On the first night back from the All-Star Break, the Washington Nationals were able to start their three game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they were not able to complete the first game of the series. All night long, a bank of lights kept going on and off, which totaled over two hours of delays.’
After the third delay, which happened at the end of the fifth, the umpires decided to suspend the game because of a power failure. They will resume this game tomorrow afternoon at 2:05 PM ET before playing the second game of this series, which is scheduled for 4:05 PM:
Tonight's game will resume tmrw at 2:05 PM. Saturday's game will begin at 4:05PM or 20 min after conclusion of 1st game, which ever is later
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 18, 2015
The original pitching matchup for this game was Jordan Zimmermann for the Nats against Mike Bolsinger for the Dodgers. Both teams would not put up a run until the bottom of the third inning, when the Nats would score first against Bolsinger.
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After a one out double by Yunel Escobar and a bunt single by Danny Espinosa, Bryce Harper would give the Nats a 1-0 lead when he hit a groundout to second that resulted in a fielder’s choice, but a RBI nonetheless.
However, the Dodgers would take the lead in the top of the fourth with two runs of their own. The inning started when Justin Turner was hit by a 1-2 pitch fastball. Then, Adrian Gonzalez crushed a 1-1 fastball to deep right field for a two-run homer for his 19th of the season to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, the first light delay would happen after Ian Desmond hit a pop up to Adrian Gonzalez in foul territory. The delay would occur for one hour and 22 minutes before the two teams resumed play.
Tanner Roark would come out to pitch the top of the fifth for Zimmermann. On the night, Zimmermann went four innings, gave up two runs on three hits, struck out three, and walked one on 63 pitches (43 strikes). Roark would retire the Dodgers in order before the lights went out again, causing a second delay. That delay would last 40 minutes.
Once that delay ended, the bats came through for the Nats against Chin-hui Tsao. Roark led off the inning with a double to left. Then, Yunel Escobar hit a two-run homer to left. His fifth home run of the season put the Nationals back in front, 3-2. After the fifth inning concluded, the lights went out for the third time and the umpires decided to stop the game.
Next Game: Once this game finishes up tomorrow, the Nats will play their regularly scheduled game against the Dodgers at 4:05 PM ET. You can watch the game on MASN or FOX Sports 1. Clayton Kershaw (6-6, 2.85) will get the start for the Dodgers against Doug Fister (3-4, 4.08) for the Nationals.