Luis

Garcia Jr.

The four hits are a season high for Garcia. The two RBI came in the 10th on a ball that Leody Taveras completely misplayed, but it still counts. Garcia has been a disappointment thus far in 2025 with a .250 average and .700 OPS, but there’s lots of time for the 25-year-old to turn things around.

It’s a different look on Saturday for the Nationals as they square off against San Francisco lefty Kyle Harrison. Rosario has been bumped up to the second spot, behind table-setter CJ Abrams to break up the trio of left-handers in Abrams, James Wood and Nathaniel Lowe. Luis García Jr. has been dropped to the seventh spot for this one.

García drove in two runs with a base hit in the first inning and would come in to score as the Nationals put six runs up off Kyle Gibson in the opening frame. He then doubled to drive in another run in the second inning. It’s an encouraging day at the plate for the 25-year-old second baseman as came into the game hitting just .175 in May.

García came off the bench and went 0-for-2 on Friday in his return to Washington’s lineup after missing three games earlier this week while away on paternity leave. The 25-year-old second baseman has gotten off to an ice-cold start this season at the dish, hitting .222/.276/.333 with three homers and six steals through 39 games.

García was away for three days while taking care of family business. The 25-year-old will return to his starting role with Trey Lipscomb heading back to Triple-A to make room.

García figures to miss the next three days. Amed Rosario will probably get at least a couple of starts in his place against the Braves.

The 24-year-old second baseman opened the scoring in the ballgame with a sacrifice fly off of Nick Martinez in the second inning. He then broke a 1-1 tie with a 379-foot (103.8 mph EV) solo shot off of Graham Ashcraft in the seventh inning that proved to be the difference in contest. Garcia finished the day 1-for-3 and is now hitting .234/.282/.360 with three homers, 12 RBI and six stolen bases on the season.

The 24-year-old second baseman smacked an RBI single during the Nationals’ four-run rally in the sixth inning, then swiped second base and ultimately swiped home as well on a double steal. He’s enjoying another solid season at the dish, slashing .253/.309/.364 with two homers, nine RBI and six stolen bases through his first 28 games.

It’s notable that García continues to sit routinely against left-handed pitching with veteran Amed Rosario getting opportunities. It’s not a significant hit to the 24-year-old’s fantasy appeal, but it’s going to cut into his plate appearances enough to matter relative to the other upper-echelon options at the position.

Garcia has taken a seat in both games that the Nationals have faced left-handed starters. He’ll take a break with Amed Rosario getting the start at second. Jacob Young is also getting a rest with Alex Call starting in right.