Miller's injury muddles middle relief for Nats (Nats lose 8-4)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Right now, the strained lower back muscle that's sidelined right-hander Justin Miller has been treated like a minor injury. But it's one that could have major ramifications for the Nationals bullpen.

Miller complained about the problem, which delayed his spring debut until Saturday. And after pitching an inning against the Twins, he still had a problem with lower back soreness. The Nationals shut him down, sent him for an MRI and discovered the muscle strain.

Today, Miller will attempt to play catch, the first step in getting back into the swing of spring training.

"He's going to go out there and play catch and we'll see where he's at after that. ... I'm not going to put him in a game until he's 100 percent," manager Davey Martinez said.

But with Miller ailing, and right-hander Koda Glover still out with a strained right forearm, the Nationals' middle relief is potentially in disarray. Miller filled a variety of workmanlike bullpen roles last year, pitching to a 3.61 ERA in 52 1/3 innings over 51 appearances after being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse in late May.

"It's something that he couldn't control," Martinez said. "It happened. We want him healthy. He's going to get some time to pitch, and hopefully sooner than later. But I just want him 100 percent healthy so that we can take care of this now and it doesn't happen to him again."

There's still time in camp for Miller to heal, rehabilitate and log enough innings to get ready for opening day. And Martinez left no doubt that Miller is firmly in his bullpen plans.

"If healthy, Justin Miller will be in our bullpen," the manager said.

While the Nationals improved the back end of their bullpen - signing free agent righty Trevor Rosenthal and trading for right-hander Kyle Barraclough to set up for lefty closer Sean Doolittle - they still need an effective bridge in the middle innings.

That's the role Miller filled so ably last season, 10 times pitching more than an inning and logging as many as three innings at a time.

"We'll have to see as we get closer to opening day where we're at, but Justin came up here last year and did a tremendous job," Martinez said. "Did all kinds of things - he pitched in high-leverage situations, gave us multiple innings. I like the fact that he gives us that balance in our bullpen that he can do that stuff. In a perfect world, I'd like him to pitch the fifth or sixth inning, if need be."

Lefties Matt Grace and Sammy Solís seem assured of bullpen spots, so the injuries to Miller and Glover could open a path for left-hander Vidal Nuño or right-handers Austen Williams or Aaron Barrett to force their way onto the 25-man roster heading north.

* Just because Max Scherzer is in the lineup today and hitting ninth doesn't mean you won't see the Nationals use a designated hitter anymore during Grapefruit League games.

"He's been hitting since Day One (of) camp," Martinez said. "I asked him if he wanted to hit. ... He's real big into the whole game, not just the pitching portion. He loves to hit, he loves to run the bases, he loves to play the game."

* The Nationals are off tomorrow, the first of two scheduled off-days this spring. On Thursday, they will play a 10 a.m. B game at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches against the Mets, with Wil Crowe set to pitch and Adrian Sanchez scheduled to play first base.

Martinez wants Sanchez to play multiple positions this spring, feeling he has the ability to perform as a super utility player.

In the 1:05 p.m. game against the Mets, Stephen Strasburg will pitch for Washington.

Update: The Nats took a 1-0 lead in the third, but it cost them Howie Kendrick, who pulled up lame after beating out a run-scoring infield single. Trea Turner led off with a double and stole third. With one down, Kendrick hit a slow roller down the third base line and Turner raced home. But Kendrick limped off the field and into the dugout to confer with an athletic trainer, replaced by pinch-runner Justin Wilson.

Update II: The Red Sox sent 12 men to the plate and scored seven times in the fourth. Scherzer allowed a leadoff homer to Tzu-Wei Line and labored as the inning wore on, but his last two hits allowed were a flare over the infield and a broken-bat single. Vidal Nuño relieved and gave up four straight hits before the inning ended. Scherzer went 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts. He threw 56 pitches, 38 for strikes.

Update III: Brandon Snyder's two-RBI single in the sixth cut the deficit to 8-3. The next inning, Boston got a run back on Oscar Hernandez's RBI double.

Final update: Luis Garcia led off the ninth with a liner to left center and would score on Jake Noll's single to left. But two batters later, Sox center fielder Cole Sturgeon made a diving catch on a fly ball from Chuck Taylor to end the game. Red Sox top the Nats 8-4.