Washington, DC – Washington Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth was removed from Sunday's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning with an apparent injury to his left wrist.
With two down in the inning, Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco sliced a fly ball to right. Werth, playing deep, came charging in for the ball, went into a slide to make the catch and bent back his wrist. The ball fell out of his glove and Werth immediately grabbed the wrist in pain.
Nationals manager Davey Johnson as well as team medical personnel went to tend to Werth, who got up and walked off the field under his own power.
Werth has a history of trouble with the wrist, as it was broken on a pitch from A. J. Burnett in 2005. He was able to play 102 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers that season, but surgery revealed two ligament tears, which caused him to miss the entire 2006 campaign.
The Nationals can ill-afford another injury, as they are already missing Ryan Zimmerman and power-hitting outfielder Michael Morse.
In 26 games for the Nats this season, Werth is hitting .271 with three home runs and 12 RBI.
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