The 32-year-old slugger tweaked his groin while hustling to first base on a ground ball in the seventh inning. He was then lifted for a pinch hitter when his spot in the lineup came around again in the ninth inning. Bell told reporters afterwards that he’ll receive treatment and is optimistic that he’ll be able to return to the lineup on Saturday. Either way, it sounds like he should be considered day-to-day going forward.

The Nationals have James Wood DHing and Alex Call in the outfield. Bell, a notoriously slow starter, has hit .140/.238/.290 through 105 plate appearances. It’s been enough to pull his career OPS in March/April under .700 to .698. He’s over .800 every other month except for September, when he’s stumbled to .745.

The 32-year-old slugger opened the scoring in the second inning as he ripped an RBI single into center to plate Amed Rosario. That would be his only hit in three trips to the plate. The early results have been pretty brutal for Bell, slashing a woeful .148/.258/.321 with four homers and 12 RBI in his first 93 plate appearances.

That Dave Martinez is rolling out new lineups daily based mostly on who went 2-for-4 and who went 0-for-4 the night before isn’t going to work out great for Bell, who got to hit cleanup the first two games. He hit sixth yesterday and fifth today. There’s probably not going to be much in the way of mixed-league value here, particularly with the Nationals being OBP challenged and not having a lot of runners to drive in.