Three Up, Three Down In the Lineup

When General Manager Jim Bowden spoke with Ryan Zimmerman before last night's game, he told the injured Washington Nationals third baseman how impressed he has been of late with the production of Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge and Jesus Flores.

Then he mused about how the lineup would look if those three young batters had some protection from another trio -- Zimmerman, Nick Johnson and Austin Kearns, all on the disabled list.

Bowden told reporters there was a chance that Kearns, who was placed on the disabled list May 22 in anticipation of right elbow surgery, could begin a rehabilitation assignment on Thursday. Kearns was batting .187 with three home runs and 16 RBI before the injury. Bowden said it is possible that Kearns could return to the big league club for the series at Cincinnati that begins July 3 or, more likely, after the all-star break in mid-July.