WASHINGTON -- When the Nationals decided they were going to place center fielder Lastings Milledge on the 15-disabled list because of a right groin injury, center fielder Roger Bernadina was playing the same position for Double-A Harrisburg on Saturday night.

It was in the fourth inning when Bernadina, 24, received word from manager John Stearns that he was promoted to the big leagues and would have to be in Washington the next day.

"Manager Stearns took me out and he said, 'You are going to the big leagues.' I said, 'Serious?'"

Stearns shook Bernadina's hand, and Bernadina's teammates followed.

It turned out to be a long day for Bernadina on Sunday, but it was worth it. He woke up 4:00 a.m. ET to and caught a 6:30 a.m. flight from Erie, Pa. After experiencing a delay, he flew to Philadelphia and caught another flight to Washington. Bernadina arrived at Nationals Park around noon and found himself in the starting lineup batting leadoff.

Bernadina ended up going 1-for-5 with a run scored against the Orioles. He collected his first career hit, a single, in the first inning off right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. Bernadina later came around to score, crossing the plate when Aaron Boone hit into a fielder's choice at second.

"You get to first base. ... Now you feel good now. You feel free and you feel ready to go," Bernadina said.

With Milledge out two to four weeks, Bernadina will be the everyday center fielder after hitting .323 with five home runs and 38 RBIs for Harrisburg.

"Roger is one of those five-tool players, and the question is, 'Is he gonna hit?' That's something that we didn't know," general manager Jim Bowden said. "We know the other tools are there. He flies. He's got great speed, he can throw, he can run balls down, he can play all three outfield positions. He was overmatched in Spring Training. I would not have been able to tell you that he would have developed this quickly and be someone on our radar.

"Dana Brown, our scouting director, went and saw him two weeks ago and said, 'Bring him to the big leagues, he's ready,' and so we continued to watch him, and obviously, with the injury to Lastings, we felt this would be an opportunity to give him a chance."