WASHINGTON -- In the past five days, the Nationals had played just 5 1/2 innings, stymied by rainfall in the D.C. area all week long, which suspended one of their games and postponed two others. As manager Dave Martinez ate breakfast in the team cafeteria on Saturday morning, he sensed how eager his team was to finally take the field.
However, perhaps the long layoff created some rust for these Nationals, who dropped the first game of Saturday's split doubleheader, 4-1, to the Dodgers at Nationals Park.
The rain held off to allow the Nationals to complete their first game since Sunday night, but their offense was flummoxed by Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling, who struck out a career-high nine in six innings of one-run ball.