(Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today)ANAHEIM, Calif. — Sean Doolittle missed with most of his warm-up pitches before the ninth inning Tuesday night. Doolittle was the man the Nationals got to protect them, the one who was supposed to stop this vicious cycle. “I don’t think anyone’s ever been more excited in a big league ballgame that we got out of the eighth inning,” Bryce Harper said later. Though he allowed a run, Doolittle did not concede the lead. “Welcome to the Nationals,” he told Doolittle, who cannot possibly understand how glad the Nationals are to have him.

Source: Washington Post July 19, 2017 12:09 UTC