Some tidbits to reveal as the Nats prepare to face the Braves...

-- Shawn Hill will have arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow tomorrow, a procedure performed by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. At the very minimum, Andrews will remove some calcification that has built up in Hill's elbow. But one club official today expressed concern that the problem is more serious than that, and that Hill's ulnar collateral ligament could be damaged as well. If that were the case -- and I caution you that this is a big "if" and nothing has been determined about this yet -- there is a chance Hill could need Tommy John surgery again. Obviously, that would be a crushing blow to a guy who has battled his entire pro career through arm troubles.

-- On a more positive injury front, Dmitri Young had two hits last night for Class A Vermont, and according to GM Jim Bowden did his patented "Ten-Finger Wiggle Wave" upon doubling. Young will keep playing for the Lake Monsters through the end of their season this weekend and then rejoin the Nats Tuesday in New York. Once he's back, he may only come off the bench and pinch-hit, but his mere presence back on a major-league field will be encouraging enough.

-- Braves starter Jo-Jo Reyes (that's pronounced "Joe-Joe" not "Ho-Ho") was a late scratch because his wife gave birth today. So Atlanta will instead send rookie right-hander James Parr to the mound. The 22-year-old, who went a combined 13-7 with a 3.52 ERA at Class AA and AAA, will be making his big-league debut against Shairon Martis, 21, who also makes his big-league debut for Washington. And of course, Martis' batterymate is Luke Montz, 25, appearing in his first major-league game. When's the last time three-fourths of the starting batteries were all debuting together? I'll let you know if I find out the answer.

UPDATE AT 7:18 P.M.:

And the answer, courtesy of Nats PR guru Mike Gazda, is as follows: This is the first time in franchise history that a pitcher and catcher have debuted together. The last time it happened anywhere was Sept. 1, 1999, when Colorado sent Luther Hackman to the mound with Ben Petrick behind the plate.

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