Adams departs after taking pitch off left hand (Nats lose 6-5)

TORONTO - Matt Adams had been one of the few members of the Nationals lineup to avoid injury so far this season. Add the big first baseman to the list now.

Adams had to depart tonight's game before the bottom of the third, one inning after he took a pitch off his left hand while squaring around to bunt the previous inning.

Leading off the top of the second and facing the exaggerated infield shift he has seen from most opponents this season, Adams decided to try to surprise the Blue Jays and lay down a bunt to the open left side of the infield. But Aaron Sanchez's pitch came in tight, and it ricocheted off both Adams' bat and his left index and middle fingers for a foul ball.

Adams dropped his bat in pain and walked around near the batter's box for a minute before finally signaling to the dugout for director of athletic training Paul Lessard. After a quick exam, Adams remained in the game, but after striking out he shook his hand as he walked back to the dugout.

And after catching a throw from Anthony Rendon at first base in the bottom of the second, Adams had to take his glove off and keep it off until the next pitch was thrown. When the bottom of the third arrived, Mark Reynolds took over at first base, with Adams out of the game and presumably headed for X-rays.

Adams has been an invaluable addition to the Nationals so far this season, taking over first base duties while Ryan Zimmerman sits on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle. Zimmerman, who is on this road trip, has been limited in baseball activities to date and has not yet been cleared to go on a rehab assignment.

Adams figured to start all three games here this weekend, with the Blue Jays sending three right-handers to the mound.

Update: We've seen a little bit of everything so far tonight. The Nats jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Bryce Harper's first-inning walk and stolen base and Anthony Rendon's RBI single to right, then Juan Soto's double off the wall in center field and Pedro Severino's first RBI in a month in the top of the second. But Gio Gonzalez gave both runs back, plus another, in the bottom of the third via a pair of home runs (one by Devon Travis, one by Yangervis Solarte). The Nats just got the tying run back, though, in the top of the fifth when Trea Turner singled, stole second, went to third on Rendon's single and then scored on a wild pitch. So it's 3-3 in the middle of the fifth.

Update II: It had to happen eventually: Justin Miller has surrendered a run. And it was costly. After Gonzalez departed with two on and nobody out in the seventh - with Adam Eaton's misplay of a routine fly ball setting the stage - Miller entered and gave up a sacrifice fly and then a towering home run to Solarte (his second of the night). Just like that, the Nats trail 6-3 after seven, and Miller has given up his first run in 24 2/3 combined innings between Syracuse and Washington this season.

Update III: The Nats got two runs back in the top of the eighth, thanks to Daniel Murphy's first hit of the season and then a run-scoring double play by Reynolds. But they still trail 6-5 heading to the bottom of the inning, down to their final three outs.

Update IV: That's your ballgame. The Nats got the tying runner to third base with one out in the ninth but couldn't bring him home. They lose the series opener 6-5 and now await word on Adams' left hand.