Baker on twinbill lineups, Harper, Revere, Belisle and bullpen

Manager Dusty Baker said right-hander Matt Belisle, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 27 with a right calf strain, will go through a bullpen session today and is closer to getting to rehab games.

"He has to go get some innings in and get some back-to-backs," Baker said. "He's doing fine. He's been working hard, which doesn't surprise anybody. He's in great shape. We actually had to slow him down a little bit because he's such a go-getter.

"He will go out (on a rehab assignment). We haven't decided when and how many bullpen sessions he needs. We'll just go from there."

Baker said the Nationals chose to call up outfielder Matt den Dekker as the 26th man for today's doubleheader mainly because the Marlins don't have any southpaw relievers. There is also a chance den Dekker could start the second game.

"They don't have any lefties in their bullpen and also some of the factors were we feel he deserves it and we feel that we need him," Baker said. "He'll probably play one of these games here. Our bullpen wasn't highly taxed last night and the fact that we have a day off on Monday again. If we were in a consecutive game streak or we were playing Monday, then we probably would've consider doing something else."

Den Dekker could play for Bryce Harper in the second game, but no news has been released about the slugger's impending suspension. Baker knows information on the subject, but is keeping it to himself.

"Yeah, I got an idea, just can't tell you. You know what I mean? You'll find out soon enough," Baker smiled.

Baker went over the challenges involved in playing a doubleheader, especially the split variety, and how that impacts which players he starts for each contest.

"The biggest challenge is which players can play both games because there aren't any scheduled doubleheaders anymore. Sundays were doubleheaders, so you kind of got used (to them)," Baker said. "That's the biggest challenge, trying to get everyone in there, trying to make sure that you at least split, but you want to take both games.

"So you do your lineups accordingly. Some of it has to with age, some has to do with how much they played, some of it has to do like today - the weather supposed to come in at sometime during the second game."

Baker said he usually takes a tip from former manager Sparky Anderson about lineups for doubleheaders. Anderson used to start his second team in the first game, then your regulars are "loose" for the second game of the doubleheader, he said, and it is a more advantageous way to sweep a doubleheader.

Baker said that philosophy worked better back in the day when teams would play traditional doubleheaders, with the second game starting about 20 minutes after the first ended.

That doesn't work as well in split doubleheaders, and Baker didn't take that advice today, starting several regulars in the opener.

That also might have to do with the possibility that Harper might drop his appeal and take his pending suspension for the nightcap. den Dekker would then start tonight. That way Harper will be available for tomorrow's matchup against Jose Fernandez.

Baker used five relievers in Friday's win. But only Blake Treinen spent more than 2/3 of an inning on the mound. That means his bullpen is relatively fresh for today's two games.

"There are some guys that you can use in both games," Baker said. "But what helps us also is that we are off Monday. That's huge.

"We will see who pitched last night and hopefully Stras (Stephen Strasburg) can go deep into the game. The epitome of a perfect day would be him throwing a shutout like (Max) Scherzer did. That way I only have to use my bullpen in the second game and maybe tomorrow. That's wishful thinking. We'll see."

Center fielder Ben Revere dove into first base attempting to earn a single on a grounder to the second baseman last night. Does that concern Baker based on Revere coming off of the oblique strain that forced him to miss 27 games?

"I wish the guys didn't," Baker said of headfirst slides. "I appreciate the effort. There's a lot of things that can go wrong: mainly in your thumb, your fingers, your wrist, your shoulder. But how do you stop effort? Zim (Ryan Zimmerman) did it just a few days ago.

"I don't want to ward effort, but you got to be smart, too. It's not like I have a shock collar and I can press the button as soon as I start to see him go into a dive. It's really kind of out of your control when they are out there playing."