X-rays on Harper's thumb come back negative

The Washington Nationals received some good news Monday night, as X-rays on Bryce Harper's ailing left thumb came back negative, manager Dusty Baker told reporters following his club's 14-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Harper was initially worried he had re-torn his ulnar collateral ligament when he banged his thumb sliding into third as a reaction to Jung Ho Kang's contentious phantom tag on Sunday, but it turns out he could be back in the lineup in a few days, Baker said, adding that the swelling has gone down.

"The first thought in my head was I tore my UCL again," Harper told MASN's Mark Zuckerman. "In that moment, I kind of wanted to punch the guy, because you don’t want that to happen. Good thing that didn’t happen."

Harper, an All-Star for the fourth time this season, owns an .819 OPS with 24 home runs and 21 stolen bases through 144 games in 2016. On Monday, Brian Goodwin started in right field in Harper's absence, going 1-for-2 with a triple, a walk, and a pair of RBIs.