Washington Nationals pregame notes: Max Scherzer setback; Kyle Barraclough returns

Towards the end of his post game gaggle with reporters yesterday, Max Scherzer offered a cautious note after saying he felt fine coming out of his first start since July 6th, after he’d spent a few weeks on the Injured List with what was diagnosed as scapulothoracic bursitis.

“I felt good,” Scherzer explained. “I was out there, and just felt rested today. You don’t pitch for a couple weeks, the command is kind of off, so I kind of anticipated that coming in, and just tried to figure out what I was going to be able to execute today.

“So for me,” the 34-year-old right-hander added, “I’m more concerned about with the back tomorrow. When that onset came on the next day, so I won’t know anything until tomorrow.”

Apparently he woke up not feeling so great, with a report by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman on Twitter today noting Scherzer, “... got [an] MRI which showed ‘mild strain’ of his rhomboid muscle,” so he received a stem cell shot and will take two days off from throwing before he resumes activities in the hope that can still make his next start against the Atlanta Braves.

Nats’ manager Davey Martinez told reporters that the Nationals were just taking a cautious approach and being careful with their ace.

“We’ve got to be smart,” he said, as quoted by Zuckerman. “Let’s just get you right. When you’re right, you’re one of the best.”

So ... panic meter low for now?

BULLPEN HELP?: Before today’s game the Nationals also announced that they’ve recalled reliever Kyle Barraclough from Double-A Harrisburg in advance of this weekend’s series in D.C. with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Barraclough, 29, has struggled in his first season with the Nationals after was acquired from the Miami Marlins over the winter, putting up a 6.39 ERA, a 6.10 FIP, 12 walks (4.26 BB/9) and 30 Ks (10.66 K/9) in 32 games and 25 ¹⁄₃ IP before he ended up on the 10-Day Injured List on June 16th with what a press release on the issue described as “right radial nerve irritation.”