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Davey Johnson told reporters after Saturday night's game with the Brewers in Milwaukee's Miller Park that 34-year-old outfielder Jayson Werth had tweaked his groin and was lifted early as a precaution.
"I took him out," Johnson said, "And I'm going to probably give him tomorrow off. Hopefully he's going to be good to go on Monday. But, that's the same groin. Evidently he went down for a ball in the corner or something and kind of messed it up a little bit."
Sunday afternoon, however, Werth was in the lineup, telling reporters that he was good to go. "A day can go a long way," the Nats' right fielder told the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore. The reward for Werth's determination? Two HBPs, a bruised right hand that needed X-rays, bruised ribs and a still-sore groin.
"In the clubhouse afterward, Werth walked through the room with ice wrapped around his upper left leg, his midsection and his right hand," the WaPost's Kilgore wrote, but the X-rays showed no damage and Werth said he'd be fine and in the lineup today when the Nationals take on the Atlanta Braves in the nation's capital. In spite of being beat up, Werth went 2 for 3 in Sunday's loss and ended the series in Wisconsin 7 for 10 with a .317/.386/.511 line on the year.
Davey Johnson explained after the loss that the veteran outfielder had talked his way into the lineup. "He wanted to play," Johnson said, " He's had success against Lohse (8 for 28, 3 doubles, 3 HRs before Sunday) and I said, 'I certainly want you in there, you're swinging the bat better than anybody on the club.' He went out and did some running and he felt he was good to go. Probably should have gotten him out of there, he wasn't moving too good, but he gutted it out."
Asked if Werth would be in the lineup tonight for the first game of three with the Braves, the Nats' skipper said, "I think so."
Werth and the Nationals are back in the nation's capital for a nine-game homestand that starts tonight at 7:05 pm EDT. Until then it's links and lots of them, starting... RIGHT NOW!!!:
• THE BIG STORY!!:
• "Playing through a tweaked groin he suffered Saturday night, [Jayson] Werth absorbed one Kyle Lohse fastball off the ribs and another off the knuckles of his right hand." - "Jayson Werth receives X-ray on hand, plans on playing tomorrow" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post
• NATS BEAT:
• "'It was definitely one of those days,' [Jayson Werth] said. 'We’re going to need to start playing better, soon.'" - "Another one gets away from Nationals as trip ends with defeat in Milwaukee" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "In other words, even if they did the unthinkable and went 9-0 against the Braves from here on out, they'd still sit 3 1/2 games back in the division." - "Last chance for division?" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "I can't stop talking about Tyler Moore at Triple-A Syracuse. It makes you wonder if he played every day for the Nationals, would these numbers be similar?" - "This and That" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• "'This series is very important, but at the same time, we have to go into it like any other series and just try to win one game at a time,' third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said." - "Nats understand importance of Braves series" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News
• "The Nationals are not mathematically out of it, but the arithmetic is moving past dire and nearing hopeless." - "As the Braves come to Washington, the Nationals focus on themselves first" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post
• "As is the Nationals’ protocol for this type of injury and recovery, [Taylor] Jordan will likely be shutdown somewhere in the 150-160 innings range." - "Taylor Jordan has about four more starts before he is shut down" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "Nationals right-hander Taylor Jordan was cruising during the first five innings, allowing a run on two hits. His fastball was clocked as high as 95 mph." - "Washington Nationals at Milwaukee Brewers - August 4, 2013" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com WSH Recap
• AUDIO: Listen While You Link As Nats Daily Goes Off The Rails:
AUDIO: 8/4/13: The day #Nats Nightly officially goes off the rails w/out @NationalsDSP around to keep us in check: http://t.co/mK427x3d6D
— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) August 4, 2013
• "The official diagnosis is right shoulder inflammation as left-hander Xavier Cedeno has been called up from Syracuse to take his place." - "Ohlendorf to DL with shoulder inflammation" - Chase Hughes, NatsInsider.com
• "Danny Rosenbaum might be a choice from Syracuse, but Nathan Karns, who pitched last night, already has experience with the Nationals this season." - "Ohlendorf to DL, Xavier Cedeno returns to Nats; will Karns soon get another shot?" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• "Because [Ross] Ohlendorf hasn't been able to pitch, the Nationals had only six relievers available in the first two games against the Brewers. Cedeno will be the seventh man on Sunday." - "Ohlendorf placed on 15-day DL; Cedeno recalled" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News
• "[Ross] Ohlendorf, whose DL stint is retroactive to Aug. 1, does not believe the issue is a major one and hopes to be ready to return to the active roster as soon as he is eligible on Aug. 16." - "Ross Ohlendorf lands on disabled list with shoulder inflammation" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "[Ross] Ohlendorf, who has a 1.85 ERA in 34 innings, insisted he had no injury, only an exaggerated form of the typical soreness that comes after a start..." - "Ross Ohlendorf placed on disabled list with shoulder inflammation" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post
• "'My heart says I probably won’t be back,' [Dan] Haren said. 'I haven’t lived up to what I was paid to do and what I came here to accomplish, despite the last two or three weeks.'" - "Haren: ‘My heart says I probably won’t be back’" - Bill Ladson, All Nats All the Time
• "The Nats open a three-game series with the Braves tonight, and calling these games 'big' is probably an understatement." - "Nationals Pastime: Braves come to town, Nats not expecting Gonzalez suspension" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "Mike Minor and Stephen Strasburg square off on Monday in the first of this series' three compelling pitching matchups." - "Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals - August 5, 2013" - Eric Single, MLB.com Preview
• "Don’t forget that the Braves have won seven of the 10 matchups a year after the Nats took the season series 10-8." - "Sweeping Atlanta Braves Would Do Little For Washington Nationals" - David Elfin, CBS DC
• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter:
Compassion is what makes our lives meaningful.
— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) August 5, 2013
• NATIONAL(S) BEAT:
• "In a game in which it would have been easy to surrender Sunday, the Brewers exhibited some fight." - "Brewers 8, Nationals 5 - Brewers show fight in comeback victory" - Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
• "The Nationals, however, come into the series at 54-57 and well below expectations, and the offense is the major culprit." - "Series Preview: Braves at Nationals" - Mark L. Smith, Talking Chop
• "For the Nats, this series is almost do-or-die for their season. The two teams meet only six more times after this series." - "MLB odds and picks – Stephen Strasburg takes mound as favorite vs. Braves" - Linemakers, Sporting News
• "Chris Johnson is on fire, hitting nearly .350. Justin Upton and Jason Heyward are heating up after extended periods of 'meh' since April. Even B.J. Upton has gotten into the act." - "The Braves, winners of ten straight, have opened up a 12.5 game lead in the NL East" - Craig Calcaterra, HardballTalk
• NATS MINORS:
• Class-A Auburn: "The Doubledays won 4-3 in 13 innings to win the series against the Hudson Valley Renegades." - "Auburn Wins In Extras" - Auburn Doubledays News
• Class-A Auburn: "The Auburn Doubledays recorded 17 hits and 13 runs, as they powered past the Hudson Valley Renegades, 13-4, Sunday at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls." - "Doubledays power past Renegades, 13-4" - Jeremy Houghtaling, Auburn Citizen
• Class-A Hagerstown: "The Kannapolis Intimidators (16-27, 43-68) led from start to finish on Sunday, handing the Hagerstown Suns (26-17, 64-46) a 4-3 loss in front of 814 at Municipal Stadium." - "Suns comeback bid falls short in 4-3 loss" - Eli Pearlstein, Hagerstown Suns News
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Rob Gilliam cruised through the first five innings before running into trouble in the sixth." - "B-Mets Sweep Senators" - Marshall Kelner, Harrisburg Senators News
• Double-A Harrisburg:
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Other than the sixth inning, when Binghamton scored four times on four hits and a walk, Senators starter Rob Gilliam (3-6) displayed terrific command and seemed to be in rhythm." - "One tough inning and continuing offensive woes among topics in Senators game notebook" - Michael Bullock, PennLive.com
• Triple-A Syracuse: "Center fielder Eury Perez slammed a three-run triple in the fourth inning, giving the Chiefs a lead they would not relinquish." - "Chiefs beat Red Wings in road-trip finale" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• "Monday’s News & Notes" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com
• NATSTOWN:
• "The Nats are in 2nd place in the NL East and have been for much of the year. Yet the reality of the situation is that they are 12 and a half games out." - "Monday Quickie - Calling the East" - Harper, Nationals Baseball
• "The t-shirts Bryce Harper made for the Nats" - Nats Enquirer
• "One lesson learned from 2013: you can never have enough starting pitching" - Todd Boss, Nationals Arm Race
• "Remembering 1924 – Browns sweep Senators in Doubleheader" - Mark Hornbaker, D.C. Baseball History
• "Nats Stats (WAR) 5 Aug" - Half Street Heart Attack
• "Get To Know A Nat: Scott Hairston" - Nationals 101
• "DMV: Nats Approach Breaking Point" - J.P. Finlay, Mr. Irrelevant
• "Brewers Come From Behind To Topple Nats In Series Finale" - Erin Flynn, The Nats Blog
• NL EAST UPDATES:
• Braves: "Chris Johnson’s two-run, two-out single in the first inning gave the Braves a lead they never relinquished..." - "Braves sweep Phillies, push winning streak to 10 games" - David O'Brien, www.ajc.com
• Mets: "With black strips under his eyes to blunt the glare and wearing sunglasses, Marlon Byrd looked up into the gorgeous summer sky and could not see a thing." - "Sun wreaks havoc on Mets in error-filled loss to Royals at Citi Field" - Kristie Ackert, NY Daily News
• Phillies: "All-star outfielder Domonic Brown, who has been on the disabled list with a concussion since July 25, said he hopes to return to the Phillies on Wednesday after a two-game rehabilitation stint." - "Phillies Notes: Brown expects to return to Phillies on Wednesday" - Marc Narducci, Philadelphia Inquirer
• Marlins: "Giancarlo Stanton was one of four Marlins to strike out multiple times, and the team struck out 12 times altogether." - "Marlins again squander solid start by Nathan Eovaldi, lose to Indians" - Rohan Nadkarni, MiamiHerald.com