ATLANTA -- The last time Fernando Rodney pitched two full innings in a game was on Sept. 20, 2013. And yet, after Victor Robles’ two-run homer tied the game with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Rodney, who had thrown a scoreless eighth inning on 17 pitches, was tasked with facing the top of the Braves’ lineup in the bottom of the ninth on Friday night.

Rodney never recorded another out in the game. He walked Ronald Acuña Jr., gave up a single to Dansby Swanson and then walked Freddie Freeman on four pitches, loading the bases with nobody out. Then Josh Donaldson launched Rodney’s 32nd pitch of the night to the wall in center field, over a five-man infield, to send the Nationals to a 4-3 walk-off loss at SunTrust Park.

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It was part of a series of puzzling bullpen moves from Nationals manager Dave Martinez, who said he wanted to hold closer Sean Doolittle back for a save situation that never arrived, only to have Doolittle frantically warming up to face Nick Markakis, who was due up as the fifth batter in the inning. Markakis never came to the plate, and Doolittle was left standing in the bullpen as Washington missed a chance to steal this game in Atlanta. The Nats fell to 6 1/2 games back in the National League East.

“We liked the matchup with Fernando with the two righties, and it just didn’t work out,” Martinez said. “We’re playing on the road. Doolittle comes in the game for a save. We’re a tie game.”

Instead of turning to his best reliever with the game on the line against the team directly in front of the Nats in the division, Martinez opted to push Rodney, who is 42 years old and has spent most of his career as a one-inning save specialist. Of his 68 appearances last season, Rodney recorded more than three outs in a game only twice, and even that was a pair of four-out appearances.

Martinez referenced Rodney’s experience pitching more than one inning during his time at Triple-A Fresno after signing with the Nats -- he recorded four outs during an outing on June 10 -- and asked Rodney if he would be good after finishing the eighth.

“I don’t know the last time, but I felt good,” Rodney said. “I go in there to do my best with the game on the line, but sometimes that's part of the game.”

Doolittle, who has not pitched since July 13, had started warming up in the bullpen during the top of the inning when Robles’ homer landed, but Martinez did not want to use him in a tie game. Not even when Rodney walked the leadoff hitter and surrendered a single to Swanson, bringing up the left-handed Freeman. It wasn’t until Freeman also drew a walk, loading the bases for Donaldson, that Doolittle began warming up to face the next batter, Markakis.

“At that point, looking at the pitch count, if we get a strikeout or ground ball in that situation, then we have Doolittle for Markakis, and we’d have to double-switch so Doolittle could go back out the next inning,” Martinez said.

The Nats even used a five-man infield to try to increase their chances of a double play, calling in Juan Soto from left field and positioning him on the right side of the infield. The move didn’t matter as Donaldson drove a 2-0 pitch from Rodney 380 feet onto the warning track, sending the Nats home with a whirlwind defeat just moments after Robles lifted them with his homer.

“Obviously in that moment it’s very exciting to see. Myself and the team were very excited to tie up the game and stay in it,” Robles said through an interpreter. “We keep fighting the whole time, but [it goes for] nothing. That’s how the game goes. You win some, you lose some, but you’ve got to stay positive.”