WASHINGTON -- The Nationals suffered another injury blow during the eighth inning of Saturday's 7-5 win over the Giants at Nationals Park, when right-hander Brandon Kintzler left the game with tightness in his right forearm. He is scheduled to receive an MRI on Sunday.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez said the issue with Kintzler just popped up during Saturday's game, which started off as a bit of an erratic outing.
Kintzler threw an errant pitch that hit Gorkys Hernandez to start the eighth and then surrendered a one-out double to Buster Posey. After the double, Kintzler was shaking his right arm on the mound, prompting Martinez to emerge from the dugout with a trainer. After a brief conversation, during which Kintzler appeared to point to his right forearm as the issue, Martinez decided to remove him from the game and entrust left-hander Sean Doolittle to secure a four-out save.
Kintzler also pitched Friday night and did not seem like himself. He lasted just one-third of an inning, surrendering three runs on three hits with one hit batter.
Washington has endured a rash of injuries this season and Kintzler could be the latest important piece to go down. He has emerged as the primary setup man behind Doolittle, and the Nats can ill afford for him to be sidelined for too long.