Nationals left-hander DJ Herz downplays start against Cubs but admits it'll be 'fun'

WASHINGTON — Left-hander DJ Herz walked around Nationals Park and ran into some familiar faces Friday. But those faces weren’t wearing the same jersey he was.

Herz, who was dealt from the Cubs to the Nationals at the trade deadline last season for infielder Jeimer Candelario, reconnected with center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, reliever Porter Hodge, reliever Daniel Palencia and infielder Luis Vazquez, whom he played with at Double-A Tennessee.

‘‘The first thing I said to them was, like, ‘Man, this is crazy,’ ’’ Herz, who is scheduled to face the Cubs on Saturday, told the Sun-Times. ‘‘We were just grinding in the minor leagues, and now we’re in The Show. It’s fun to see everybody and the success they’re having.’’

Herz’s 2-6 record might not seem formidable, but he’s pitching well with a 3.84 ERA and 11.38 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s also in the 89th percentile in the majors for strikeout percentage (29.1%).

Herz credited Rafael Chaves, the Nationals’ pitching coach at Triple-A, for getting his delivery more on line and allowing him to attack more in the strike zone.

‘‘Sometimes it takes a change of scenery for somebody to shine,’’ Crow-Armstrong said. ‘‘I would credit DJ for all his success.’’

Herz downplayed the significance of facing his old team.

‘‘It’ll be fun pitching against the team that I grew up in and that helped develop me into the player I am today,’’ he said.

Under that soft-spoken demeanor, however, Herz is highly competitive.

‘‘[He] turns into a different guy on the mound,’’ Crow-Armstrong said. ‘‘He’s a huge competitor.’’

Hendricks’ rotation future

Right-hander Kyle Hendricks had a rough outing Wednesday against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, allowing six earned runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings.

It has been a rough season for him, too. Hendricks, the last remaining member of the Cubs’ World Series champions in 2016, has the worst ERA (6.75), WHIP (1.529) and walk rate (7.1%) of his career.

Manager Craig Counsell said there’s some uncertainty right now in the rotation.

‘‘We have a little uncertainty with who’s exactly going to pitch which day,’’ he said. ‘‘So that puts Kyle in some uncertainty right now. That’s where we’ll be until we play the game, and then [we’ll] make a decision when we have to.’’

Roster move

The Cubs claimed reliever Shawn Armstrong off waivers from the Cardinals. To make room on their 40-man roster, they released catcher Tomas Nido, who had been on the injured list since July 25 with a sprained right knee.

Armstrong had a 2.84 ERA in 11 games with the Cardinals after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Rays.

This and that

Counsell said that reliever Jorge Lopez (groin) threw a bullpen session and that the Cubs are optimistic he’ll be available this series. Since joining the team, he has a 0.79 ERA in 22 2/3 innings.

† Left-hander Jordan Wicks (strained right oblique) was scratched from his scheduled rehab start at Triple-A Iowa because there’s a scenario in which he will start this weekend for the Cubs. He has been on the injured list since June 15.

‘‘We're going to play it out a couple of days and see what happens,’’ Counsell said.