Hill Lacks 'Zip' in Poor Start

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 29 -- If there was anyone on the Washington Nationals' staff who could stop a slide with a dominant performance, it was right-hander Shawn Hill. Entering Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 26-year-old hadn't endured a shaky outing in an injury-plagued season.

So maybe he was due. Hill was handed leads of 4-0 and 8-3, and he couldn't provide the outing the Nationals needed in what became a 10-9, 12-inning loss to the Dodgers.

"I felt like I didn't have a lot of zip on the ball today," Hill said, "like I was trying to fight to get it to where I wanted to go."

Hill was charged with seven runs, six of them earned, in a 5 1/3 -inning outing that pushed his ERA from 2.31 to 2.87. More importantly, he couldn't secure what was right there for the taking -- his fourth win of the season and first since May 11. That was his last start before he spent three months on the disabled list with left shoulder and right elbow problems.

An early indication Hill didn't have his best stuff: He allowed three fly balls in the first inning. Normally, his sinker induces grounders. He said he did not adjust well to the noon start time.

"It took me a while to wake up a little bit," he said. "It's something that maybe I need to prepare for a little bit better for next time. . . . I just didn't have the energy I would have liked to have had."

Schneider Cameos at First

Catcher Brian Schneider was inserted at first base in a double-switch in the bottom of the 12th, just the second time he has played there in his major league career. Schneider said he was happy to do it, but admitted, "If you're not used to the position, you're not going to be able to react like you normally do." . . .

Reliever Jesus Colome came out after facing two batters in the seventh with shin splints in his left leg. Colome said the injury bothered him on his last two pitches. It's a problem he has had occasionally and stems from a bad car accident he had in 2002.