Nationals’ lineup for regular season finale vs Marlins: No Jayson Werth but some regulars

After Jayson Werth left Friday night’s game with the Miami Marlins, Nationals’ skipper Dusty Baker assured reporters it was just a precautionary move.

“He had tightness in his back,” Baker said, “and we can’t afford to lose anybody else. So we decided — it was wet, on the chilly side, and decided and I couldn’t take a chance on him being injured too.”

Werth told reporters he thought he’d be able to return to the lineup on Saturday.

“I didn’t strain anything,” he said, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.

“I didn’t pull anything. When I came in, we did a bunch of tests, most of the tests with the training staff. And we ruled out any strains or pulls or anything like that. It’s more of a tightness thing.”

When the lineup for the second of three with Miami was released, however, Werth’s name was not included. Baker said he was left off out of an abundance of caution.

“It was more precaution than anything,” Baker told reporters.

“Like I said, we’re trying to get through tomorrow, then we have four or five days off to heal our wounded. Like I’ve said, if something is not wrong with you this time of year, then you haven’t played very much.

“This is game No. [161]. That’s a lot of games, plus Spring Training. Everybody is tired.

“Imagine how other teams that are going home are tired, emotionally and mentally. We’ve got a lot to play for.”

The Nationals clinched home field advantage when the Dodgers lost to the Giants on Saturday afternoon, so there was no reason for Baker to play his regulars in the third game of three with the Marlins this afternoon, other than the fact that Max Scherzer is going for win No. 20.

When the lineup was released, there was a mix of regulars and bench players, but no Jayson Werth...

Here’s the lineup for this afternoon’s regular season finale: