Just two days after suffering an elbow contusion in a game against the Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals first baseman Michael Morse will return to the starting lineup Saturday night in Philadelphia and bat cleanup against the NL East-leading Phillies. Via Adam Kilgore's twitter feed:

Michael Morse is back in the lineup, playing 1st hitting cleanup.

Morse missed the series opener against the Phillies, a game won 4-2 by Washington thanks to the arm and bat of Livan Hernandez. It appears the Nationals have caught a break, and avoided an injury that would devastate their lineup. 

Morse has been the team's offensive star this season. He is batting .404 in his last 12 games, with three home runs and 10 runs batted in. For the season, the behemoth batsmen is tied for fourth in the National League in batting average, at .319, seventh in slugging percentage (.554) and has added 20 home runs and 68 runs batted in.