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Atlanta Braves' left-hander Paul Maholm hit Danny Espinosa in his right wrist in the second inning of Sunday afternoon's series finale with Atlanta, and though the Nats' infielder stayed in the game for a while he was eventually lifted. After the Nationals were swept by the Braves in the three-game weekend set, Nats' manager Davey Johnson told reporters that X-rays revealed no significant damage. The Nationals called it a "sore right hand" in their initial report later in the day. "Danny's going to be all right," the Nats' skipper said Sunday night. "He had X-rays and the X-rays were negative. He'll probably miss a game or two." When the Nationals announced their lineup for the series-opener in Miami tonight, the Nats' second baseman was not in the starting lineup.
Steve Lombardozzi is getting his first start of the season, and he's not the only National who will be starting for the first time tonight:
Davey's Lineup, Mon. at MIA/G13: Span cf, Werth rf, Harper lf, Zimmerman 3b, Desmond ss, Moore 1b, Lombardozzi 2b, Suzuki c, Zimmermann rhp
— Nationals PR (@NationalsPR) April 15, 2013
No word on why Adam LaRoche is getting the night off in Miami... [ed. note - "Actually, there is word now."]:
Nothing wrong with LaRoche. Davey talked to him this morning about sitting tonight so Moore could start vs. LHP.
— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) April 15, 2013
Lombardozzi has a .286/.375/.429 line so far this season in six games and nine plate appearances. Last year, the 23-year-old infielder, who turned 24 in September had a .273/.317/.354 line with 16 doubles, three triples and three home runs in 126 games and 416 plate appearances. Moore, 26, had 171 PAs in 75 games last season with a .263/.327/.513 line, nine doubles and 10 HRs in his rookie campaign. In seven games and 8 PAs so far this year, Moore is 0 for 8 with 4 Ks.
Jordan Zimmermann makes his third start of the year tonight in Marlins Park, where he'll face the Fish for the 10th time in his career. In his nine previous outings, the 26-year-old right-hander is (2-3) with a 4.09 ERA, 10 walks (1.78 BB/9) and 41 Ks (7.28 K/9) in 50.2 IP. Zimmermann's (1-1) with a 3.00 ERA, one walk and 10 Ks in two starts and 12.0 innings in the Marlins' home.