Fernando Rodney went an inning-plus twice last season, and multiple times back in 2014, ‘15, and ‘16, but hadn’t completed two innings in relief in the majors since September of 2013, when he did it for the second time that season with the Tampa Bay Rays, for whom, coincidentally, Davey Martinez served as the bench coach.
Martinez, now in his second year as the Washington Nationals’ manager, tried to get two innings out of his 42-year-old reliever last night, after Rodney tossed a scoreless 17-pitch inning against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth, retiring the side in order, to keep it close, with the Nats trailing 3-1 in the second game of the four-game series in SunTrust Park.