Washington Nationals News: Harper remains day to day, Roark on paternity list
By Pablo Roa
Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! Get caught up on the latest Nats news with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Paul Casella gives us an update on Bryce Harper, who suffered a mild left hamstring strain in last night’s game against the Rays. As Casella notes, Harper is not in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Pirates and remains day to day.
While Harper being out of tonight’s game and possibly the next couple of games as well is a rough blow for the Nationals’ offense, his current diagnosis comes as a relief to Harper, the Nationals and the fanbase.
When Harper crumbled to the ground after slipping while making a throw during last night’s game, everyone feared the worst. The 22-year-old slugger stayed on the ground for several minutes clutching his left knee—a knee which has already gone under the knife once in his career.
After the game, however, the team announced that the injury was only a mild hamstring strain and that there was no damage to the knee, which is presumably great news for the Nationals. The team can survive a few days without the young MVP-candidate, but if Harper’s injury were severe and caused him to miss an extended amount of time, the outlook would be bleak for a team that entered the regular season with World Series aspirations.
Of course, when it comes to injuries like this, cautious optimism is always the way to go. While Harper doesn’t appear to have any serious injury right now, circumstances could change as the Nats continue to evaluate him (Anthony Rendon, anyone?).
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Hopefully for the Nationals, Harper’s injury is exactly what the team believes it is and nothing more serious. He’ll be out of the lineup for at least a couple of days, but right now, it looks like the Nationals dodged a deadly bullet.
Also in today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin discusses Tanner Roark. As Fordin notes, the Nationals have placed Roark on the paternity list and called up reliever Taylor Hill in his place.
Be sure to check out the articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Harper out of lineup, remains day to day
WASHINGTON — Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is not in the starting lineup against the Pirates on Friday night, one day after he departed the Nats’ 5-3 loss to the Rays in the sixth inning with what the club learned is a mild left hamstring strain. He is considered day to day and hasn’t yet been ruled out for Saturday’s game.
Harper crumpled to the ground, where he remained for several minutes, after slipping on the slick outfield grass while attempting to make a throw home.
“He’s sore,” manager Matt Williams said before Friday’s game. “He hasn’t done a whole lot today. He’s getting treatment. I’m sure at some point he’ll get some swings in and do some light stuff.” Read full article here.
Hill returns as Nats put Roark on paternity list
Taylor Hill is coming right back to the Nationals.
Washington placed Tanner Roark on the paternity list Friday and recalled Hill from Triple-A Syracuse just one day after he had been optioned to the team’s highest affiliate. Roark, who has pitched to a 3-2 record with a 3.38 ERA this season, is expecting his second child with wife Amanda. Read full article here.