Looking to relax Josh Bell’s mind and help him ease out of a 17-at-bat hitless skid, Nationals manager Dave Martinez moved the first baseman down to the No. 6 spot in the batting order on Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

Bell’s last hit had come a week prior on April 21. He entered the series finale vs. Toronto hitting .109 (5-for-46) with 17 strikeouts over 13 games this season.

“We’ve got to get him going, not by any means do I want to take him out of the lineup,” Martinez said before the Nats' 8-2 win. “He’s going to play. I trust him. ... It just takes one good day to get him out of it.”

Martinez had noticed hiccups with Bell’s timing, and that balls he hit with power in an impressive Spring Training were being fouled off. Bell said there had been times when he was “kind of ticked off” at his pitch selection, and he extended at-bats by fouling off balls he should have connected on for hits.

“Things are really close,” the sixth-year veteran said after going 0-for-4 on Tuesday. “So all it takes is one hit, and then the floodgates can open up and I can start having more and more consistent, good at-bats.”

Just how close did Bell turn out to be? He snapped his skid by belting his second home run of the season, a two-run shot, in a 1-for-4 performance against Toronto. The Statcast-projected 372-foot knock prompted a hug from Martinez after he returned to the dugout.

"I've just got to keep hitting balls off the barrel," Bell said. "I know that's when I do damage. ... Hopefully, there's more to come."

Looking ahead for Soto
Juan Soto (10-day injured list, left shoulder strain) hit again on Wednesday without discomfort. Throwing remains the next to-do, and the Nationals are assessing how much he will have to do before he is cleared to return. The projected plan is for Soto to throw long toss, and if that goes well, then he'll throw to the bases. The next step after that could be getting back on the field -- with a game plan.

“The thing I want to reiterate with him is, as long as you throw the ball to the cutoff man, we’ll be in good shape,” Martinez said. “Don’t try to overdo it right now until we build that arm strength up.”

Family reunion
Martinez took advantage of the Nationals’ off day on Monday in Dunedin, Fla., to do something he had not done in a while -- see his family. This included meeting his 4-month-old grandson, Arrow, for the first time.

“I was very excited to see them,” Martinez said. “It was amazing. I don't get to see them because of what's going on.”

Martinez has had limited interactions with his family because of health and safety protocols. Since he has been vaccinated, he enjoyed a mask-covered afternoon of swimming with his daughter and grandchildren.

“I just loved holding the baby,” Martinez said. “I picked him up, held him [for] quite some time. What a beautiful baby, [a] happy baby."