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Davey Johnson told reporters last night that he planned to sit 19-year-old outfielder Bryce Harper today not because of Harper's recent struggles at the plate, but because the Nats' skipper wanted to get 25-year-old outfielder Tyler Moore some playing time since he hadn't played much since Jayson Werth returned. Tonight in Chase Field, in the second game of three with the D-Backs, Johnson has an outfield with Moore in left, Werth in center and Michael Morse in right field to face 25-year-old, '08 1st Round pick Wade Miley. Arizona's rookie starter is (12-7) this year with a 2.85 ERA, a 3.21 FIP, 25 walks (1.70 BB/9) and 97 Ks (6.58 K/9) in 132.2 IP. The Louisiana-born lefty has held left-handed hitters to a .210/.248/.311 line so far this year, so Davey's going with the right-handed bats around the outfield:
Davey's Lineup, Sat @ ARI/G114: Werth cf, Espinosa ss, Zimmerman 3b, Morse rf, LaRoche 1b, Moore lf, Flores c, Lombardozzi 2b, Jackson rhp.
— Nationals PR (@NationalsPR) August 11, 2012
When Johnson informed reporters last night of the decision to give Harper the night off in game two, he did so well in advance of the official announcement of the lineup, and told reporters including the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, "I’m just telling you up front now so I don’t have to hear all this crap tomorrow." You'll also notice that he has Jayson Werth leading off tonight in Arizona, something Werth said he wanted to do while he was working his way back from the broken wrist he suffered this past May. E-Jax on the mound vs Miley. Game time: 8:10 pm EDT from Arizona.