Harper to return Saturday, Lind to Yanks (Nats win 2-1)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Bryce Harper is scheduled to return to action Saturday, his toe having healed from a minor surgical procedure to remove an ingrown nail.

Harper was originally due to play Wednesday, but had to be scratched after he reported the toenail problem. He had it removed later that day, then sat out Thursday while healing.

Though he's not playing in today's game against the Mets, Harper was due to participate in the Nationals' workout in Port St. Lucie. Assuming all goes well, he'll bat third and serve as DH for Saturday's game against the Astros, who are sending Justin Verlander to the mound.

"He's still scheduled for tomorrow," manager Davey Martinez said. "He says he feels good. He's going to go out and do everything today, but he's going to play tomorrow."

Matt Adams, meanwhile, still hasn't played since Sunday, after which he developed a blister on the bottom of his foot. Martinez said the backup first baseman is probably ready to go now but will be held out a bit longer out of caution.

"We scheduled to have him play today, but I talked to him last night on the bus and I want to give him maybe a day or two," Martinez said. "He said he feels good. So, for me, let's just get him completely right. We've still got plenty of time. He's progressing really well. So we just said: 'Hey, just take it easy and let this go away.' "

The Nationals signed Adams to a one-year, $4 million deal over the winter to take the roster spot held last season by Adam Lind, whose $5 million mutual option was declined in November. This morning, Lind finally got a new job, signing a minor league contract with the Yankees.

It's a surprising drop-off for Lind, who hit .303 with 14 homers, 59 RBIs and an .875 OPS over 301 plate appearances with the Nationals last season and was among the best bench hitters in the majors. Now he faces long odds of even making the Yankees' 25-man roster unless someone else gets hurt before the end of camp.

Update: Max Scherzer's second start of the spring could not have gone any more swimmingly than it did. Scherzer faced nine batters, retired all nine, struck out five and did not let a ball leave the infield. The much ballyhooed showdown with Tim Tebow went exactly as you'd expect: three pitches, three strikes (two looking). Scherzer threw 41 pitches, 27 for strikes, and barely broke a sweat.

The Nats took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Trea Turner walked and scored on Howie Kendrick's double to left-center. Ryan Zimmerman, in his first at-bat of the spring, tomahawked a line drive to right field that was caught. (Zimmerman later sent a sinking liner to left that skipped past a diving Matt den Dekker and wound up as a double.)

Erick Fedde has now entered to pitch the fourth with the Nationals still up 1-0.

Update II: Victor Robles has extended the Nats' lead to 2-0 in the seventh. The 20-year-old blasted a solo homer off right-hander Marcos Molina to left-center, his first of the spring. The Nationals bullpen, meanwhile, has picked up right where Scherzer left off. Fedde, Tim Collins and Roman Mendez have combined for four scoreless innings in relief, keeping this a two-run lead after seven (though Fedde did allow a line drive single to Tebow in the bottom of the fourth).

Update III: Gavin Cecchini led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer off Christopher Smith, but that was all the scoring for the Mets in a 2-1 loss to the Nationals.