Harper out of lineup with stiff neck (Nationals win 1-0)

The stiff neck that forced Bryce Harper to depart Saturday night's game early is keeping him out of the Nationals lineup today for their series finale against the Giants.

Harper had started 101 of the Nationals' first 110 games this season, dealing only with an occasional day off and minor injuries. He doesn't sound concerned that this issue is anything serious, though he admitted it has been a problem for a few days.

"It's a stiff neck," he said Saturday night. "That's not the greatest for baseball. Definitely tough, but I'll try to come in here tomorrow and see where we're at."

Dusty Baker doesn't hold pregame sessions with reporters on Sundays, but the manager said Saturday night he pulled Harper after six innings for precautionary reasons.

"He's been dealing with this for a couple of days," Baker said. "I think this was the second day. I decided to take him out of the game."

Given the quick turnaround to today's 1:35 p.m. series finale (and perhaps the presence of Giants ace left-hander Madison Bumgarner on the mound) Harper's omission from the starting lineup wasn't all that surprising. The Nationals also have Monday off, giving the right fielder more time to rest before potentially returning to play Tuesday night against the Indians.

Stuck in a prolonged slump since a torrid April that earned him National League Player of the Month honors, Harper was showing signs of a potential breakout earlier in the week. Though he was just 2-for-8 in his previous two games (Wednesday and Friday), four of his outs came on line drives to the outfield, another on a sacrifice fly.

Harper regressed during Saturday's game, though, striking out three times against Giants right-hander Matt Cain. After fouling a pitch off in his second at-bat, Harper crouched over in apparent pain and was visited by head athletic trainer Paul Lessard.

"It just didn't feel very good," Harper said. "It got a little tense in there. I needed a break real quick. Our trainer got out there and gave me a second. Just definitely didn't feel right."

Harper did stay in the game another three innings before Baker decided to pull him before the top of the seventh.

Update: Four innings are in the books, and we're still awaiting the first run of the afternoon. The Giants have had several chances, putting runners in scoring position in both the top of the third and fourth innings with nobody out. But Tanner Roark has battled his way out of those jams, striking out Brandon Belt with two on and two out in the third and getting Gregor Blanco to ground out with two on and two out in the fourth. Madison Bumgarner, meanwhile, didn't allow his first hit of the day until Anthony Rendon's two-out double in the bottom of the fourth. Wilson Ramos followed with a walk, giving the Nats their first chance of the afternoon. But Danny Espinosa, after battling through a long at-bat, struck out on a 2-2 curveball. And so it's scoreless entering the fifth.

Update II: We've now completed six innings, and there are still nothing but zeroes on the scoreboard. Bumgarner and Roark have quite a duel going on, with Roark having to pitch his way out of more jams but no less effective than his much-ballyhooed counterpart. We head to the seventh, and it feels like whichever team scores first today is going to end up winning.

Update III: It's not scorless anymore. Ben Revere made a fantastic, over-the-shoulder catch at the base of the center field wall to keep the Giants from scoring two runs in the top of the seventh and get Roark out of his latest jam. Ramos then opened the bottom of the inning by taking Bumgarner deep to right-center for his 18th homer of the season. The Nats lead 1-0 and this ballpark has come to life.

Update IV: That'll do it. Nats win 1-0, a fantastic ballgame. Roark went seven scoreless to improve to 12-6 with a 2.88 ERA. Ramos' homer off Bumgarner was enough offense. And Shawn Kelley and Mark Melancon finished it off, Melancon earning his first save since his acquisition from the Pirates last weekend. The Nats take the season series from the Giants, 4-3.