WASHINGTON -- Yes, that was Bryce Harper, not a mirage, in the Washington Nationals clubhouse, ready to return from the disabled list. Manager Davey Johnson wanted to be sure. "I went in there and said, Is that really you? Are you OK? Are you ready to go?" Johnson said. "He shook my hand and said Im ready. It seemed like I hadnt seen him in half a year. It seems that long." The 20-year-old sparkplug of a slugger was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list Monday, following his recovery from a knee injury that stemmed from a collision with the Dodger Stadium fence. Harper missed 31 games with bursitis, diagnosed after he reinjured the left knee several times after he kept trying to play for two weeks following the mishap in Los Angeles on May 13. He pronounced himself fit after going 4 for 11 with a double, a triple and a home run during a four-game rehab assignment last week with Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg. "A little swelling, but not much," Harper said. "Nothing to be cautious about. I feel good, and its to the point where I want to play." Harper said he will wear padding to protect the knee. He was in the starting lineup, batting third and playing left field for the homestand opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Nationals were 25-19 when Harper played, 16-21 when he didnt. That added up to a middling 41-40 mark at the halfway point for a consensus preseason pick to repeat as NL East champions. He was batting .287 with 12 homers and 23 RBIs when he went on the DL. "Not only his bat, but I think the energy he brings, he takes a lot of the focus and hes a competitor," Johnson said. "Just to have that 20-year-old energy running around 100 per cent, Im sure hes still probably going to run into the wall, Im sure hes going to dive headfirst. ... I dont want to put a damper on that. Thats who he is, and thats how he plays the game, and thats great." The return of Harper was the last thing the struggling Brewers needed. Milwaukee arrived in Washington on a five-game losing streak. "Well see after the series how bad of a break it is. ... What it does is it adds a guy who can drive the ball out of the ballpark," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "He can hit any pitch, and you have to be really careful with how you pitch him." Harpers return puts Johnson closer to the lineup envisioned at the start of the year, except that Anthony Rendon has replaced the demoted Danny Espinosa at second base. All thats left is for catcher Wilson Ramos to return from a left hamstring injury. Ramos was scheduled to catch seven innings at Potomac on Monday and could return to the major league club as early as Thursday. Johnson moved Rendon from second to seventh in the batting order to create a left-right-left-right-left top of the order consisting of Denard Span, Jayson Werth, Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche. "Its all about matchups late in the ballgame that you want to create," Johnson said. NOTES: Johnson said LHP Ross Detwiler had a good bullpen session Monday and is on pace to start Wednesday as scheduled. Detwiler had stiffness in his lower back after his last start. ... The Nationals optioned RHP Erik Davis to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Harper. Dave Winfield Jersey . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted Monday morning that Callahan - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is now open to a six-year contract at less than $7 million per season. Curtis Granderson Jersey . City, fielding a depleted team having already qualified, was twice pegged back by the plucky Czech champions but substitute Negredo tapped home in the 78th minute and Dzekos header made sure of victory in the 89th. The result kept City three points behind Bayern Munich ahead of their meeting in Germany in two weeks. http://www.officialbluejaysgearshop.com/...or-Kids-Jersey/. Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season. Russell Martin Jersey . Golden States second straight road win wasnt painless. David Lee scored a season-high 29 points -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and Nate Robinson added 17 points, leading the Warriors to a 105-95 win Tuesday night over the road-worn Cleveland Cavaliers. J.A. Happ Jersey . Cincinnati has lost back-to-back games in overtime, wasting a chance to take a commanding lead in their division.SYDNEY, N.S. - Kyle Farrell scored once and set up two more as the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles downed the visiting Shawinigan Cataractes 5-3 on Sunday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Timothe Simard added a pair of goals for the Screaming Eagles (31-24-4), who are 4-0-1 in their last five outings, while Matthew Nosella and Charles-Eric Legare each scored once. Lucas Lajoie, Giovanni Fiore and Ilya Zinoviev supplied the scoring for the Cataractes (16-36-8), who dropped out of the final playoff position with the loss. Cape Bretons Zachary Fortin made 24 saves for the win as Shawinigans Marvin Cupper turned away 28-of-32 shots in defeat. --- SEA DOGS 2 ISLANDERS 1 CHARLOTTETOWN — Nathan Noel scored both goals for his club as Saint John edged the Islanders to slip into the last playoff spot. Noel opened the scoring for the Sea Dogs (18-37-4) 4:37 into the first period and then added the eventual winner on the power play at 12:19. Sebastien Auger made 37 saves for Saint John. Daniel Sprong scored the lone goal for Charlottetown (18-36--5), which is 1-9-0 in its last 10 contests, and Eric Brassard kicked out 15-of-17 shots in a losing cause.dddddddddddd --- REMPARTS 3 VOLTIGEURS 2 (SO) DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. — Marc-Olivier Groleau scored the only goal in the shootout to lift Quebec over the Voltigeurs. Kurt Etchegary and Alexandre Boivin scored in regulation for the Remparts (35-16-9) while Francois Brassard made 23 saves for the win. William Carrier scored once for Drummondville (35-20-4) and assisted on Olivier Caouettes goal as well. Louis-Philip Guindon turned away 23-of-25 shots for the Voltigeurs. --- OLYMPIQUES 3 SAGUENEENS 0 GATINEAU, Que. — Anthony Brodeur only had to stop 17 shots as the Olympiques blanked Chicoutimi for their third straight win. Elie Berube, Adam Stevens and Simon Tardif-Richard scored for Gatineau (37-19-4) and Jean-Simon Deslauriers tacked on two assists. Jeremy Bouchard led the Sagueneens (26-32-1) with five shots on Brodeur. Julio Billia turned aside 27-of-30 shots for Chicoutimi, which is just 2-8-0 in its last 10 games. 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