Rosenthal makes rehab appearance with Harrisburg (Nats win 5-2)

LOS ANGELES - Nationals reliever Trevor Rosenthal participated in a rehab game tonight for Double-A Harrisburg. He tossed a scoreless inning for the Senators, striking out one and walking none. He fired 11 pitches in the seventh inning at Hartford, eight for strikes.

Nationals manager Davey Martinez talked about Rosenthal's status prior to that rehab appearance.

"We'll see how he feels after today's game," Martinez said. "We'd like for him to go back and pitch a couple more innings."

Rosenthal has been on the 10-day injured list after a viral infection. At the Nationals extended spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., the former closer concentrated on getting his mechanics back on track after continued wildness in his appearances with the Nats to begin the season.

"They said he's been doing well," Martinez said. "We worked on his mechanics. His arm slot is better. When he misses now it's more an up and down miss which is typical instead of yanking everything.

"I want him to feel good about himself and where he's at."

* Reliever Erick Fedde pitched a scoreless frame Friday night and in our visit with Nationals pitching coach Paul Menhart, he said they wanted to get the pitcher a lot of work the next few weeks to test his endurance and capabilities. Martinez said they might even use the starter-turned-reliever again tonight.

"He brought to my attention last night that he felt really, really good," Martinez said. "I guess his stint yesterday he said it almost felt like a side in the bullpen getting ready for his start. I'm going to talk to him today.

"I had a conversation with Paul Menhart earlier and he feels like he could be ready to go back-to-back days depending on his pitch count. We'll see where we are at today. If we need him and he feels good, we might let him face a batter or two."

* Martinez updated the progress of Matt Adams (left shoulder strain) and Tony Sipp (oblique), who are on the injured list.

"Matty was building on his strength again. Tony threw a little bit yesterday, felt pretty good. We'll just have to monitor him."

Shortstop Trea Turner is an active participant in batting practice each pregame here in Los Angeles. Turner is out with a broken right index finger and even though he is getting on field work, Martinez would not commit yet to a return date.

"He's definitely getting close but there's really no timetable yet," Martinez said. "He looks good. Every day he climbs another hurdle. Hopefully he continues to do that and not have any setbacks."

Update: The Nationals have to feel they wasted a huge opportunity in the first inning against Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler.

Adam Eaton singled and Victor Robles reached on a bunt single. Juan Soto, in his first game in 10 days, walked. But as Soto trotted to first base, Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes fired to second baseman Kiké Hernández, who tagged out Robles. It appeared Robles thought that he was moving to third with a runner on first.

Instead of the bases loaded with no outs, the Nats had runners on the corners and one away. Anthony Rendon flew out to right field and Gerardo Parra struck out swinging to end the threat.

Right-hander Max Scherzer allowed a two-out walk in the third to Max Muncy. Justin Turner then crushed a 2-1 fastball over the right-center field wall to give the Dodgers the lead.

After that potential for a big inning in the first, Buehler retired eight of the next nine batters he faced with four strikeouts.

After three innings, the Dodgers lead the Nats 2-0.

Update II: The defense did a nice job to help keep the Nats in the game. Parra dove to his right to prevent extra bases for Joc Pederson in the sixth. Brian Dozier made a sliding stab at a grounder up the middle and threw the runner out.

The Nats launched a couple of fly balls that were caught on the warning track and up against the wall in the sixth: Soto to left field and Rendon to right-center field.

Buehler has allowed four hits through six shutout frames, striking out seven.

Through six innings, the Dodgers lead the Nats 2-0.

Update III: Buehler went seven shutout innings, allowing four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Update IV: The Nats turned the game upside down with one of the more dramatic innings of the season, scoring five runs, highlighted by a grand slam from newly signed outfielder/first baseman Parra. Soto also had a nine-pitch RBI single to get the Nats on the board. It was the first grand slam of the season for Washington.

Mid-eighth in L.A., the Nats lead 5-2.

Update V: Sean Doolittle in the ninth earns the save with a three-up, three-down inning. Parra appropriately ended it with an over the back foul ball popup grab. The Dodgers are now 11-2 at home, with both losses to the Nats.

Final score: the Nats 5, the Dodgers 2.