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Davey Martinez told reporters after last night’s loss that he was concerned about what he saw from Justin Miller on the mound, and planned to talk to the reliever to see if anything was bothering the reliever who served up an 0-2 fastball that pinch hitter Colin Moran hit out to right for a three-run blast in the tenth that put the Pittsburgh Pirates up for good in the series opener in Washington, D.C.
Martinez was asked if everything was okay physically for Miller.
“We’re going to find out,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m going to talk to him, I haven’t talked to him, but he’s throwing 91-92, and I don’t know what the problem is, I don’t know if it’s his arm, but we’re going to have a conversation when I get back in there.”
Miller averaged 94 MPH on his fastball in 2018, and has averaged 93 MPH this season, so a mile an hour or two off that average stood out for the skipper.
When the reliever spoke to reporters after the 6-3 loss to the Bucs, Miller said his lower back was an issue, and he would be heading to the 10-Day Injured List.
Miller, who dealt with lower back issues in Spring Training, said his back acted up again in last weekend’s series in New York, but said tonight, as quoted by MLB.com’s Jamal Collier, that this time it was different.
“It just feels like somebody’s punching me in the kidney every single time I try and throw a ball,” Miller explained.
The official move to the IL was announced this morning, and the Nationals called Austen Williams up from Triple-A Fresno to take Miller’s spot on the roster.