NEW YORK - The stiffness that Ross Detwiler felt in the left side of his lower back following his start Friday is all but gone, manager Davey Johnson said today.
Johnson reported that Detwiler felt much better today than he did yesterday, and the left-hander thinks he'll be able to make his scheduled start Wednesday against the Brewers.
Detwiler played catch in the outfield at Citi Field just a few minutes ago and seemed to be throwing at full force. He'll throw a side session tomorrow, and assuming all goes well, he'll be on track to get the ball Wednesday.
Right-hander Dan Haren, who is on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation, threw a bullpen session today and all went well, according to Johnson.
Haren got a cortisone shot in his shoulder earlier this week and said that he has felt much freer when throwing since then. Johnson still declined to look too far down the road and speculate what could happen when Haren is ready to come off the DL on July 8, but he did say that Haren might not need to head out on a rehab assignment. The Nationals could just have the veteran right-hander get in some work with the team by throwing bullpen sessions and simulated games.
The Nats will face Mets stud prospect Zack Wheeler (1-0, 3.18 ERA) today, and will counter with left-hander Gio Gonzalez (4-3, 3.31 ERA).
The 23-year-old Wheeler has made two big league starts, throwing six scoreless innings against the Braves in his major league debut and then allowing four runs over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the White Sox on Tuesday.
The Mets discovered that Wheeler was tipping his pitches during that start against Chicago, and hitters were able to tell when a breaking ball was coming. Wheeler has apparently spent the past four days working on his mechanics and delivery to try and avoid the pitch-tipping, but we'll see if the Nats can pick up on anything today.
For the Nats
CF Denard Span
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
RF Jayson Werth
SS Ian Desmond
LF Roger Bernadina
C Kurt Suzuki
LHP Gio Gonzalez
For the Mets
LF Eric Young Jr.
2B Daniel Murphy
3B David Wright
RF Marlon Byrd
1B Josh Satin
C John Buck
CF Juan Lagares
SS Omar Quintanilla
RHP Zack Wheeler
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