Washington Nationals News and Notes: Davey Martinez on Josh Bell’s Return to PNC Park; Josiah Gray’s workload; Luis García on the plate

Bell returns to the cabin crew:

Drafted by Pittsburgh in the second round in 2011, Josh Bell made his debut for the Pirates in 2016, and put up a line of .261 / .349 / .466, 105 doubles and 86 homers in 552 games and 2,191 appearances. at home for the Bucs before it was delivered to the Washington Nationals this past winter.

“I really can’t imagine being drafted by another team, just because now I’m a first baseman and this is the team that gave me the opportunity, moved me and really got me. allowed me to develop there, ”Bell said of the Pirates. after this agreement last December.

Last night, the infielder returned to his old home for the first time, which his new manager said would likely mean a lot to the Nationals first baseman.

“Getting back to where he grew up in the game is pretty awesome,” Davey Martinez told reporters ahead of the series opener with the Pirates at PNC Park.

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“I know he has a good fan base here, he’s done some amazing things here in this city so it’s going to be fun for him to come back and play against some of his old teammates.”

Bell arrived at his old home on a great run with a .297 / .402 / .595 line, four doubles and six homers, 13 walks and 10 Ks in his previous 20 games and 87 home plate appearances.

Martinez has said he hopes Bell will continue to do what he’s been doing, since the start of May really, when he returns to his old home.

“Just keep going over there and having fun and doing her thing.” He plays great, he swings the bat well, so go ahead, and I tell him, just be you.

After making his first two home plate appearances last night, Bell connected for his 26th home run the third time up from the sixth, taking left-handed reliever Sam Howard deep into the middle of the field.

“Yeah, that was cool,” Bell said of homering to PNC Park, “especially after the first couple with bats, you know, I wanted to be able to take my swing off and they walked me the first two, so first shot I could see in right handed, after throwing my bat, I was kind of joking with [Pirates’ catcher Jacob] Stalls, said nothing changes. So he thought it was pretty funny.

“It’s special,” substitute skipper Tim Bogar said of Bell’s post-match home run, which he pulled off as Davey Martinez served a one-game suspension for this RAP against the first player. Braves’ Freddie Freeman goal this week.

“I know Josh was delighted to be back here. I know he has a lot of friends and spent a lot of his life here so I was excited that he would come here and play well and he walks a few times and then he hits the home run, and it was just great for him. You can’t feel better than coming back to your old team and doing some damage. “

Gray plan:

Josiah Gray was limited by a conflict in his right shoulder while he was still with the Dodgers this season, and since being traded to the Nationals, his new club have built him with care.

Ahead of his outing today, Nats skipper Davey Martinez spoke last night about how they would handle the 23-year-old right-hander’s workload on the home stretch.

It’s of course not just Gray that they’ll be watching.

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“We watch them all,” Martinez told reporters.

“Josiah had a great session in the bullpen the other day,” he explained, “… and worked on some things mechanically, so I want to see him come out and do it during the game. , and we’ll see what he does, but yeah, we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on him in particular, because like I said he hasn’t pitched much, but we also want to develop him this winter too, and make him strong and get him ready for spring training next year. But we’ll keep an eye on him, we’ll see how he’s doing, and like I said, it’s part of my daily conversation with him to see how he feels, but the kid like me say the kid works hard , he loves competition, he wants to be there every five days, so if I feel that we have to shut him down, it’s going to be hard to convince him to do that. But right now he says he feels good.

To be clear though, he said, there is no predetermined pitch total or innings limit for Gray.

“No, like I said we want to strengthen him and we want to use this year to mature here in the big leagues. But if we consider that we see his mechanics really doing it and he starts working a little, then it will be a different conversation.

Continue García:

Luis García himself had a streak at Truist Park over the past three days, going 4 for 13 with two doubles and a home run at home, while showing the glove also with some nice plays in the final. from the Serie.

In total, in September, the 21-year-old infielder was 11 for 35 (0.314 /, 333 / 0.629) heading into the series opener at PNC Park, with six doubles, a triple and a home run on this stretch.

What does his manager want to see from the second baseman in the final weeks of the 2021 campaign?

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“Consistency,” Martinez told reporters. “That’s what we always talk about with him.

“He’s playing well, but you’ve seen Luis playing both sides of the ball, hitting, defending, that’s what we envision him to be in the future, yet do it consistently, every day.

“He had a great streak, and I hope he will continue to do so, from today.

“That being said, my biggest thing with him is to focus on the moment and worry about today.

“And he’s doing a lot better, and I watched him, his routine has been really good, he’s been with [Bench/Infield coach Tim Bogar] on different things in the field, and I know he’s working with K-Long [Hitting Coach Kevin Long] and six [Assistant Hitting Coach Pat Roessler] by knocking. I’ve said it before, when he gets a ball in the strike zone, he hits it hard, and that’s what we’re going to continue to work on with him.