Werth scratched from Nats' lineup, named NL Player of the Month

Jayson Werth has been named the National League Player of the Month. He'll celebrate with an unplanned day of rest. Werth has been scratched from the Nationals' lineup for tonight's series opener against the Braves. Manager Davey Johnson said this afternoon that Werth's bruised right hand isn't really much of an issue, but the strained groin that Werth aggravated this weekend in Milwaukee is still bothering him. The Nationals had originally written Werth into today's lineup, but he walked off the field with a trainer minutes ago and now will take tonight's game off. Denard Span will also sit tonight with Braves left-hander Mike Minor getting the start, leaving the Nats with an outfield that has Bryce Harper in center, Steve Lombardozzi in left and Scott Hairston in right. Meanwhile, Werth earns the first monthly citation of his 12-year MLB career after a July in which he hit .367 (33-for-90) with two doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBIs, 17 runs scored, 15 walks and two stolen bases. Werth led the National League in OPS (1.072), on-base percentage (.450) and RBIs in July, while also ranking among the NL's top five in homers (tied for second), batting average (second) and slugging percentage (fifth, .622). Updated Nats lineup CF Bryce Harper SS Ian Desmond 3B Ryan Zimmerman C Wilson Ramos 1B Adam LaRoche 2B Anthony Rendon LF Steve Lombardozzi RF Scott Hairston RHP Stephen Strasburg For the Braves RF Jason Heyward LF Justin Upton 1B Freddie Freeman C Brian McCann 3B Chris Johnson 2B Dan Uggla CF B.J. Upton SS Andrelton Simmons LHP Mike Minor