WASHINGTON — Nationals starter DJ Herz walked around Nationals Park and ran into some familiar faces. But those familiar faces weren’t wearing the same jersey as him.
Herz, who was traded from the Cubs to the Nationals at last year’s trade deadline for infielder Jeimer Candelario, reconnected with center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, reliever Porter Hodge, reliever Daniel Palencia, and infielder Luis Vazquez, whom he played with at Double-A Tennessee.
“The first thing I said to them was like, ‘Man, this is crazy,'” Herz told the Sun-Times. “We were just grinding in the minor leagues, and now we’re in the show. It’s fun to see everybody and the success they’re having.”
Herz’s 2-6 record might seem formidable, but he’s pitching well with a 3.84 ERA and a 11.38 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s also in the 89th percentile for strikeout percentage (29.1%).
The left-hander credited Nationals Triple-A pitching coach Rafael Chaves for getting his delivery more on line and allowing him to attack more in the zone.
“Sometimes it actually takes a change of scenery for somebody to shine,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I would credit DJ for all his success.”
Herz downplayed the significance of facing his old team, as he’s scheduled to start against the Cubs Saturday.
“It’ll be fun pitching against the team that I grew up in,” Herz said, “and that helped develop me into the player I am today.”
But underneath that soft-spoken demeanor, Herz is highly competitive.
“[He] turns into a different guy on the mound,” Crow-Armstrong said. “He’s a huge competitor.”
Hendricks’ rotation future
Wednesday was arguably the worst outing of the year for right-hander Kyle Hendricks: He threw 1 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits and six earned runs.
This year has been rough for Hendricks. The last remaining member of the 2016 World Series team has the worst ERA (6.75), WHIP (1.529) and walk rate (7.1%) of his career.
Manager Craig Counsell said there’s some uncertainty in the rotation.
“We have a little uncertainty with who’s exactly going to pitch which day,” Counsell said. “We’re going to just leave it like that for now, so that puts Kyle in some uncertainty right now. That’s where we’ll be until we play the game and then make a decision when we have to.”
Roster moves
The Cubs claimed reliever Shawn Armstrong from the Cardinals. To make room on the 40-man roster, they released catcher Tomas Nido, who had been on the injured list ( right knee sprain) since July 25.
Armstrong had a 2.84 ERA in 11 games with the Cardinals after being acquired at the trade deadline from Tampa Bay.
This and that
• Counsell said reliever Jorge Lopez (groin) threw a bullpen and the team is optimistic he’ll be available this series. Lopez has been lights-out for the Cubs. Since joining the team, he has a 0.79 ERA in 22 2/3 innings. He’s also the team’s best option to close games
• Jordan Wicks (right oblique strain) was scratched from his scheduled rehab start at Triple-A Iowa on Friday because there’s a scenario in which the left-hander starts this weekend for the Cubs. He’s been on the injured list since June 15.
“We’re going to play it out a couple days and see what happens,” Counsell said.