Harper scratched from lineup with ingrown toenail (Nats lose 3-1)

JUPITER, Fla. - Originally scheduled to play back-to-back days for the first time this spring, Bryce Harper wound up not being able to play today's game at all.

Harper was scratched from the lineup with an ingrown toenail, a seemingly insignificant ailment but one that has been a problem for the star outfielder before.

Harper had to miss two games in May 2013 after suffering from an ingrown toenail that was so bad it had to be surgically removed.

No word yet how much time the 25-year-old slugger will need to miss from this particular issue.

It's been a rough week for Nationals players' feet. First baseman Matt Adams had to be scratched from Tuesday's game with a blister on his right foot, and he remains out of the lineup today as well.

As for the players who are actually on the field facing the Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium ... Tanner Roark slogged his way through a ragged bottom of the second, though he didn't get much help behind him.

Pitching against Miami in Jupiter for the second time in four days, Roark cruised through his first inning, retiring the side and striking out both Magneuris Sierra and J.T. Realmuto. But he got into trouble in the second, with a double, a hit batter, a walk and a run-scoring wild pitch.

The inning would've ended much earlier and without any runs crossing the plate if not for errors charged to Anthony Rendon on back-to-back plays, one throwing and one fielding.

The Nationals lineup, meanwhile, managed nothing against Marlins right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne, who retired all nine batters he faced, four via strikeout. The Nats trail 2-0 in the third inning.

Update: They've completed six innings here, and it remains 2-0 Miami. The two clubs have combined for a total of three hits (two by the Marlins, one by the Nats). It's been that kind of game. One notable highlight, though: Michael A. Taylor leaped high over the center field wall to rob Derek Dietrich of a home run in the bottom of the third, an awfully impressive defensive gem. That catch came with Ryan Madson on the mound; the veteran reliever retired the side in his first appearance of the spring. Shawn Kelley, Edwin Jackson and Jefry Rodriguez all have posted zeros of their own since, though Rodriguez needed 30 pitches to complete his inning despite not allowing a hit.

Update II: The Nats manufactured a run in the top of the seventh. Well, more like Marlins lefty Dillon Peters handed the Nats a run. He walked four batters, with one strikeout mixed in for good measure. Hey, whatever works. Nats, who still have only one hit today, trail 2-1 now heading to the eighth.

Update III: Trevor Gott's wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth allowed the Marlins to increase their lead to 3-1. And that's how this one will end, with the Nationals falling to the Fish.