Rendon, Martinez ejected arguing strike three call (Nats lose 3-2)

For all his mild-mannered appearances in interviews, Davey Martinez has insisted all along he can get riled up with the best of them when he gets upset. And he just proved it in the bottom of the third inning at Nationals Park.

Moments after Anthony Rendon was ejected following a borderline strike three call by plate umpire Marty Foster, Martinez came storming out of the dugout and earned the first ejection of his managerial career, tossing his cap and kicking dirt on the plate in a show that fired up an otherwise frigid crowd on a 42-degree afternoon at the park.

Several Nationals hitters had issues with Foster's strike zone throughout the game's first three innings, including Rendon after a first-inning called third strike. When it happened again two innings later, Rendon tossed his bat aside in frustration but did not appear to say a word to Foster, who nonetheless ejected the third baseman moments later.

That brought Martinez out of the dugout for an animated conversation with Foster, who is in short-sleeves despite the chilly conditions. The rookie manager, upon getting the heave-ho, slammed his cap to the ground and then started kicking dirt around the plate before storming off the field to cheers.

Bench coach Chip Hale has taken over for Martinez. Matt Reynolds, just recalled from Triple-A Syracuse this morning, has taken over at third base for Rendon.

The Nationals, meanwhile, have taken a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning thanks to some "small ball" that might well have been engineered by Hale. After Michael A. Taylor reached on an error, No. 7 hitter Brian Goodwin sacrificed him to second base. Taylor then stole third and scored moments later when Pedro Severino singled to right.

Gio Gonzalez has tossed five scoreless innings on 80 pitches so far.

Update: The Mets tied the game in the top of the sixth via three straight hits, ending Gonzalez's day in abrupt fashion. But Matt Grace escaped the jam to keep this a 1-1 game heading to the bottom of the sixth. That set the stage for Bryce Harper to give the Nats the lead right back with an impressive, opposite-field home run off Hansel Robles that landed in the back of the visitors' bullpen. Harper's fifth homer in eight games put the Nationals up 2-1 heading to the seventh, but that lead disappeared in an instant when Brandon Kintzler gave up a pair of runs via two hits and an RBI groundout. So now the Nats find themselves needing to mount a rally against the Mets bullpen, down 3-2 at the stretch.

Update II: That'll do it. The Nationals lose this one 3-2, and they've now lost four in a row. That leaves them 2 1/2 games behind the Mets, albeit at an extremely early date on the schedule. But they'll need a win Sunday night to avoid a series sweep at the hands of their division rivals.