Manager continues to back Danny Espinosa amid slump
Nationals infielder Danny Espinosa was held out of the starting lineup Sunday against the Mets for just the second time in 32 games since Ryan Zimmerman suffered a fractured thumb on April 12.
Espinosa is mired in a 6-for-51 slump through 14 May games after batting .288 in April.
"I think it's pitch selection. That's all," manager Matt Williams said before Saturday's game, per MLB.com. "I think that he is chasing balls out of the strike zone. But he's fantastic at second base, and I want to put him in there as much as I can.
"The ebbs and flows of seasons are such that sometimes that's going to happen. The good thing about Danny is he's not taking it to the field, and that's good. He's excited, he's enthusiastic, he comes ready to play every day, wants to play every day, and there's no reason that first two, three weeks of the season can't come around, starting today."
