OAKLAND -- Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth left foot was sore and elevated as he sat at his locker following Saturday afternoon's 10-4 loss to the A's. Werth fouled a ball off his foot, which he joked is becoming a yearly ritual, during his at-bat in the ninth inning.
He ended up reaching on an error during the at-bat, but he could barely run to first base before he was lifted for a pinch-runner, Wilmer Difo. And although Werth did not seem too concerned about his foot, he was not ready to commit to playing Sunday.
"Gotta see how I wake up," Werth said. "Usually if it swells up it's going to be tough, but if it doesn't swell up it'll be alright."
Werth, who turned 38 at the end of May, is in the midst of a strong season with an .833 OPS and eight home runs. Both he and second baseman Daniel Murphy had brief injury scares during the ninth, although Murphy stayed in the game to run the bases after being hit in the right knee by a pitch.
"Probably more concerned with Jayson because it hit off the same spot on his foot where he was out a couple days [during Spring Training]," manager Dusty Baker said. "Murph, it hit him in the leg here. You just anticipate he hopefully won't be too sore tomorrow because he's swinging a hot bat."