Nationals recall left-hander Matt Grace, place left-hander Felipe Rivero on DL

The Washington Nationals recalled left-handed pitcher Matt Grace from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday and placed left-handed pitcher Felipe Rivero on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 18, with a GI bleed. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Grace joins the Nationals for the first Major League assignment of his career. The 26-year-old, who utilizes a heavy fastball/slider combination to help him induce ground balls at a high rate, is 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA since converting to a reliever in 2013. During his breakout 2014 season, Grace went 5-1 with a 1.17 ERA in 50 appearances across Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse. He held opposing batters to a .211 average, tallied 62 strikeouts in 77 innings of work, and surrendered just one home run -- while inducing ground balls at a rate of 69 percent, 24 percent higher than the Major League average (45 percent). At the conclusion of the 2014 regular season, Grace appeared in 10 games for Mesa in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, posting a 3.18 ERA (4 ER/11.1 IP). The California native was an eighth-round selection of the Nationals in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of UCLA. In five seasons in the Nationals' Minor League system, Grace has worked to a 36-25 record and a 4.20 ERA. Rivero, 23, made his Major League debut on Friday night, pitching one inning and allowing one earned run on three hits with two strikeouts in the Nationals' 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.