So the Nationals now know the suspensions handed out to center fielder Nyjer Morgan, among others. He gets eight games for his three separate incidents over the last week, not including the seven-game suspension for allegedly throwing a ball at a fan in Philadelphia on Aug. 21.
But Morgan is batting leadoff tonight in Pittsburgh so he has apparently appealed the most recent suspension, too. All of that will be dealt with in New York next Friday after Morgan’s hearing got pushed back three days. Don’t look for much of a reduction. Major League Baseball dropped the hammer on Morgan for a reason.
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Danny Espinosa makes his first major-league start tonight when the Nats play the Pirates at PNC Park. He starts at second base. Ryan Zimmerman is back in the lineup after taking Wednesday off. Roger Bernadina sits this one out against left-handed pitcher Zach Duke (6-12, 5.17 ERA) after a couple of games in the No. 3 spot in the batting order. The Nats are 57-77 and in last place in the National League East. Pittsburgh is 44-89 and in last place…well, in all of baseball. But also in the N.L. Central. The Pirates have a serious youth movement going on. Livan Hernandez (9-9, 3.49 ERA) starts for the first time since signing his new one-year contract after Sunday’s win over St. Louis.
In other news, the organization re-instated right-handed pitcher Garrett Mock from the 60-day disabled list. He has recovered from a right cervical disk injury near his neck. Mock went on the disabled list on April 15. The 27-year-old is 0-3 with a 5.14 ERA in five rehab starts at four different levels in the Washington farm system. He was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Outfielder Josh Willingham (left knee surgery) was placed on the 60-day disabled list to create room on the 40-man roster. Here are tonight’s lineups:
Nationals:
Morgan – CF
Desmond – SS
Zimmerman – 3B
Dunn – 1B
Morse – RF
Rodriguez – C
Maxwell – LF
Espinosa – 2B
Hernandez – SP
Pirates:
McCutchen – CF
Tabata – LF
Walker – 2B
Jones – 1B
Alvarez – 3B
Doumit – C
Bowker – RF
Cedeno – SS
Duke – SP
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