Club places Rodriguez on 15-day disabled list
The Nationals headed west without their starting catcher and down a man in the pitching rotation. That is hardly the ideal way to begin a season-long 10-game, 11-day road trip.
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But given their place in the standings after 45 games — a 23-22 record and just 2 1/2 games out of a National League playoff spot — things could be worse.
Washington placed catcher Ivan Rodriguez on the disabled list Monday with a strained lower back. The 38-year-old veteran joins starting pitcher Scott Olsen, who has a sore shoulder. Neither will participate in the road trip to San Francisco, San Diego and Houston. The Nats don’t return home until a June 4 game against Cincinnati — and a possible big league debut for pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg.
“We’ve got a tough span of games here in a row,” said Nats outfielder Josh Willingham.
That’s because they will face two of baseball’s best pitching staffs back-to-back. Only Tampa Bay has allowed fewer runs than the Giants (152) and Padres (144). On Wednesday night, Washington goes against two-time NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum in San Francisco. On Thursday afternoon it’s a resurgent Barry Zito and his 2.80 ERA.
“It doesn’t get any easier. Even Houston has some good pitchers,” said Nats third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. “There really are no easy games. We have to continue to grind it out, keep doing the little things and carry this momentum on the road.”
Losing Rodriguez hurts, though. He was batting .325 (40-for-123) with nine doubles, a triple and a home run. Wil Nieves jumps into the starting lineup. But his offensive production pales in comparison. It doesn’t help that the only other catchers on the 40-man roster — Jesus Flores and Chris Coste — also are on the disabled list. So Washington general manager Mike Rizzo must remove someone from his 40-man roster and risk losing them on waivers to add a catcher. That move will be announced Tuesday.
Livan Hernandez (4-2, 1.62 ERA) begins the road trip on the mound Tuesday. He faces Giants’ No. 5 starter Todd Wellemeyer (2-4, 5.71 ERA), who pitched seven innings of two-run ball against the Nats last May 1 while with St. Louis.
