Baker to adjust Saturday personnel after quick turnaround

Manager Dusty Baker and the Nationals arrived home early this morning, and the manager didn't get back to his place until 5 a.m., making for a stressful back-to-back tonight in D.C. as the Nats open a home series against the Phillies.

"They are tough," Baker said. "You wish baseball could do something about this. Baseball is trying to make the game more competitive and more parity, but this is going the complete opposite way. We are not the only ones. There are a bunch of teams. Today is not the tough day. Really, the tough day I think is tomorrow, especially when we are playing the 12 o'clock game tomorrow. I think our guys will respond."

Anthony Rendon is getting the day off Friday, Baker said, "because he appears to need the time off." Baker said that Stephen Drew will start tonight and tomorrow, but that does not mean Rendon is off Saturday. Instead, Drew is likely to replace another infielder for the second game of the series.

Baker has been impressed with how Drew has come along these past few weeks.

"Well, I think just that he's not trying to hit home runs," Baker said. "I think Yankee Stadium might have hurt him where you try to pull everything. I was more impressed with the two balls he hit up the middle away from him than I was the home runs. He works hard, he stays ready. He's always ready to play."

The Nationals will not hit on the field tomorrow because of the early start, and they didn't take batting practice as usual today because of the early morning return to D.C. Baker said he "will probably structure a little bit different lineup tomorrow".

Because of the quick turnaround from Chicago, Baker sent tonight's starter, Stephen Strasburg, and Saturday starter Tanner Roark home early yesterday ahead of the team.

Strasburg suffered calf cramps in his last start at Cincinnati. After that game, Strasburg and Baker were not concerned about long-term effects of the injury.

Baker said the Nats will make sure Strasburg has a lot of fluids tonight and said he has not seen any "aftermath from his cramping last time".

Gio Gonzalez got tagged with the loss Thursday in Chicago, but Baker said he was proud of the way the left-hander calmed down after the three runs he allowed at the outset.

"Besides that first inning, he and (Jose Lobaton) had but one other kind of semi-stressful inning," Baker said. "If you can pitch like that... and I'm hoping he is feeling good about himself and I was hoping he would spit the hook last night and not get the loss."