Friday night's game against the Mets marked the first time that the Nationals played with a full lineup, featuring all of their sluggers. Washington has the best record in baseball but the series opener against the Mets was just the first time Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Morse, Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond, Bryce Harper, and Danny Espinosa were all on the lineup card for Davey Johnson. It was nice to have a fully loaded arsenal as the stretch run heats up, but that streak will last just one game as Johnson opted to give Harper the day off, via William Ladson:
Bryce Harper will not be in the starting lineup today. Tyler Moore will get the start in LF and Jayson Werth will start in CF.
— William Ladson (@washingnats) August 18, 2012#Nats#MLB
Harper was reportedly not happy about sitting down but the Nationals need to be cautious and protect the players from themselves during the dog days of August. Harper proved to hit what was the winning homer on Friday, a laser into the right field bleachers.
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