MIAMI -- Nationals ace Max Scherzer had an appointment scheduled with a chiropractor at some point Wednesday or Thursday in order to help straighten out his neck stiffness. After that, he will be better able to determine whether he can make his next turn through the rotation.
Scherzer left his start early Tuesday night as a precaution. He felt a neck spasm after sleeping on it awkwardly a few nights earlier. So he bought himself a new pillow and will be taking it with him on the flight to Chicago. And while Dusty Baker said he was not concerned Wednesday about Scherzer missing his next start, the manager will still be monitoring his ace closely.
"The neck's a very delicate part to work on, especially with all the nerves and different things," Baker said. "That controls your vertebrae that controls your muscles that controls everything. So we'll just have to really be careful when you're talking about the neck."

Scherzer was off to a blazing start against the Marlins with a scoreless 10-pitch first inning and his first career homer in the top of the second inning. But after throwing one warmup pitch in the bottom of the frame, the veteran took himself out of the game as a precaution.
The Nationals' rotation as a whole is in a bit of flux at the moment, as their starting pitchers for both Saturday's and Sunday's games against the Cubs are listed as TBA. Scherzer only threw a handful of pitches Tuesday, but he wants to make sure his neck problems are alleviated, and Baker said the Nats are unlikely to rush him back. Baker said Stephen Strasburg will "probably not" be an option to pitch this weekend, but Edwin Jackson probably will. And Giovany Gonzalez's wife is set to give birth soon, so he could be headed to paternity leave at any moment.
"Sometimes you don't know," Baker said. "We'll let you know soon as we see the state and condition of everybody."
Worth noting
• Trea Turner (wrist) and Jayson Werth (foot) went to the team's Spring Training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., to continue their rehab as they work their way back from the disabled list. Baker said Werth, who has been out since the beginning of June after he fouled a ball off his foot, was probably closer to returning than Turner, although Turner has been taking grounders and lightly throwing the past few days.
"It just depends on how their bodies respond and stuff," Baker said. "Everything depends on their physical makeup and well-being. Jayson's probably closer than Trea, I would guess. I would hope. I'm just praying that the day comes pretty soon when they both come back."