“Who else do I have?” said Baker, exasperation evident in his tone. “That’s my answer. I mean, you can give me somebody better, then I can play somebody instead of him. You know, certain times you have certain people on your team, and that’s what you’ve got. My job is to hopefully get the most out of them and make them better.”

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Espinosa said wished his average were higher this year, he said this week. He said he thought he struck out too much, too. But his production overall? Not bad, he thought. Espinosa did hit 24 home runs this season, with as many RBI as vaunted Dodgers rookie Corey Seager.

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But he struck out three times in Friday night’s 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. He left six runners on base in that game, though he was not alone among Nationals in his inability to deliver the big hit.

“(Kershaw) made his pitches in on the plate and he didn’t make a pitch out over to do a lot with. When someone does that, if he makes good pitches, he makes good pitches,” Espinosa said. “He made good pitches on me, everything that for the most part guys hit, he made a little mistake out over the plate and they were able to get the barrel to it. He made good pitches on me.”

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The problem was, and has been for most of the second half, that Espinosa could not make contact to move the runners in those situations. He swung and missed at more than 16 percent of pitches he saw in the second half, more than all but one qualified player.

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“This team is built on pitching, defense, athleticism. He checks all those boxes,” Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo said. “He’s a productive guy at the bottom of the lineup. I think he leads shortstops or is near the top of shortstops in RBI and home runs.”

Baker has talked to Espinosa about shortening up his swing from both sides of the plate, about adjusting to eliminate the swings and misses. Espinosa said he has been spreading out his stance right-handed, something he hopes will help him be on time, but has not overhauled otherwise. Friday, he struggled to adjust against Kershaw, and Baker pinch hit for him.

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“It’s not the first time this has happened this year, but then Espinosa can turn around and hit the next pitch out of the ballpark. That’s what’s kind of frustrating when you don’t know,” Baker said Friday night. “He was swinging at balls, you know, out of the zone, and then balls in the zone he wasn’t catching up to it. His swing was long tonight.”

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Espinosa was scheduled to play Saturday’s cancelled game, as Baker said he would be. The answers to his question — “who else do I have?” — include Stephen Drew, Trea Turner and Wilmer Difo, all of whom have significant shortstop experience.

Drew would be the obvious choice, though Baker seems hesitant to play him every day.

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“He didn’t come here as a regular, and when you get to a certain age…” Baker said in response to a question about Drew’s health. “I don’t know if he could play as a regular for five, six days in a row without breaking down.”

Turner, meanwhile, has settle in to center field. If Baker chose to move him, he could use Michael A. Taylor there and upgrade defensively, as Taylor has far more experience in the outfield than Turner. But Taylor strikes out often, too. Difo has played 28 big league innings at shortstop. In other words, Espinosa is the Nationals shortstop, and they will stick with him like they have all season, at least for now.