Bryce Harper benched by Nationals to rest sore knee

Outfielder Bryce Harper is out of the Washington Nationals' starting lineup for Monday afternoon's game against the Baltimore Orioles and will likely miss Tuesday's game because of soreness in his left knee, manager Davey Johnson told reporters Monday. Johnson said before Monday's game that an MRI performed on Harper's knee showed no structural damage but the slugger has been diagnosed with bursitis in the knee.

Wiemi Douguih, the team's medical director, said the outfielder has inflammation of the bursa sac in front of his knee, which he anticipates clearing up in a few days. "We need to let it calm down," Johnson said, according to USA Today Sports.

Johnson said it's possible Harper could resturn to the lineup as a designated hitter on Wednesday as the Nationals take on the Orioles in Baltimore Harper said Sunday he didn't expect to miss any time and said the knee "probably won't get better until the offseason" and "I've just got to deal with the pain."

Harper aggravated his knee three times Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies - with two head-first slides in the first inning and then fouling a pitch off the knee in the third. He was limping throughout the game and was removed for a pinch runner after drawing a walk in the seventh.

Harper has already missed three games due to the knee and has been bothered by the injury since running into a wall in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 13. The collision also left him with a gash in the chin that required 11 stitches.

Harper is hitting .287 with 12 home runs and 23 RBIs. Johnson criticized his star outfielder on Sunday for his head-first slides after the team publicly expressed their plea for him to play with more caution.

"If he'd quit head-first sliding, he'd be a lot better off," he said.

Harper, however, disagreed with his manager's advice, saying the knee feels pressure either way. "If I slid feet-first right now, my knee might pop and not be good," Harper said.