On a Sloppy Day, Nationals Mess Up

Costly Error Offsets Zimmerman's Shot: Padres 7, Nationals 3

Hours before game time, sandbags stacked three high blocked the tunnel between the home clubhouse and dugout at RFK Stadium, lest the flood start early. The Washington Nationals' right fielder played in front of a body of water on the warning track so large it might have been dubbed "Lake Kearns." And had anyone bunted the ball into the puddle that sat in front of home plate, the catcher might best have donned a snorkel before attempting to retrieve it.

"Tough," Nationals Manager Manny Acta said.

"Miserable," first baseman Dmitri Young added, perhaps more accurately.

Somewhere amid all those rain showers yesterday afternoon, the Nationals dropped a 7-3 decision to the San Diego Padres, a game in which Washington's sloppy play occasionally matched the conditions. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman hit a majestic home run, the first ball to reach RFK's 500 level since baseball returned in 2005. But he also committed an untimely error that led to a pair of unearned runs, and the Nationals lost for the fourth time in six games on this homestand.

But whatever went into determining the outcome -- a three-run homer from San Diego catcher Josh Bard, a two-run double from first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, a few defensive miscues from Young -- no element was more salient than the weather. The game began in a steady drizzle -- and got worse.

"If I ever played in one worse," right fielder Austin Kearns said, "I can't think of it now."

A few factors went into the decision to play the game. Though the Nationals and Padres are both off today -- and could have, theoretically, played a makeup game -- the Padres faced a cross-country trip and, starting tomorrow, a significant series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom they are battling for the National League West lead.

More important, though, was a logistical problem involving umpiring crews. The crew that worked the weekend series at RFK is due to begin a series in Milwaukee today. The crew due in to work the Washington-Pittsburgh series that begins tomorrow couldn't make it in time to work a Monday afternoon game.

Whatever the reasons, the teams were left to play in slop.

"About 1 p.m.," reliever Ray King said, "they told us, 'We're on time.' "

So each time they looked skyward, they squinted into the fray. The wind blew so hard from left to right that, as center fielder Nook Logan said, "a couple balls that were hit to almost straightaway left field, I caught in center." Logan watched left fielder Ryan Church meander back to the warning track to try to run down one wayward fly ball, battling both the wind and a growing pond at his feet. Church made the catch; "he looked like he was on skis," Logan said.

From the outset, that wasn't a good thing for the Nationals. After Marcus Giles's game-opening single off Nationals right-hander Jason Simontacchi, Terrmel Sledge laid down a bunt, his objective to sacrifice the runner over in a game that looked as if it could be shortened by rain. Simontacchi, who missed the beginning of the season because of a groin injury, pounced on the ball and turned to fire to first to get the out.