Harper sits out Saturday's victory over Padres

WASHINGTON -- Outfielder Bryce Harper sat out Saturday's 4-0 win over San Diego, one day after jamming his left thumb sliding into third base after a triple.

While X-rays were negative, Nationals manager Matt Williams said there was some swelling and that Harper's hand remained sore. Harper was scheduled to see a hand specialist prior to Saturday's game against the Padres and afterward underwent an MRI, which Williams labeled as "pretty standard."

"We're continuing to work on it," Williams said.

Williams was fairly confident that Harper, who has a .289/.352/.422 slash line with one home run and nine RBIs in 22 games, would not miss an extended period of time with the injury.

"The early tests are pretty good," Williams said. "We just want to make sure we knock it out."

With the Nationals looking at an off-day on Monday, Williams added that Harper might not see action on Sunday, as well.

"I would imagine so," Williams said when asked if Harper would rest on Sunday. "[We want to] make sure that [his thumb is] good."