Recap: Lights Go Out At Nationals Park, Suspending Game For The Night
UPDATE (July 17, 8:00 p.m. PT): Friday’s game will be resumed at 11:05 a.m. PT on Saturday. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals will then play the previously scheduled game at 1:05 p.m. PT Saturday or 20 minutes after the first game concludes, whichever is later.
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Dodgers looked to get some sort of streak going as the first stop on their 10-game road trip was in Washington D.C., to begin a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.
Joc Pederson worked a full count before slapping a rare leadoff single to left field. Nothing came of it however, as other than a walk to Adrian Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman shut down the rest of the offense to get out of the inning unscathed.
Mike Bolsinger made his 14th start for the Dodgers and got off on the wrong foot, throwing an attempted drag bunt by Danny Espinosa over Gonzalez’s head. Following an intentional walk to red-hot Bryce Harper, Bolsinger went on to strikeout Clint Robinson and Wilson Ramos to end a scoreless first inning.
Yasiel Puig led off the top of the second with a drive to right that turned Harper around before he managed to stretch out his glove for an off-balance catch, likely robbing Puig of an extra-base hit. Andre Ethier followed with a line drive up the middle, which was speared by Zimmerman while falling to the ground. The Dodgers couldn’t catch a break and were retired in order.
Neither team had a man reach base until the bottom of the third inning when Yunel Escobar lined a curveball down the third base line for a one-out double. Bolsinger’s second error of the game came on a swinging bunt by Espinosa. The pitcher fielded the ball and tripped, allowing the runner to reach first base.
After being evaluated by vice president of medical services Stan Conte, Bolsinger remained in the game. He faced a dangerous situation with Harper up to bat and runners on the corners with one out. He managed to limit the damage by holding Harper to an RBI groundout and getting out of the inning with the Nationals’ lead only at 1-0.
CONTINUE READING: Adrian Gonzalez Gets Dodgers On The Board, Lights Go Out Multiple Times
