Lord recorded his first hold of the season in Friday's win over the Diamondbacks, giving up a hit and two walks while striking out three over two scoreless innings.
Entering the game in the seventh inning with the Nationals ahead 8-6, Lord threw 32 pitches (19 strikes) while providing a bridge to closer Kyle Finnegan. Lord's bounced between the rotation and a long-relief role this season, but Washington manager Dave Martinez appears to be willing to experiment with Lord as a high-leverage option in a Nats bullpen that needs all the late-inning help it can get. The rookie right-hander has earned the audition with a 1.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB over his last six appearances and nine innings, an impressive turnaround after he got tagged for multiple earned runs in seven straight trips to the mound.