WASHINGTON -- Nationals outfield coordinator Devon White said on Friday that it's too early to determine if Lasting Milledge is a center fielder or a corner outfielder.

White, a great outfielder in his own right with the Angels, Blue Jays and Marlins in the 1980s and 90s, pointed out that Milledge has been rushed to the big leagues as a member of the Mets and Nationals and he is still learning his craft in the outfield.

"Lastings is going to be a good player. He is a young guy and he has work to do," White said. "It's unfair to say he is not a good outfielder. He was pretty much rushed to the big leagues and he is a young player. I don't know if center field is his spot."

White, who is in Washington to help the young players in the outfield, said that Milledge works hard, listens to instructions and tries to correct his mistakes.

"The first step is opening his ears and listen to what I have to say, regardless if he likes it or not," White said.

According to sources, there seems to be a difference of opinion on where Milledge should play. Some members of the think tank would like Milledge to be switched to a corner position. But manager Manny Acta believes that Milledge has played well enough to stay in center field.

Pitching matchup
WSH: LHP John Lannan (9-13, 3.97 ERA)
Lannan had one of his best outings of the season last Monday as the Nationals defeated the Mets, 7-2. He lasted seven innings and gave up one run on one hit. He struck out seven batters and walked three others. Thanks to advice from teammate Odalis Perez, Lannan threw a lot of changeups, which baffled Mets lefty hitters such as Carlos Delgado and Ryan Church. Those two sluggers did major damage against Lannan the previous week.

SD: RHP Chris Young (5-6, 4.43 ERA)
There was no near no-hitter for Young in his last outing on Sept. 13 against the Giants at PETCO Park, but the 6-foot-10 right-hander certainly pitched well, especially after allowing a two-run home run in the first inning of what would become a loss to the Giants. Young allowed three runs over seven innings with one walk and nine strikeouts. As is often the case, Young got his share of fly ball outs (10) and threw 82 strikes in a 109-pitch outing. In his previous start, Young came within four outs of the first no-hitter in franchise history.

Tidbits
Left-hander Michael Hinckley hasn't given up a run in 9 2/3 innings in the big leagues. ... The Nationals and Padres threw a combined 526 pitches on Friday. ... The Nationals pitchers have a combined six RBIs this season. ... Milledge is hitting .354 in his last 11 games.

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Up next
• Sunday: Nationals (Odalis Perez, 7-10, 4.26) vs. Padres (Cha Seung Baek, 5-10, 5.06), 1:35 p.m. ET
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Nationals (Shairon Martis, 0-3, 6.23) vs. Marlins (Scott Olsen, 8-10, 4.20), 7:10 p.m. ET