Williams reacts to Rendon's trip to DL and Harper's latest setback

PHILADELPHIA - Just as the Nationals seemingly were separating themselves from the competition in the National League East, the injury bug has struck again.

Second baseman Anthony Rendon was the first bad news, the Nationals placing the 25-year-old infielder on the 15-day disabled list earlier today with a left quadriceps strain.

Then came news that right fielder Bryce Harper will miss his second straight game with tightness in his right hamstring.

And center fielder Denard Span was the latest to fall, with lingering back spasms causing him to be scratched from the lineup just over an hour before first pitch.

Rendon joins Ryan Zimmerman (left plantar fasciitis) and Jayson Werth (left wrist fractures) as everyday players on the DL, leaving manager Matt Williams with a depleted batting order and feeling snake-bitten.

"Zim's foot, Jayson getting hit by a pitch, and Anthony with the knee and then the oblique and now the quad," Williams lamented. "It's not anything that we can put a finger on. I don't know if anybody could."

Rendon indicated that he initially injured the quad coming out of the box after smacking a double in Saturday's win over the Pirates. Rendon sat the next day, rested on the Nats' off-day on Monday and then returned to go 6-for-8 with an RBI in wins over the Braves on Tuesday and Wednesday. But he was out of the lineup in the series finale yesterday and now finds himself back on the DL, where he spent the first 53 games of the season after dealing with a sprained left MCL and strained left oblique muscle.

After playing without his young star for the first two months of the season, it's no surprise that Williams is taking the cautious approach with Rendon and this latest setback.

"The MRI (on the quad) showed some pretty good changes in there," Williams said. "It's not something you want to mess with. If it gets to the point where it becomes worse than it is, then you lose him for an extended period."

After a slow return from the DL, Rendon's bat was just starting to heat up. He was hitting .364 with three doubles and four RBIs in his last eight games.

"The good part about the injury is he can continue to hit which (means) he can keep his swing and his timing as much as possible," Williams said. "And he'll stay with us through the road trip and get some work done. So we hope it's just a couple weeks."

Williams said the hope is Rendon is sidelined for just a short time.

"The question is getting him healthy and getting him back," Williams said. "We certainly want him post-All-Star break to be ready to go and continue the rest of the season."

Harper's right hamstring tightness caused him to pull up lame at second base after blistering a double in the 11th inning of Wednesday's win over the Braves. After being checked, Harper remained in the game, scoring the winning run moments later.

But Harper sat out yesterday and is missing from the lineup again tonight after undergoing further tests on the hamstring.

"Bryce did have an MRI," Williams said. "It's pretty good. But the fact that he's tight, we don't want to take that chance. We're playing down anyway and we have for some time now so we want to make sure that if we need to give him a couple days, then we give him a couple days."

Harper's right hamstring issue comes on the heels of a left hamstring strain suffered while making a throw to the plate in a loss to the Rays on June 18. That injury caused the slugger to miss only one game.

"We'll keep him out at least another day and make sure he's good to go when he gets back in there," Williams said. "I don't want to take any chances for sure."

With all the injuries, Williams will lean on ace Max Scherzer more than ever tonight. It will be hard to get any more out the right-hander than what he's given the Nats over his last two starts. Williams sees Scherzer coming out focused tonight, unaffected by all the hype coming off his first career no-hitter.

"I don't think it will affect him in a negative way," Williams said. "If you're human and breathing, you've heard everybody talk about it and he's no different. But that doesn't affect him. He sticks to his game plan. He prepares. From the last time he pitched to today, he's been preparing for this team. He understands everybody on the club and what he wants to do on the mound."