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Power outage? Pinch-hitter den Dekker blasts Nats past Dodgers
Matt den Dekker supplied all the power Washington needed at Nationals Park.
Den Dekker lined a two-run, pinch-hit homer that broke an eighth-inning tie and lifted the Nationals over the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Saturday, completing a game suspended a day earlier after the fifth because of a lighting malfunction.
"It's a humdinger of a game if you win," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "If you don't, it doesn't feel as good."
The game was delayed three times Friday night by a bank of lights on the third-base side that kept going out, and finally stopped with Washington ahead 3-2. The Nationals said Saturday that a faulty circuit breaker caused the outage.
The Dodgers and Nationals were set to play their scheduled game later Saturday afternoon.
When the suspended game resumed, Adrian Gonzalez hit his second homer of the game, a tying shot in the Dodgers sixth.
Den Dekker hit his second homer of the season and the first of his career as a pinch-hitter. The two-out drive into the second deck came against Pedro Baez (2-2)
"First-pitch fastball. I was just ready to be aggressive early," den Dekker said. "Coming off the bench you've got to be in there and ready to go."
Baez was the fifth Los Angeles pitcher of the game.
"It wasn't a bad pitch," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Probably got a little bit more of the plate then we wanted, but it was elevated."
The home run came after Michael A. Taylor grounded into a forceout, beating the relay to first.
Yunel Escobar homered and doubled twice for Washington.
Casey Janssen (1-2) pitched one inning. Drew Storen picked up his 28th save after allowing the first two batters to reach base in the ninth.
Joc Pederson missed a three-run homer by several feet on a foul fly down the left-field line before striking out to end the game.
Gonzalez, the second batter after play resumed, made it 3-all when he connected against Tanner Roark pitch for his 20th home run of the season. Seven of Gonzalez's nine hits over his last 10 games have been home runs.
The first stoppage occurred in the fourth inning Friday night and lasted 1 hour, 22 minutes. Los Angeles led 2-1 in the middle of the fifth when there was a second delay for 40 minutes.
Once the lights went back on, Roark doubled and Escobar homered off Chin-Hui Tsao for a 3-2 lead.
After the half inning ended, the Nationals were in the field, poised to start the sixth when the same bank of lights went out.
Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann allowed two runs and three hits in four innings. Roark pitched the fifth Friday night, and took the mound when play resumed Saturday.
Mike Bolsinger of the Dodgers gave up a run on two hits before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the fifth.
Washington used an RBI groundout by Bryce Harper to go up 1-0 in the third. Gonzalez answered in the fourth with a shot into the seats in right field after Zimmermann hit Justin Turner with a pitch.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Nationals: INF Anthony Rendon (left quadriceps strain) was scheduled to begin a rehabilitation assignment Saturday night for Class A Potomac, according to Williams. .... OF Jayson Werth (broken left wrist) was slated to play the outfield in his third game with Potomac. ... 1B Ryan Zimmerman (left foot plantar fasciitis) took batting and infield practice prior to the game.
ON DECK
Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (6-6, 2.85 ERA) starts Saturday's scheduled game. He's 7-2 lifetime against the Nationals and unbeaten in five starts since Aug. 6, 2010.
Nationals: Doug Fister (3-4, 4.08 ERA) makes his 12th start of the season, only the eighth against a team other than Atlanta. Washington is 4-7 in his 11 outings.
HELP ARRIVES
The teams were allowed to add a 26th player for Saturday's regularly scheduled game. The Dodgers brought up RHP Zach Lee from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Washington recalled RHP Taylor Jordan from Triple-A Syracuse.
