Washington Nationals' Ross Detwiler To Get Second Opinion On MRI On Back; Likely To Miss Next Scheduled Start

Davey Johnson wasn't as concerned about the back issues which ended Washington Nationals' lefty Ross Detwiler's start against Los Angeles on Wednesay as he was about the hamstring issue which landed Wilson Ramos back on the DL. After Detwiler appeared uncomfortable following a play at first base, he was eventually lifted from the game after just three innings of work vs the Dodgers. "He had spasms [in his lower back]," Johnson told reporters after the game. Detwiler had seen the team doctors, however, "... and [he] was getting some shooting pains, but they think they can take care of that."

"Evidently he kind of twisted to get to the throw that he was late covering first," Johnson explained, "and kind of tweaked it, but hopefully he won't miss a start." The Nationals' trainers, the manager continued, "... felt pretty good after they treated [Detwiler] a little bit, that it was subsiding." As reporters including the Washington Times' Amanda Comak, reported on Thursday night, however, the Nats' skipper said that Detwiler, "'... was a little stiff and sore [Thursday] morning,'" so he was sent for an MRI. Before the results were in, Johnson was already saying that he was "'probably not that confident,'" that Detwiler would actually make his next scheduled start.

The Nationals' manager updated reporters further on Detwiler's status after last night's win over the San Diego Padres. "Something a little in there is just bothering him," Johnson said when asked about the results of the MRI, "And I think he's going to talk to somebody else tomorrow. The doctor is going to review the film, because there was a little irregularity in there." Pressed for details, Johnson added that, "... they just said there was a little irregularity in there and they wanted a specialist to look at it, so we'll see tomorrow."

As the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore noted before the Nationals had the results of the MRI, Davey Johnson told reporters that, "'If we think [Detwiler is] just going to miss one start, then we wouldn’t DL him,'" leading to speculation that one of the Nationals' long relievers, Craig Stammen or Zach Duke could take his spot in the rotation. A longer absence could necessitate another move, but the Nationals won't know for sure until after Detwiler receives a second opinion.