- The Washington Times - Sunday, April 10, 2016

Washington Nationals outfielder Ben Revere underwent an MRI exam on Thursday and the results confirmed what the team already knew. Revere, who injured himself on the first swing of the season, has a right oblique strain and manager Dusty Baker said there is no set timetable for his return.

“We’re treating it aggressively,” Baker said on Sunday before the Nationals’ game against the Miami Marlins. “Hope it heals soon.”

In the Nationals’ season opener against the Atlanta Braves, Revere felt a pain in his right side after a swing and later came out of the game. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday. Revere, who was acquired in the offseason from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for reliever Drew Storen, hit .429 in spring training as the team’s leadoff hitter and scored 11 runs.

During Washington’s home opener on Thursday, Revere looked pained while walking on the field for the pre-game introductions.

“It’s something you don’t want to keep aggravating,” Revere said on Thursday. “It’s a little bit better, but it’s still there. It’s one of those freak accidents, just happened. I do my core workouts, I do everything, but it goes to show it can happen to anybody. Just how many swings we take in the spring until now, the start of the season.”

Baker said the oblique injury seems more common now than it was when he played, though he added it could have been known as something else. Asked if players swing too much, Baker said it’s a possibility.

“That’s an area that’s going around baseball big time,” Baker said. “Never seen so many obliques. When I played the guys weren’t in the kind of shape these guys are. Maybe you can over-train. Who knows?

“They take a whole bunch of swings now. My opinion, they over-hit. They hit too much. But how do you tell a guy not to swing when they’re used to swinging?”

With Revere out, Michael A. Taylor is playing center field and batting leadoff. The 25-year-old is hitless in his first 11 at-bats and has three strikeouts.

Postponement forces rotation changes

After Saturday’s game against the Marlins was postponed due to the weather, the pitching rotation was bumped back a day. Joe Ross is slated to start on Sunday, with Max Scherzer set to pitch on Monday against the Braves.

Gio Gonzalez, who hasn’t pitched in a game since spring training, will start on Tuesday. With an off day following the season opener, Gonzalez was skipped in the rotation to keep Stephen Strasburg on his regular rest schedule.

• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.

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