PHILADELPHIA — Elijah Dukes’ absence had an immediate effect on the Washington Nationals’ lineup yesterday, forcing manager Manny Acta to move Ronnie Belliard up in the batting order and insert Dukes’ replacement, Willie Harris, in the eighth spot against the Philadelphia Phillies.
It will have a more prominent effect down the road. The Nationals are down to four healthy outfielders now that Dukes is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. And unless they make another roster move, they likely will have to stick with four until Dukes or Wily Mo Pena gets healthy.
Acta said the Nationals considered calling up Justin Maxwell from Class AA Harrisburg to add some depth to the outfield but instead decided to bring up reliever Chris Schroder from Class AAA Columbus because closer Chad Cordero is out with shoulder tendinitis.
If Pena continues to heal faster than expected from a torn left oblique muscle, he and Dukes both could come off the disabled list by the middle of April. But until then, the Nationals have to scrape by.
“What were the chances that the two power guys will go down altogether?” Acta said. “You can leave spring training with a set lineup and end up giving some guys on the bench some at-bats.”
Mixed reviews for Chico
Matt Chico went 51/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits against the Phillies. But he spent 93 pitches to get that far, only 54 of which were strikes. Afterward, the left-hander said his overhauled delivery was fighting old habits.
“I was kind of going back and forth, old and new today,” said Chico, who introduced a higher leg kick in spring training. “I’d say over half [of my pitches], I was going back to what I was doing.”
Chico gave up a home run to Chase Utley in the sixth inning and allowed three straight hits in the fourth. The mix of a new set of mechanics and a start against an energized crowd for the Phillies’ Opening Day left Chico saying he had plenty to work on.
“Some of the pitches I tried a little too hard and got a little out of my element,” he said. “That just comes with the first game back and being anxious.”
Change in plans
When he got the news Sunday night he was headed to the major leagues, Schroder was driving with his wife from Viera, Fla., to Columbus, Ohio, where he assumed he would start the season. He took the call from team travel director Rob McDonald around 11:15 p.m., when he was near the border of Virginia and West Virginia on Interstate 77.
He couldn’t find the Nationals-Braves game on the radio but got curious when his father called him to say Jon Rauch, not Cordero, was coming into close.
Half an hour later, McDonald called him.
“I pulled over at 2:30, woke up at 5:30, left at 6 and pulled in here at 11:30,” he said.
When the Nationals sent Schroder to the minors Wednesday, Acta said the reliever had pitched well enough to make the team but was sent down because he had minor league options left.
Having been through the minors-to-majors-to-minors dance the last two seasons, the 29-year-old Schroder knew his opportunity would arrive eventually — even if the second day of the season was a surprise.
“It was disappointing, but if you’ve been up and down a little bit, you know how many opportunities come around,” he said.
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