Nationals "very confident" Scherzer will make next start

PITTSBURGH - Take a glance at Max Scherzer's left knee, and you might not even notice it's anything less than 100 percent healthy right now. There's virtually no swelling, and the only outward evidence of the 100 mph line drive he took off the knee Sunday night is a small red mark with the faint sign of baseball stitching.

"I'm feeling great," Scherzer said this afternoon.

And so are the Nationals, who are breathing a huge sigh of relief that there do not appear to be any lasting concerns about their ace and are confident he'll make his next scheduled start (either Friday or Saturday in Atlanta).

"Yeah, very confident," manager Dusty Baker said.

Scherzer said the Nationals training staff went to work on his knee right after he departed Sunday night's game, using a patch to reduce swelling to the point it's no longer visible. He didn't partake in his typical between-starts full running drill, but he did jog and test the knee out, with no problems reported.

"I'm telling you, Max might be what they call a medical marvel," Baker said. "Modern medicine. They put some kind of patch on his knee. He still has the stitches from the ball. But he came out, he said he was a little sore. He couldn't do his normal running, but he did some jogging. Max will be fine."

Scherzer will make his next start either Friday or Saturday, with Gio Gonzalez (who started the other half of Sunday's doubleheader) taking the other rotation slot. But the identity of Wednesday night's starter against the Pirates remains unannounced.

"We'll let you know after the game," Baker said. "It depends how the game goes tonight. We'll let you know after the game tonight."

If you want to read between the lines, Baker may have been referring to Jacob Turner, who is available to pitch out of the bullpen in tonight's opener but would be positioned to start Wednesday if he's not needed before then.

If Turner doesn't start Wednesday, the Nationals would likely choose between Joe Ross (currently at Triple-A Syracuse) or top prospect Erick Fedde (currently at Double-A Harrisburg). Both right-handers would be on normal rest.

* The Nationals have their full starting lineup in there tonight, except for Daniel Murphy, who is being replaced at second base by Wilmer Difo.

Nothing's wrong with Murphy, according to Baker, who said he simply wanted to give the veteran one game off this week and didn't want to take a chance doing it Sunday.

"I was going to give him the day off the other day in that split doubleheader, but it was important for us," Baker said. "We needed the split, once we didn't win the first game. So I figured today's a good day, just to give Murph two days off. A day off is necessary sometimes. We've got to keep him healthy and strong the whole way. And I saw his bat slowing down a little bit the other day. So I figured today was as good a day as any."

* Stephen Drew traveled with the club to Pittsburgh and was on the field this afternoon taking batting practice, fielding grounders and doing some baserunning. Drew has been on the disabled list since April 12 with a strained right hamstring, though he may finally be on the verge of beginning a minor league rehab assignment.

"I'm watching him right now," Baker said. "He's looking pretty good. He could go out in a few days. We've just got to see how he's running. He looks like he's hitting well. I've seen him hit. I haven't seen him run lately. But it looks like he's moving pretty good."