Power outage suspends play with Nats leading 3-2, game to resume tomorrow

A power outage at Nationals Park provided an embarrassing and frustrating situation tonight. A bank of lights high above the third base line went dark, causing lengthy delays in the fourth and fifth innings and then eventually forcing a suspension of the game with the Nationals leading 3-2 before the start of the sixth. The two teams will pick up where they left off when the game resumes at 2:05 p.m. on Saturday.

"Just unforeseen circumstances," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "You never know with baseball. After the second one we knew that we weren't going to do it again. You end up spending pitchers and have to sit around way too long. The fact that it happened three times, we don't know exactly why. They're troubleshooting it now and they'll hopefully have it done by tomorrow so there's no more issue."

The first stoppage lasted 1 hour and 22 minutes. When play resumed, Dodgers starter Mike Bolsinger returned to the mound to record the final two outs in the fourth before leaving the game after throwing just 66 pitches.

Well who was the last one to use Nationals Park last? Taylor Swift.. I blame her for the power outs tonight. We now have #BadBlood

-- Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) July 18, 2015

Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann wasn't able to continue as his night ended after only four innings and 63 pitches. Zimmermann allowed two runs on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Adrian Gonzalez delivered the big blow on a towering two-run homer in the fourth inning that gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

"It wasn't a question," Williams said on the decision to end Zimmermann's night. "Once we got to the hour point, he's constantly down there throwing to try to get loose. But at that point, he just sat too long."

Tanner Roark replaced Zimmermann and retired the Dodgers in order in the fifth on just seven pitches before the lights went out again, sending the game into a 40-minute delay. When the teams took the field, Roark smacked a double to the left-center field gap off right-hander Chin-Hui Tsao to start the bottom of the fifth. Yunel Escobar followed with his fifth homer, a two-run blast which sailed over the left field fence, giving the Nats a 3-2 lead.

Williams didn't reveal his pitching plan for when the game resumes in the top of the sixth inning tomorrow.

"Now that we've used (Roark), we'll have to evaluate and see," Williams said. "But he didn't throw very many pitches, so we'll re-evaluate that tonight and tomorrow."

The Nationals announced that tickets for Friday's game are not valid for entry into the completion tomorrow afternoon. Fans can exchange them for a future 2015 game, subject to availability. Meanwhile, fans with tickets for Saturday's 4:05 p.m. game are welcome to come early and attend the resumed game at 2:05 p.m. with gates opening at 11:30 a.m. at Nationals Park.