Nats recall Adams, Williams goes on injured list

MIAMI -- The Nationals added a new arm to their beleaguered bullpen prior to Friday night’s game against the Marlins, placing reliever Austen Williams on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right AC joint (retroactive to Thursday) and promoting reliever Austin Adams from Triple-A Fresno.

Adams is the latest player to join the club after taking an overnight flight from Fresno, laying over in Phoenix last night before landing in Miami Friday morning. That was all a blur to him Friday afternoon before the game, but tired or not he was happy to be back in a big league clubhouse for the first time this season after brief stints the previous two years.

Washington is hopeful Adams can continue where he left off in the Minors. In six innings over five games at Triple-A, Adams retired all but two of the 20 batters he faced, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out 12.

“Just strike one,” Adams said. “[Manager Dave Martinez] and [pitching coach Derek] Lilliquist really hammered that into me during the spring, that strike one is of the utmost importance. You get strike one and you can kind of work from there.”

Williams lands on the injured list after making a pair of appearances for the Nats this week, giving up six runs in one-third of an inning. After his most recent outing Wednesday night, he complained of some stiffness in his shoulder and an MRI revealed the injury.

The Nats had grown optimistic about the 26-year-old Williams coming out of Spring Training when he did not allow a run in eight appearances with seven strikeouts and no walks. Williams will be with the club in Miami this weekend before he heads to the team’s complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., to begin rehab.

“We want to make sure he’s healthy,” Martinez said. “Because he’s a young guy that we want to make sure that we take care of. He’s going to be with us and help us throughout the course of the year.”