Baker to monitor starters' schedules as final month approaches

HOUSTON - Manager Dusty Baker is monitoring how many games his starters will play in the next four weeks as the club closes in on its second straight division title.

Nationals starting pitchers have thrown 115 or more pitches in a game 11 times this season. That mark is the most among major league teams, with Boston having reached that plateau 10 times this season. Red Sox and former Nats starter Doug Fister threw 114-pitch one-hitter complete game in Tuesday night's 9-1 victory over the Indians.

The Nats are having left-hander Gio Gonzalez pitch Saturday afternoon this week instead of on five days' rest for Friday night's opener. Gonzalez threw a season-high 121 pitches in 6 2/3 innings on Aug. 20 at San Diego.

"His regular day is Friday, but we wanted to give him an extra day," Baker said. "We thought it was a good idea. Because he went like 90 pitches (91) the time before that and then the other day he went a heavy load and then backing him back down again. Hopefully, he can have a much lesser work load this time."

Baker is concerned now with getting all of his starters back.

"We have to get them all back first," Baker said. "Get them back first. That's the No. 1 thing. In the case of Max (Scherzer), we got to get Max back and have him stay on his regular turn without anything else happening. We got to get our regular guys back."

What worries Baker as well is the schedule the weather created for the Nats this weekend and next week. They have four games in three days this weekend against the Mets followed by three games against the Marlins. Then, the Nats head back on the road for a seven-game trip against the Brewers and the Mets. Their next schedule day off is Sept. 11.

"It's a tough schedule after we leave tonight and we get in at line 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. in the morning," Baker said. "Night game tomorrow. And then a 4 p.m. and then a split doubleheader on Sunday. That's a tough thing.

"I've been talking to guys seeing who's kind of fatigued. Seeing how we can give them a rest and still have a pretty good lineup out there to win because that's a delicate balancing act at this time of the year. When you are balancing between keeping guys strong, keeping them rested, and also you want them to be sharp but you got to keep your other guys involved and win the ball game. The scheduling is not in our favor, at least over this weekend."

Meanwhile, Jayson Werth and Trea Turner will continue their rehab assignments Friday night with high Single-A Potomac. The first game of a doubleheader begins at 5 p.m. in Woodbridge, Va. The duo had been rehabbing with Triple-A Syracuse at Lehigh Valley since Aug. 21.

* Newly inducted Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez, along with Fairfax County, Fairfax County Park Authority, Mason District Little League and the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the newly renovated Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez Field at Mason District Park in Annandale, Va., on Monday at 10:30 a.m.

The fully renovated field will accommodate both 46/60 and 50/70 styles of youth baseball play and will serve the surrounding community by hosting Mason District Little League games.

Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez Field is the Nationals Dream Foundation's second Legacy Field. Ryan Zimmerman Field was opened in April 2016. Through the Legacy Fields program, the Nationals Dream Foundation will renovate one youth baseball and/or softball field in the Washington, D.C., region each year.

Attending the event will be Rodríguez, a former Nationals catcher; Marla Lerner Tanenbaum, Washington Nationals Dream Foundation chair; Penelope A. Gross, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Mason District; Ronald Kendall, Fairfax County Park Authority, Mason District; and Phil Headley, Mason District Little League president.