One week after landing on the injured list with a left shoulder strain, Ildemaro Vargas was able to begin taking swings, and the Nationals utilityman is aiming for a return next week when the team is in New York.

Vargas jammed his left shoulder April 9 making a diving catch of a sharp grounder in Colorado. He finished out the game but hasn’t played since and was placed on the 10-day IL on April 11.

The 31-year-old was able to begin taking swings in the cage today, though, and he will likely attempt to take a full round of batting practice on the field Wednesday afternoon.

“He actually said he felt really good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “So that’s encouraging. The next step will be to get him on the field.”

Swinging appears to be less of a concern for Vargas than fielding will be. After getting hurt, he mentioned the trouble he had reaching to catch throws and struggling to raise his left arm above his head.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Nationals placed Ildemaro Vargas on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder strain and called up infielder Jeter Downs from Triple-A Rochester, a move precipitated in part by Luis García’s continued recovery from a tight hamstring.

With García unable to start at second base for the fourth straight day and Vargas’ non-throwing shoulder still sore after he jammed it making a diving catch in García’s place Sunday, the Nationals were thin on healthy infielders. Michael Chavis is starting for the second straight night at second base, and CJ Abrams remains at shortstop, but there were no other healthy backups for either.

So the Nationals promoted Downs today, flying the 24-year-old in from Rochester to ensure they had insurance in case anything happens to Abrams or Chavis tonight.

“Jeter can do multiple things for us,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He can play the outfield, some infield. But he can play shortstop, that’s the most important thing. If something happens to CJ, he can go out there and play some short. He’s a good addition to what we’re trying to do here.”

Downs, the onetime top prospect of the Dodgers and Red Sox who was claimed off waivers by the Nationals over the winter, impressed club officials with his work ethic this spring but was sent to Triple-A to begin the season and get regular at-bats rather than sit on the bench in the majors. He went just 2-for-19 at Rochester, so his promotion isn’t exactly based on performance but rather necessity.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Michael Chavis made the Nationals’ Opening Day roster because of his positional versatility, the club wanted to make sure it had another player on its bench who could handle multiple infield positions if needed.

Chavis’ presence is coming in handy tonight, because with both Luis García an Ildemaro Vargas banged up, the 27-year-old is getting the start at second base for the Nats’ series opener against the Angels.

García, who is dealing with tightness in his right hamstring, went through early running drills to test his leg out. He didn’t appear to have any problems, but he also didn’t appear to be running at 100 percent. He’s not in the lineup for the third straight day, though he did participate in batting practice.

Vargas, who jammed his left shoulder making a diving play at second base during the first inning Sunday in Colorado, was able to finish out the game but admitted he was sore and was having trouble reaching for throws. He was set to meet with doctors this afternoon before learning about his availability for the game.

“I got real nervous,” Vargas said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I’ve never felt anything like that on my shoulder. In the moment, I grabbed it and kind of tugged on it. I don’t know if I adjusted it or not, but I gave it a good tug. Today, it’s just stiff.”

DENVER – When he did it in spring training, there were the obvious caveats attached. When he did it through the season’s first week, there was still reason to withhold judgment until the sample size was larger. And even though he continued to do it over the weekend, you still can’t talk about Victor Robles’ early season success without pointing out he just played four games at Coors Field, which can inflate any ballplayer’s offensive numbers.

So, yes, it’s still far too early to declare that Robles has been “fixed” or that his production through 10 games is definitely sustainable. But it’s not hard to look at what the Nationals center fielder is doing and believe that there is some legitimacy to it.

First, there are the cold, hard facts. Robles is batting .387 (12-for-31) with a .472 on-base percentage. He has drawn five walks. He has scored five runs.

Then there is the manner in which he has done this. He has dramatically cut down on his strikeouts, with only three of them to his name in 37 plate appearances. He is executing in near-flawless ways in fundamentals, whether placing a perfect safety squeeze to score the decisive run in Saturday’s win or singling through the vacated right side of the infield on a hit-and-run during Sunday’s loss. And we haven’t even discussed his work in center field yet, with several notable instances of restraint when in the past he would be tempted to throw the ball away.

All of these are encouraging signs, and reason to hope the 25-year-old is finally turning a corner after several disappointing seasons.

The MRI of Corey Dickerson’s left calf showed only a “mild strain,” according to Davey Martinez, and the Nationals manager is hopeful his veteran left fielder’s stint on the 10-day injured list won’t be a long one. History, though, suggests it may be as quick a stint as the club hopes.

Dickerson missed a full month with a calf strain last summer while playing for the Cardinals. That doesn’t necessarily mean this one will take the same amount of time to heal, but the Nats do have a potential road map for his rehab based on what happened last year.

“When I talked to him yesterday, he said he was pretty sore,” Martinez said. “We’ll take it day to day. He’s already started the rehab process, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Signed to a $2.25 million contract over the winter, Dickerson was supposed to be the Nationals’ primary left fielder entering the season. But when Alex Call started Opening Day against Braves ace Max Fried, Martinez revealed he planned to platoon the duo, with Dickerson only playing against right-handers.

The 33-year-old wound up starting only one game before his calf tightened up on him in the seventh inning Saturday afternoon.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals have been living vicariously through Joey Meneses for nearly two weeks now, relishing every big moment their No. 3 hitter has produced for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.

But as the final week of spring training begins, the Nats are eager to get Meneses back in camp, recognizing they won’t have much time to prep for the season with him in person.

“He’s been unbelievable, but the guys miss him here,” manager Davey Martinez said. “They want him to go as far as he can, but they also want him back here. Same with me and the coaching staff. We really want to see what our lineup looks like with him in there. We haven’t done that yet. I’m excited for him to continue doing what he’s doing, but get back here.”

Meneses and Team Mexico face Japan tonight in their WBC semifinal matchup. The championship game against the United States is set for Tuesday night. So one way or another, Meneses will be back with the Nationals no later than Wednesday.

That gives him five days in Florida to train with his major league club, plus one final exhibition game in D.C. against the Yankees on March 28. It will have to suffice.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ildemaro Vargas walks into the clubhouse, wide smile on his face, and offers the same, one-word declaration to anyone within shouting vicinity.

“¡Campeón!”

It matters not if the Nationals won or lost the previous night, if the team is in contention or rebuilding, if it’s 8 a.m. prior to a day game or 4 p.m. prior to a night game. Vargas wants everyone to know what he thinks of them.

“Playing at this level, and knowing all sides of the business, it’s very hard to stay yourself and keep yourself up here at this level,” the utility infielder said last week, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “So to me, just the fact these guys are here and playing at this level, we’re all champions. That why I say it to everybody.”

Vargas has been doing this practically since the day he joined the Nats last summer. A 31-year-old journeyman who had spent the previous five seasons bouncing from the Diamondbacks to the Twins to the Cubs to the Pirates back to the Diamondbacks and back to the Cubs, he walked into Nationals Park as if he had as much organizational tenure as Ryan Zimmerman.

PLAYER REVIEW: ILDEMARO VARGAS

Age on opening day 2023: 31

How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, May 2022

MLB service time: 3 years, 7 days

2022 salary: $700,000

First came Joey Meneses’ inside-the-park homer, a huffing-and-puffing adventure around the bases to add the latest improbable chapter to the 30-year-old rookie’s out-of-nowhere arrival.

Then came CJ Abrams’ two-out, two-run triple, an explosive sprint from the plate to third base by the dynamic 21-year-old shortstop.

And when Ildemaro Vargas drove the go-ahead double to left-center in the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals had finally pulled off something they’d done only once in 13 previous tries this season: They beat the Marlins.

Storming back to score five runs in their final two offensive innings, the Nats emerged with a 5-4 victory over Miami, only their second win over their division counterparts this season, certainly the most uplifting to date.

"I look back, and I think about when we play good defense, good things happen," said manager Davey Martinez, whose team indeed sparkled in the field again tonight. "We're playing good defense, we're staying in some of these games. And the hits are going to come, the runs are going to come. Continue to get the defense, get good pitching, and we'll win some games."

PHILADELPHIA – For the past three weeks, the Nationals had been playing a much more watchable brand of baseball, made possible in large part by a vast improvement in the field.

Having spent the vast majority of the season trotting out the majors’ worst defense, the Nats have seen that problem area morph into a real strength since the arrival of 21-year-old shortstop CJ Abrams, which allowed Luis García to move to his more natural position at second base, while journeyman Ildemaro Vargas became a rock-solid addition at third base.

Then came tonight’s 8-5 loss at Citizens Bank Park, in which the Nationals reverted back to all their worst habits from this now 91-loss season, from poor starting pitching to a lack of sustained offense to unsightly defense.

The defensive miscues stood out more than anything else, because this team had looked so impressive in the field during their recent upswing. Officially, the Nats were charged with two errors (one by Vargas, one by César Hernández) but that doesn’t come close to telling the full story.

"Our infield didn't throw the ball well today," manager Davey Martinez said. "But they've been playing really well, so I'm just going to chalk it up to one of those nights, and come back tomorrow."

Throughout this long season, from the interminably long stint on the injured list with a neck strain to his struggles on the mound once he did return, Davey Martinez insisted Aníbal Sánchez just needed time. Give the right-hander time, the manager said, and he would prove he can still pitch at this level.

So the Nationals gave Sánchez all the time he needed, from that three-month IL stint to his first five starts that resulted in five losses and a 7.56 ERA. And wouldn’t you know what happened after that? The 38-year-old indeed is proving he can still pitch at this level, capped off by his best performance in two years this evening.

With seven innings of one-run ball, Sánchez shut down the Athletics to earn his first win since September 2020 and lead the Nats to a 5-1 victory that also included some bright moments for a few of their much younger building blocks.

This represented the first time Sánchez reached the seventh inning in a big league game since Aug. 23, 2020 in a win over the Marlins. The previous time he had done it? Game 1 of the 2019 NLCS in St. Louis, when he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning.

"I knew he still had it in him," Martinez said. "I saw him this winter throwing. He was passionate about coming back, and his heart was in it. He was hurt, and now he's just out there fully healthy and pitching well."

It hadn’t happened in 43 games, 43 long games without a member of the Nationals rotation leaving the ballpark with a win added to his season total. It had long since surpassed the 1949 Senators (35 games) as the longest such winless streak in modern major league history, and though there had been several reasons beyond the rotation for this, it still was the ultimate indignity for this group of starters and the organization as a whole through a miserable summer.

So when it finally ended today, when Patrick Corbin was credited with the win in a 3-2 victory over the Reds, it may not have been cause for wild celebration inside the home clubhouse. But it sure wasn’t something to ignore altogether.

"We were fully aware in here what was going on," said Kyle Finnegan, who finished it off with a perfect top of the ninth. "I think the bullpen had lost a few of those along the way. I know there was one that Paolo (Espino) had that I gave up the lead, and I wound up stealing the win from him that game. To get Pat that win today and put an end to that was awesome."

With six innings of two-run ball – only one of those runs earned – Corbin put forth his best start in a while. And thanks to a couple of clutch hits in the fourth and fifth innings from his teammates, the Nationals bullpen found itself in position to actually close this thing out over the final three innings.

Hunter Harvey retired three of four batters faced in the seventh. Carl Edwards Jr. retired the side in the eighth. And Finnegan retired the side in the ninth with no drama to notch his eighth save.

SEATTLE – The focus of the remainder of the Nationals’ season is going to be on the handful of young players they’re now trying to build around, a group that will see its highest-profile addition yet Friday night when top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli makes his major league debut.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still some room for an older player or two to take advantage of the opportunity he’s being given to make a name for himself, and possibly earn his way into the Nats’ 2023 plans as well.

We’ve already seen Joey Meneses do it with six homers in his first three weeks in the big leagues. Now how about Ildemaro Vargas, the 31-year-old utility infielder who has suddenly become the Nationals’ everyday third baseman and just finished off a strong road trip with a bang.

Vargas’ two-run homer off Mariners closer Paul Sewald with two outs in the top of the ninth this afternoon lifted the Nats to an unexpected 3-1 victory in the finale of a brief, two-game series. It was Vargas’ second homer of this West Coast trip, his previous one coming in his first at-bat in San Diego during Thursday night’s win over the Padres.

"I've always worked hard to get an opportunity like this one, to where I get an opportunity to play every day," Vargas said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I'm very thankful to the team, the organization, for the opportunity I've gotten. I'm just trying to take advantage and keep working hard and contribute any way I can."

SAN DIEGO – He had talked about his home run off Yu Darvish, not to mention his subsequent single off the Padres right-hander. He had talked about his defensive work at third base and mentorship of rookie shortstop CJ Abrams. And he had talked about the opportunity he’s been given by the Nationals to play third base every day after spending the season’s first four months at Triple-A.

But when he was done with all that, once he had answered every question reporters had for him following Thursday night’s 3-1 victory at Petco Park, Ildemaro Vargas let everyone know there was one more thing he wanted to say.

“I want to dedicate this home run to my mom,” the infielder said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “Unfortunately, because of the visas, she’s unable to see me play. But when I talked to her today, she motivated me and said that I was going to have a great game today. So I want to thank her and tell her that this was for her.”

This revelation, of course, only prompted more questions, more answers and the sharing of a sweet (but in some ways bittersweet) story of a 31-year-old trying to stick in the big leagues while his biggest supporter can only watch from afar.

Gaudys Barreto lives in Venezuela. Her son has spent parts of six seasons in the majors with five different franchises, the Nationals representing only the latest to give him a shot. And because it has been difficult to secure her a visa, Barreto has been unable to come to the United States to watch Vargas play this year.

SAN DIEGO – The Nationals walked into Petco Park this evening and stepped right into a pennant race. No, the outcome of this weekend’s four-game series means nothing in the grand scheme to the team with the majors’ worst record, but try telling the 26 guys dressed in navy blue jerseys and curly W caps it meant nothing to go toe-to-toe with a star-studded Padres club that’s all-in on the 2022 season and desperately wanted to emerge victorious in tonight’s series opener.

And at night’s end, it wasn’t the home team celebrating victory, but rather the plucky visitors, who hung around for eight innings and then scratched across two runs against closer Josh Hader in the ninth to pull off a gutsy 3-1 win before a stunned sellout crowd of 41,820.

"This is what builds character," manager Davey Martinez said. "These guys were all jacked up. They were pumped up. Nobody was sitting there from the seventh through the ninth inning. All those guys were up on the fence, standing, cheering. It's awesome. This is what you play for: To play these kinds of games."

Stymied for eight innings by Yu Darvish, the Nationals finally broke through in the top of the ninth. They got singles from César Hernández and Alex Call (who replaced Yadiel Hernandez late after the left fielder's calf cramped up). That forced San Diego manager Bob Melvin to pull his starter to a standing ovation and summon Hader to try to keep the game tied.

Instead, Hader poured more gasoline on the fire and dealt Darvish the loss. The flamethrowing lefty hit former Padre Luke Voit with a 2-2 slider on the foot to load the bases, then walked Nelson Cruz on four pitches to force in the go-ahead run. And when Keibert Ruiz ripped a line drive to left for a sacrifice fly, the Nats had themselves an insurance run and a two-run lead.

For 2 hours, 48 minutes Tuesday night, a severely depleted Nationals lineup rode youthful emotion (and an excellent performance from its pitching staff) to a most unlikely victory over the first-place Mets. An otherwise depressing day during a depressing season at least included this uplifting note on the field.

Then reality set back in this afternoon. That same lineup was shut out by Mets starter Chris Bassitt, while Aníbal Sánchez, Jordan Weems and the pitching staff was roughed by New York’s potent lineup during a 9-5 thrashing in the finale of their three-game series that only seemed close because of a furious, five-run rally in the bottom of the ninth.

As this all played out, Juan Soto and Josh Bell were being introduced as the newest members of the Padres during a press conference at Petco Park, inserted by manager Bob Melvin into an already fearsome lineup as his new No. 2 and No. 4 hitters.

It was a stark reminder of what transpired back here at Nationals Park one day earlier, and what that means the rest of this season (and perhaps beyond) will look like for the local ballclub.

"Soto and Bell were a big part of the team," Sánchez said. "But at the end, we have to understand that baseball is like that. I think everybody is ready to play every single day. Everything happened one day. I think the next day, everybody ... it's not about forgetting, but they're ready to play."