Dodgers game suspended because of malfunctioning lights at Nationals Park

A bank of lights along the left-field line went out three times at Nationals Park on Friday night, eventually leading to suspension of the Dodgers’ game against the Washington Nationals.

The third light failure occurred in the top of the sixth inning with the Nationals leading the Dodgers, 3-2. The game will be resumed at 2:05 Eastern time (11 a.m. Pacific) Saturday, with Game 2 of the three-game series to be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of the suspended game.

The Dodgers had a 2-1 lead with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning when the lights went out the first time. Players were immediately removed from the field.

The game was suspended for an hour and 22 minutes before play resumed. But just a few outs later play was again suspended when the lights failed in the middle of the fifth.

Nationals starter Jordan Zimmerman didn’t return after the first outage. Dodgers starter Mike Bolsinger didn’t return after the second outage.

To pacify the restless crowd, the Nationals’ bald eagle mascot, Screech, wandered into the outfield and hit balls into the crowd. At some point, Screech appeared to playfully exchange words with Dodgers relievers, who threw objects at him.

About an hour into the delay, Bolsinger warmed up in the bullpen with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and trainer Stan Conte by his side and was deemed able to return to the game.

For the Dodgers, this marked their second light-related delay of the season.

There was a similar delay in a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field last month. That delay, though, lasted only about 10 minutes.