Team weighs options for timing of Harper's return (Nats win 7-3)

ATLANTA - The way Bryce Harper has progressed and looked in his on-field workouts the last few days, it's only natural to wonder if the Nationals slugger may be on the verge of returning from his scary-looking left leg injury.

That may prove to be the case, but manager Dusty Baker also has some words of caution for those who are ready to throw Harper right back into his starting lineup.

"You don't want to jump the gun too much just because of what we've seen," Baker said. "The tendency is to rush him, but you've got to refrain from that. And you've got to refrain from him rushing himself. 'Cause, man, he's been out (5 1/2 weeks). It's a miracle that he's back to this point."

Cautious words aside, Harper has looked impressive. He participated in a simulated game Tuesday afternoon at SunTrust Park, facing a pair of minor league pitchers flown in from the Nationals' instructional league squad in West Palm Beach, Fla. And he took a full round of batting practice today, launching balls into parts of the ballpark local observers have not seen players reach in this inaugural season, while also running the bases at close to full effort.

"He worked pretty hard, like I said yesterday," Baker said. "He's a little winded. He's a little out of shape. Even with as much work as he's been doing, there's nothing like running on a baseball field."

So what happens next? Harper is scheduled to take Thursday off, after which the Nationals will have to make a decision. Their choices: Bring him with them to New York for another simulated game, send him to Florida to work out with the instructional league club or perhaps activate him (even if only to pinch-hit or play a few innings in the field before coming out of the game).

For now, no decision has been made. But the Nationals are weighing the pros and cons of pushing their 24-year-old star vs. dialing it back a bit just to be safe.

"He's on a crash course to try to come back as soon as possible, but we don't want to rush him too much to hurt him," Baker said. "Like I said, it's a miracle. He's doing well."

One domino effect of Harper's eventual return is Jayson Werth's place on the field. Werth has started in right field for 14 of the 15 games he has played since returning from his fractured left foot, given his standing as the Nationals' backup plan in case Harper didn't make it back.

But with Harper's return now looking more like a sure thing, Werth will move back to left field at some point. Just not yet.

"It just depends," Baker said. "I'll leave him in right until I see Bryce is maybe about to come back. We just have to act like Bryce may not come back, and then prepare at the same time for when Bryce does come back, when he gets closer. Whether you like it or not, life goes on. You have to prepare for life to go on."

Update: Tonight's game featured a pair of first inning homers, one for each team, and very little offensive production since. Trea Turner got things started in a hurry, blasting Lucas Sims' very first pitch of the evening to left field for his 10th home run of the season. The Nats haven't done much since, not even threatening again until the top of the fifth, when Turner grounded out with the bases loaded.

Freddie Freeman, meanwhile, was up to his usual tricks in the bottom of the first, drilling a solo homer to right off Gio Gonzalez to tie the game at 1-1. Gonzalez, though, found his groove after that and retired the next 10 batters he faced, five via strikeout. But then old pal Kurt Suzuki struck, leading off the bottom of the fifth with a homer to left. That's Suzuki's 16th of the season, a new career-high. But through five innings, those two solo homers are the lone blemishes on Gonzalez's pitching line. He has retired every other batter and has yet to pitch out of the stretch, despite now trailing 2-1.

Update II: Well, things have taken a rather dramatic turn here in the top of the eighth. Remember when the Nats trailed 2-1? They now lead 7-2. They did so by batting around in the inning, scoring their first three runs not via hit but via bases-loaded walk. Yes, three of them in a row, all issued by reliever Arodys Vizcaíno. They then tacked on more with a two-run single by Adam Lind and an RBI single by Michael A. Taylor. And just like that, a one-run deficit has turned into a five-run lead. Gonzalez, meanwhile, is done after seven strong innings. It'll be up to the Nats bullpen to finish this one off.

Update III: That's your ballgame. Nats win 7-3, thanks to that six-run rally in the top of the eighth. Gonzalez improves to 15-7 with a 2.68 ERA. The team improves to 92-59, now needing to go 7-4 the rest of the way to break the franchise record for wins.