Harper heads to DL with left knee bursitis

ATLANTA -- Just when you think there's no more room on the disabled list, the Nationals seem to find room for one more.

Saturday morning, the Nats added outfielder Bryce Harper to the list, retroactive to May 27.

"You always do what's best for the player," said manager Davey Johnson. "If the club felt like he'd be ready to come back in three or four or five days, we wouldn't have DL'ed him. But I think in talking with Bryce, we've got to get by this where it's not a recurring thing."

Harper had sat the last five games with left knee bursitis and had been bothered by the knee since crashing into the wall at Dodger Stadium on May 13. He sat the next day, but then played all three games in San Diego and continued to play through the pain. Harper last played on May 26 in Philadelphia, where he made a diving catch and a head-first slide, plays that Johnson believed push the injury too far.

"I think it was probably a sensitive area and he exacerbated it by pounding on it more," said Johnson. "He plays hard and he's strong. [If] I'm 20 and I'm him, I don't need rest unless I'm hurt, and he's hurting."

Right-hander Erik Davis was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. Davis, who sustained injuries from a line drive to his face in 2006, was 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA and seven saves in 21 games in relief for Syracuse.