WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Facing a third consecutive left-handed pitcher and with first baseman Nick Johnson in an 0-for-11 slump, the Washington Nationals on Saturday used 22-year-old Lastings Milledge as their cleanup hitter for the first time this season.

Manager Manny Acta downplayed Milledge's debut as the fourth batter in the lineup, explaining that Johnson's struggles and the spate of southpaws dictated the move. Normally, right fielder Austin Kearns would move into the four-hole with Johnson out, but Kearns entered Saturday's game hitting only .189 with two homers, 11 RBIs and a 6-for-31 effort with runners in scoring position.

"We usually just bump everybody up," Acta said. "I'd rather have Kearns there, not put any pressure on the kid (Milledge)."

Instead, Milledge got the run-producing spot - even if Acta wanted to insulate the youngster from high expectations.

"The fourth hole, it's not a big deal," Acta said. "It's just a number. All you got to do is get up to the plate and have the right at-bat depending on the situation. You only hit fourth one time."

Milledge, who went 1-for-5 with an RBI, said he didn't change his mindset because of the different spot in the lineup. Before Saturday, Milledge had hit second 15 times, fifth 11 times and sixth twice.

"I still got to do the same thing, so I still got to have the same approach," Milledge said. "I know what they're going to throw me, so why change?"

Johnson sat because of his slump and because the Pirates started southpaws in the first three contests in the four-game series. Washington also had left-handed starting pitchers in each game, and the consecutive trio of lefty-lefty matchups are the first in Major League Baseball since Aug. 5-7, 1995, when Montreal and Atlanta squared off, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

SHADES OF GRAY:@ The Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates honored the Homestead Grays, one of the premier Negro League squads, during Saturday's game. The Grays, who played for 38 seasons beginning in 1912, split their home games between Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., in the 1930s and 1940s, playing at Washington's Griffith Stadium and at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field when the Washington Senators were home.

Both teams wore Grays uniforms for Saturday afternoon's game. Washington donned 1942 home whites, while the Pirates were attired in 1935 road grays.

Among the Negro League players who were honored in a pregame ceremony were James Tillman, a catcher with the Grays; Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, a former Indianapolis Clowns pitcher and one of three women to play in the Negro Leagues; and Pedro Sierra, who pitched for Indianapolis and the Detroit Stars.

"It's nice that they don't forget what went on before we got here," Acta said. "We're kind of spoiled nowadays, so at least they remember those guys, what they went through back in those days. It's a good tribute."

The remembrance resonated with Nationals outfielder Willie Harris, who grew up in Cairo, Ga., the same town that produced Jackie Robinson, who was the first black player in the majors in 1947.

"It just reminds me that they paved the way for guys like me and guys that are coming along behind me. ... We just have to go out and try to play the game the way they did - play hard all the time," Harris said.

Harris became interested in the Negro Leagues when, as a junior in high school, he was assigned to do a Black History Month paper on Robinson. His knowledge of the trials faced by Robinson and other black ballplayers is one reason he hiked up his stirrups Saturday.

"For me, it's throwback. This is how the Negro players wore their uniforms. They pulled 'em up, the stirrups - Jackie Robinson all the way," he said. "The entire league did it, but for me, I think about guys like Jackie, Satch (Satchel Paige). It's just a good tradition."