Preview: Dodgers And Nationals Resume Play Following Suspended Game
The first game out of the All-Star break was a rough one for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals. A bank of lights off the third base line went out in the bottom of the fourth inning, causing a delay that lasted one hour and 22 minutes.
Play resumed only to be halted nine minutes later when the lights again went out; leading to a 40-minute delay. Because the teams hadn’t endured enough frustration, there was a third outage after 12 of minutes of play with the umpiring crew this time suspending play for the night.
Thus we have Saturday’s 11:05 a.m. PT start that picks up with Justin Turner leading off the sixth inning and the Dodgers trailing 3-2. Adrian Gonzalez’s two-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead that Chin-hui Tsao was unable to protect when he took over for Mike Bolsinger in the fifth.
Tanner Roark led off the inning with a double and Yunel Escobar followed with a go-ahead home run. Having thrown just seven pitches Friday night, Roark is expected to start Saturday’s game.
There will be little rest for the weary as Saturday’s originally scheduled game will begin at 1:05 p.m. PT or 20 minutes after completion of the first game, whichever is later. It will feature Clayton Kershaw and Doug Fister, plus a 26th man on the active roster for each team.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Saturday morning the identity of the player his club has called up would be revealed between games. Lineups below reflect changes made up to the start of the sixth inning.
Dodgers Lineup:
CF: Joc Pederson
2B: Howie Kendrick
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
C: Yasmani Grandal
RF: Yasiel Puig
LF: Andre Ethier
SS: Jimmy Rollins
P: Chin-hui Tsao
Nationals Lineup:
3B: Yunel Escobar
2B: Danny Espinosa
RF: Bryce Harper
LF: Clint Robinson
C: Wilson Ramos
SS: Ian Desmond
1B: Tyler Moore
CF: Michael Taylor
P: Tanner Roark
[divide]Mike Bolsinger Finds Some Positives In Poor Outing