After scoring one run on six hits in the first of two games with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, the Washington Nationals were held hitless through five innings last night before scoring four runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth inning of what ended up a second loss in the doubleheader.
“It’s been a very long day,” Nats’ skipper Davey Martinez told reporters after the losing both ends of the twin bill with the Dodgers.
“But the boys battled, they came back. We weren’t hitting good here early on in the game.”
“Offense was dismal in the beginning of the game,” Martinez explained at another point in his post game press conference, “... it really was, nothing was happening.”
Martinez was asked if it made it any more difficult that the Dodgers’ starter, Rich Hill, was out after throwing just two pitches, leaving the Nationals to face a parade of relievers as LA’s manager, Dave Roberts, tried to piece together his pitching.
“It’s not easy,” Martinez said, “... but these guys have faced those guys quite a bit, so it’s a game of adjustments, and you’ve got to adjust.”
In spite of their early struggles, the Nationals rallied to take the lead with a four-run sixth, but Sammy Solis gave up a run in the eighth, and after Brandon Kintzler worked his way around a one-out triple, with an intentional walk setting up an inning-ending double play in the eighth, Sean Doolittle blew his first save of the season, giving up two runs in the ninth as LA took the lead.
“Kintzler got out of a big inning there with the double play,” Martinez said, “and when you get to the top of the ninth inning with your closer, you feel pretty good, so the boys never quit, they kept playing and we’ll have to come back tomorrow and do it again tomorrow.”
The Nationals will try to avoid a sweep this afternoon, in the series finale with the Dodgers.
HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE 3RD OF 3 WITH LA In D.C.:
Merry Strasmas, everyone. pic.twitter.com/MTAKn69AVD
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 20, 2018