NEW YORK -- Nationals manager Dave Martinez has been on the job for almost two years and had his share of ups and downs. But it's rare that one sees him get angry at his players. Martinez is often patient with his players and doesn’t dwell on a loss. He often says tomorrow is a different day.

Martinez said he learned to be patient when he was a player in the late 1980s. He said it was Buck Rodgers, then manager of the Expos, who taught him to stay patient whenever he was in a slump.

“This is a game of consistency,” Martinez said Sunday. “You try not to ride the highs and lows. … When I first arrived in Montreal, I was 0-for-20 and [Rodgers] asked me if I was OK and I said, 'Yeah.' He said, ‘I’ve never seen you emotional. Now you are not getting hits, you look like you are a little frustrated. That’s not who you are. Just be you. Things will come. Things will happen.’ I realize he was right. Go out there, have fun and play baseball. If I go 0-for-4, I have another day tomorrow and do it again. That’s how I approach it with the players every day.”

Notes from the clubhouse
A day after having his bullpen session, right-hander Max Scherzer, on the injured list because of a strained back, said he feels much better. If he continues to feel good, Scherzer will have a simulated game on Tuesday at Nationals Park.

• Martinez said that Brian Dozier hasn’t played the last couple of games because the Nationals are facing some tough right-handers. Martinez said he wanted to give Asdrúbal Cabrera a chance to get some playing time, but he insisted that Dozier is the team’s starting second baseman.

• The Nationals are going to try to have Ryan Zimmerman, on the IL because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, run the bases a couple of times when the team gets back to Nationals Park.

“He feels a lot better. We got to get him to do the turns -- first to third -- and things of that nature to see where he is at. Once we get him through that, we’ll re-evaluate and go from there,” Martinez said.