Worth noting

• Infielder Danny Espinosa has fallen into another funk at Triple-A Syracuse as he tries to work his way back into the Nationals' plans. Espinosa hit .094 with 33 strikeouts in his first 19 games with the Chiefs, but something seemed to click when he hit .429 with two homers, seven RBIs and only seven strikeouts in his next 11 contests.

However, the 26-year-old stands at .136 with 16 K's in the 11 games since. He entered Sunday with a .196/.260/.288 Triple-A batting line, with 57 strikeouts in 42 games.

• Right-hander Lucas Giolito, the Nationals' No. 2 prospect, made his fifth start for the club's Gulf Coast League affiliate on Friday and gave up four runs in 2 2/3 innings against the GCL Mets. The 19-year-old has a 6.23 ERA over 8 2/3 innings as he comes back from Tommy John surgery, a process that has the Nats being very cautious with his workload.