Smooth ride for Doolittle in return from DL

He entered via the passenger's seat of the bullpen cart, his feet propped up on the dashboard, his glove covering his mouth to conceal the laughter underneath it all. It was the top of the eighth inning, it was 11:57 p.m., and Sean Doolittle was back pitching for the Nationals after two months on the disabled list.

And, as he promised all along, he rode in on the cart, becoming the first pitcher from either the home or visiting team at Nationals Park to partake of the recently unveiled vehicle.

"That was awesome," the lefty said. "I had a lot of fun. It was a really smooth ride. It was great."

Doolittle was referring to the cart ride - we think - but he could've been referring to his first appearance since July 7, when a stress reaction in his left foot sent him to an unexpectedly long DL stint.

This wasn't the situation Doolittle is used to being called upon to pitch - one out, nobody on in the eighth - but Davey Martinez felt it was the right time to do it because the Cubs were sending up Daniel Murphy to pinch-hit, with switch-hitting catcher Victor Caratini due up next in a one-run game.

And Martinez knew what many in the ballpark sensed: It was going to start raining hard soon, potentially ending the game right then and there with the Nationals ahead 6-5.

"I was planning on, actually, the rain," Martinez said. "I knew they were going to pinch-hit Murphy. And I really thought that was the moment of the game right there."

Doolittle came in and showed zero signs of rust. He threw only three pitches to Murphy - fastball, slider, fasatball - and struck out his former teammate, making him look silly trying to flail at his 0-2 pitch up and out of the zone.

"He's so good, you almost have to be willing to adjust your gameplan a little bit to see if you can keep him off-balance," Doolittle said. "He's such a good hitter. He's too good to throw three of the same pitches in a row to. He's going to figure it out eventually. So I wanted it a little more off the plate, but fortunately it served the purpose and we were able to get the strikeout."

Doolittle then got Caratini to fly out to left to end the eighth and keep the 6-5 lead intact. He walked off the field with his arms spread out, his face looking upward into the rain like Andy Dufresne in relief.

Had the game been called because of rain, he would've been credited with the save. But because it resumed after a 1-hour, 29-minute delay, it was Greg Holland recording the final three outs in the ninth to earn the save.

No matter for Doolittle, who couldn't have asked for much more in his return from injury.

"The cart went really well, and on a more serious note I was happy with how I felt, all things considered," he said. "Not the ideal circumstances to come back off the DL, weather-wise at least. Really late at night, and in the back end of a doubleheader. But today was all about hanging tough and making the most of some tough situations. I'm happy I got to help out."