Nats say Desmond off to DL with torn oblique

07/23 12:05 PM

Nationals manager Davey Johnson announced Sunday that All-Star shortstop Ian Desmond would be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a tear in his oblique.

Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson announced Sunday that All-Star shortstop Ian Desmond would be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a tear in his oblique.

Desmond has been trying to play through the injury, but an MRI on Sunday revealed the tear.

Johnson said that Desmond was hurting at the end of Saturday's doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves.

"There was no point (Saturday) where I felt I made it worse," Desmond said. "I was just ready for it to stop."

Desmond, who missed the All-Star Game because of an abdominal injury, is hitting .286 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs.

The Nationals lead the NL East by 3.5 games after beating the Braves 9-2 on Sunday in the finale of the series between the top two teams in the division.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.