Bryce Harper leaves 5-3 loss with mild hamstring strain

Bryce Harper leaves in sixth: Harper left the game in the sixth after it appeared that his left leg gave out on a throw to the plate. Harper immediately went to the ground after the throw and remained there for a few minutes as Nationals manager Matt Williams and head athletic trainer Lee Kuntz jogged out to check on him. Kuntz seemed to be examining the area around Harper's left knee. That's the same knee that was struck by a fastball on June 13 in Milwaukee, which forced Harper to miss the following day's game.

Harper eventually got to his feet and limped off the field on his own power. The Nationals do not provide injury updates during games.

Harper's throw ended up in the Nats dugout, allowing two runs to score on the error to give the Rays the lead.

Clint Robinson replaced Harper in right field.

See below for more updates.

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After last night's snooze, the Nationals' bats woke up early against Rays starter Chris Archer. Denard Span drew a leadoff walk and then stole second. He was orginally called out, but the Nats challenged and won. Span is now 7-for-7 on steal attempts this year. A groundball single to right from Yunel Escobar gave the Nationals runners at the corners with one out for Bryce Harper.

Archer offered a slider to Harper, and the Nats slugger rifled a bullet back at the right-hander, knocking him to the ground. The blistering shot appeared to slam off Archer's left foot and then ricocheted into left field, allowing Span to score easily.

Archer was able to stay in the game but followed by walking Wilson Ramos. Danny Espinosa then hit a grounder to second baseman Logan Forsythe, who forced Ramos at second, but Espinosa beat the throw out at first, enabling Escobar to score the Nats' second run.

The Rays answered with a run in the second on three consecutive singles from Steven Souza Jr., Asdrubal Cabrera and Jake Elmore.

Doug Fister yielded one run on four hits with two strikeouts through the first two innings. He has thrown 44 pitches, with his fastball appearing a few ticks lower than normal at around 85-87 mph.

Update: Michael A. Taylor bunted for a base hit to start the second. Fister moved Taylor over on a sacrifice bunt and then Taylor advanced to third on a single to left from Span.

After Anthony Rendon struck out for the second time tonight, Escobar lifted a bloop single to right scoring Taylor. Nationals third base coach Bob Henley sent Span home on the play, where he was out by a mile on the throw from Souza to end the inning. It seemed like a bad decision with Harper about to step in with two men on base.

Fister has thrown 62 pitches through four innings, allowing one run on five hits.

The game entered a rain delay just before the bottom of the fourth.

Update II: The game resumed after a 17-minute rain delay.

Update III: Rays left fielder Joey Butler led off the sixth with a solo homer just inside the right field foul pole. Third baseman Evan Longoria and Forsythe followed with back-to-back singles. Desmond forced Longoria on a grounder by Souza leaving the Rays still with two on but one out.

That's when shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera ripped a base knock into right field. Rays third base coach Charlie Montoyo initially held Forsythe at third but Harper came up firing to the plate. The throw, way up the third base line, ended up out of play, allowing two runs to score as Harper collapsed to the ground.

Not only did Harper's night end on the botched play, but Fister's did as well. Williams called on right-hander Blake Treinen, who was immediately tagged for an RBI triple deep off the center field wall by David DeJesus.

All five runs were charges to Fister, who surrendered nine hits with no walks and three strikeouts in his first start since returning from the 15-day disabled list with a strained flexor muscle in his right forearm.

Update IV: Escobar singled in the ninth to go 5-for-5 on the night. It's the third time this season that Escobar has had five hits in a gane. He was stranded, though, as Robinson grounded out to end the game.

The Rays beat the Nats 5-3.

Fister's record drops to 2-3 with the loss.