Nationals Park light tower catches fire in 11th inn.

Even the Washington Nationals ballpark is trying to light a fire under the team.

A light tower at Nationals Park caught fire Thursday night in the 11th inning of a 3-2 victory for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Nobody was hurt and the game wasn't delayed, but three sections of fans were relocated during a "semi-scary situation" as the tower crackled and burned, wrote Washington Post reporter Adam Kilgore.

Washington's loss wasted another strong performance by Stephen Strasburg and dropped the Nats to 39-39 in the NL East, where they trail the Atlanta Braves by 5 1/2 games. While the players continue to meander around .500 as they wait for the return of Bryce Harper from an injury rehab assignment in the minor leagues, they definitely noticed the fire, which burned for a few minutes before being extinguished. Ryan Zimmerman said he was glad the fire was nothing more than a curiosity that didn't impact the game.

The club released a preliminary statement about the fire, saying via MLB.com:

"There was a minor technical malfunction in the lights above Section 226. All those in the vicinity were immediately evacuated and our facilities team is currently looking into what may have caused the problem."

Why the Nationals continue to ail after winning 98 games in 2012 also remains undetermined.

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