Lord will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher Sunday in a bullpen game against the Reds, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Lord made his return from the 15-day injured list Wednesday and tossed a scoreless inning of relief later that day against the Phillies, but he'll now be called upon to make his second start of the season. Washington has a permanent opening in its rotation after recently designating Zack Littell for assignment, but it's unclear if Lord will be gradually built up for a starting role or if the Nationals will turn to a Triple-A starter such as Luis Perales or Jackson Kent to fill the void. At least for Sunday's contest, expect Lord to be operating with a restricted workload after having not worked longer than three innings in any of his 28 appearances on the season.