ATLANTA – Less than 24 hours after exiting Thursday’s series finale in Philadelphia, Luis García is back in the Nationals lineup for the series opener in Atlanta. A sigh of relief can be heard throughout the organization.
Ehire Adrianza replaced García at shortstop in the bottom of the seventh inning of the 5-3 loss to the Phillies after García grounded out to lead off the top of the sixth, clearly grimacing and holding his right side as he jogged back to the dugout. Manager Davey Martinez said after the game that the young shortstop was dealing with a "stomach issue.”
It must have been a quick bug, similar to what Nelson Cruz dealt with when Martinez scratched him from the lineup late Tuesday with an illness. García is feeling well enough to play tonight.
“He had an upset stomach yesterday,” Martinez said during his pregame session with the media. “He said he woke up, he felt a lot better. So I told him to make sure he drinks a lot of fluid. It's hot. So we'll keep an eye on him. He said he feels good.”
García felt something coming on before yesterday’s game, but told his manager he was good enough to play. He ended up getting worse as the game went on.