Nationals defeat Dodgers 5-3 in completion of suspended game

Washington Nationals' Matt den Dekker tosses his bat as he runs the bases for his two-run game winning homer during the eighth inning of a resumed baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 18, 2015, in Washington. The game was resumed in the top of the sixth inning after it was suspended July 17 due to a problem with the lights. The Nationals won 5-3. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Washington Nationals' Matt den Dekker tosses his bat as he runs the bases for his two-run game winning homer during the eighth inning of a resumed baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 18, 2015, in Washington. The game was resumed in the top of the sixth inning after it was suspended July 17 due to a problem with the lights. The Nationals won 5-3. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

By Associated Press July 18, 2015 3 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Pinch-hitter Matt den Dekker lined a two-run homer in the eighth inning that lifted the Washington 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.

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 NL division leaders 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).