Nationals rookie manager Dave Martinez had it all planned out.
He would let Bryce Harper take his spot in right field to begin the top of the ninth inning, then let young outfielder Andrew Stevenson jog out and take Harper’s place.
That would allow the announced crowd of 28,680 fans to give one last ovation to Harper in would could have been his last home game as a Washington National on Wednesday evening.
But the rain, as it has much of the season, played spoiler once again in the Navy Yard neighborhood for Harper and the Nationals.