MILWAUKEE -- With a back injury sidelining Brewers All-Star left fielder Ryan Braun, the team is left a little shorthanded in the outfield, and should Braun be forced to miss any significant amount of time, it may become hard for manager Ned Yost to fill the void.

Both Yost and Braun have talked about the injury as one that will be monitored on a day-to-day basis, but the second-year player has never experienced an injury like this one before, causing some uncertainty to arise.

"I'll be OK. It's just scary when it's something you've never dealt with before," Braun said. "I've never had an injury [of this type] before, so I don't know what to expect."

Braun has always done a lot of side work to strengthen his core so as to avoid an injury like this one, which makes the tightness in his back and ribcage all the more surprising.

"You take your health for granted until something like this happens," Braun said. "It's just like, 'Where did that come from?' or 'How did that happen?' Because I do so much [core] work, it's the last place I'd ever expect something to happen."

Back injuries have been known in the past to get aggravated during long plane flights and with the Brewers making a trip out to the West Coast after the current four-game series against the Nationals wraps up on Monday, it raises questions about Braun's availability during the road trip.

"We haven't even started talking about any of that stuff yet," Braun said. "They just think that something else is irritated and it caused the whole area around it to tighten up. The plan is just to get treatment all day [Sunday] and see how if feels from there."

Gabe Kapler pinch-hit for Braun when he had to be pulled in the third inning of Saturday's 6-0 win and was also in the starting lineup in Braun's place on Sunday. He played the part of the hero on Sunday with a walk-off home run in the 13th inning to give the Brewers a 5-4 win.

With Kapler filling Braun's spot in the lineup while he's out, his spot on the bench as the team's only extra outfielder is now empty. When asked if he felt as if the Brewers are equipped to deal with Braun's absence, Yost didn't hesitate in saying that his team was set.

"Yeah," Yost said. "It's good to get [Kapler] some regular playing time, too."

Kapler has played very well off the bench as the Brewers' fourth outfielder, hitting .310 with five home runs and 29 RBIs in 75 games [30 starts] before Braun's injury, and is hitting a robust .337 in his last 41 games.

If Kapler, Mike Cameron or Corey Hart needs a day off while Braun is out, however, the Brewers will have to rely on a couple of guys who haven't played outfield in a while.

Russell Branyan can play both corner outfield spots, and Bill Hall has experience center field. Branyan hasn't played the outfield since his contract was purchased from Triple-A Nashville, and Hall hasn't started in center since last season.

"[Kapler's] about as good as it gets," Braun said. "[Joe] Dillon could play in the outfield when he was here. I know Russell can; he's taken some fly balls and ground balls with us sometimes, so I know he'd be OK and I'm sure Ray [Durham] could do it."

"You have to stay healthy [to win a championship], and there is nothing you can do to make that happen," Yost said. "You just have to have some luck and hope nobody gets hurt."

Pitching matchup
MIL: RHP Dave Bush (6-9, 4.50 ERA)
In his first start since Yost scrapped the home/road platoon between Bush and Seth McClung, Bush worked seven solid innings for his second road win this season Tuesday. He limited the Reds to three hits and retired 17 in a row during one stretch. Bush, as much as any other Brewers pitcher, thrives on routine, and was particularly uncomfortable with Milwaukee's unconventional timeshare. It's too early to call the full-time move back to the rotation a success, but it was a good start.

WSH: RHP Garrett Mock (0-2, 4.91 ERA)
Recalled from Triple-A Columbus to replace the injured Elijah Dukes on Thursday, Mock will make a spot start on Monday so that Odalis Perez doesn't have to pitch on short rest after a doubleheader on Thursday. Mock has made two starts for the Nationals this season, posting an 0-2 record with a 5.27 ERA. His second start was markedly better than the first, as he lasted six innings and struck out six, allowing four runs. Mock had also pitched three scoreless innings out of the bullpen in July going into Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader.

Tidbits
Brewers prospect Eric Fryer hit for the cycle at Class A West Virginia on Saturday night, as the Power scored a season-high 17 runs to beat the Hickory Crawdads in the South Atlantic League. Fryer finished the game going 4-for-5 with an RBI and four runs scored. ... The Brewers are 19-13-5 in series play so far this season and have a chance to take the current four-game series with the Nationals with a win on Monday in the finale. Milwaukee is 4-2 in Game Fours so far in 2008. ... Sunday's sellout crowd of 42,423 extended the team's franchise record of consecutive home sellouts to 14 and marked the 30th sellout of the season. The Brewers are on pace to surpass the three million mark in attendance in 2008 and set a new franchise record.

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Up next
• Tuesday: Brewers (Jeff Suppan, 7-7, 4.70) at Padres (Cha Seung Baek, 4-6, 5.06), 9:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Brewers (TBD) at Padres (Josh Banks, 3-4, 3.77), 9:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Brewers (TBD) at Padres (Jake Peavy, 8-8, 2.68), 2:35 p.m. CT