eight doubles, one home run and six RBIs.[s]”Six walks and nine runs were scored in the game,” the Nationals said after the game.
“[Yepez] “I hit the ball really well today, using the whole field,” Martinez said.
