DENVER — The Nationals lineup wasn’t posted until 90 minutes before gametime on Thursday afternoon as Nationals manager Davey Johnson awaited word on Michael Morse, who received treatment for a tight hamstring Wednesday night.
Morse assured Johnson early Thursday morning that he felt “great” and was prepared to play.
“If I had a broken leg and a broken thumb, I’d want to be in the lineup in this ballpark,” Johnson said. “Especially if I’m a right-handed hitter and there’s a left-handed pitcher going. I’d want to play too.”
Johnson made Morse promise that he wouldn’t take any risks with the hamstring. “Don’t pull a Kemp on me,” Johnson told him, referencing Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp who returned too quickly from a strained hamstring and is still out.
“He said, ‘Well I don’t run that hard anyway,’” Johnson said. “I said, ‘OK, well keep it that way.’”
One other point of interest with regard to the Nationals’ lineup: Johnson said that if Morse had been unable to play, he would have had rookie Tyler Moore, he of the .455 batting average, .538 on-base percentage and .909 slugging percentage since being recalled on June 7, hitting cleanup.
Here are the full lineups as the Nationals look for the series victory in Colorado:
Nationals
Danny Espinosa 2B
Bryce Harper CF
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Michael Morse RF
Adam LaRoche 1B
Ian Desmond SS
Tyler Moore LF
Jesus Flores C
Edwin Jackson P
Rockies
Dexter Fowler CF
Marco Scutaro 2B
Carlos Gonzalez LF
Todd Helton 1B
Chris Nelson 3B
Tyler Colvin RF
Wil Nieves C
Jonathan Herrera SS
Josh Outman P
