“Get the triple, get the triple,” Nats players yelled from the dugout, hoping he could complete one of the rarest of baseball feats — the cycle.

The thought had already popped into Guzman’s mind when Dodgers manager Joe Torre called for left-handed reliever Joe Beimel to start the bottom of the eighth inning.

So after lacing a pitch into the gap in left-center field, Guzman tore around second base — thinking three all the way — and easily slid into third base to complete the cycle and cap a memorable night during an otherwise trying season.

“This is hard to do,” said Guzman, who earned his second career All-Star berth this season, but had tailed off in the second half thanks to a badly bruised thumb. “I think any player do that you have to feel great and be happy about it.”

Guzman had already homered in the first inning for the Nats (49-85), singled in the second — although he was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a double — and then actually earned a double in the sixth. He overshadowed Nats outfielder Elijah Dukes, who in his second night back after missing 19 games with a right calf injury had the first multi-home run game of his career.

“I wanted to try to get [home run] number three so we could be even, but [Guzman] outdid me tonight,” said Dukes, who hit 2-for-3 with a walk, four RBI and three runs scored. “I’ll try and come back tomorrow and compete again for it. But it was special. To sit here and sweep the Dodgers makes it even more special.”

The Nats, still sporting the worst record in baseball, had already taken two one-run wins from Los Angeles in the series. But a five-run first inning off left-handed starter Clayton Kershaw (2-5, 4.56 ERA) was the beginning of an explosive night for Washington. The befuddled Dodgers (65-69) left the District 0-7 on a 10-game road trip and faced a cross-country flight to Arizona for a National League West showdown against the first-place Diamondbacks (68-65) tonight.

Dukes, whose second home run was the team’s 500th since moving to Washington, and Guzman both managed to overshadow Nats left-handed starter John Lannan. After two sub-par performances where he allowed 13 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings, Lannan hoped for a rebound.

That didn’t look likely after the first inning when Lannan gave up a two-run home run to Manny Ramirez, walked one batter and then hit another. But no matter what negative thoughts might rattle around in his 23-year-old mind during such situations, Lannan always exudes an external calm. He settled down and escaped a 23-pitch first, retiring nine consecutive Dodgers after that point.

“To tell you the truth, not too many guys would hit that ball out. It was a pretty good pitch, a slider kind of low and away,” said Nats manager Manny Acta. “[Ramirez] is just such a great hitter. But to [Lannan’s] credit he settled down, took advantage of the lead that we gave him early and didn’t let them get back into the game.”

That offense was much appreciated by Lannan (8-12, 3.92 ERA), who entered the night with the second-lowest run support in the majors (3.22 runs per nine innings pitched). He pitched six innings, holding Los Angeles to just those two runs on four hits in 110 pitches. There were other notable efforts. Second baseman Anderson Hernandez had two hits, Ryan Zimmerman was 3-for-4 with two doubles and Willie Harris delivered a two-run single in the fifth that made it 7-2.

But the night belonged to Guzman, the seventh player to hit for the cycle for the Montreal/Washington franchise and the second since the organization relocated to the District in 2005. Brad Wilkerson accomplished that feat on April 6, 2005 at Philadelphia. Including the old Senators/Nationals records, only six other Washington-based players had hit for the cycle dating back to 1908. Guzman batted 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. His average is back up to .303.

“Everybody knows that before he hurt his thumb [Guzman] was our most consistent hitter,” said Acta, whose lone worry on Guzman’s triple was base runner Aaron Boone, himself just back from a lengthy stay on the disabled list for a strained calf muscle. “So it seems like Cristian is healthy now. He’s feeling better. It was very nice for him to get.”

Nats notes


Right-handed pitcher Shawn Hill is officially done for the season after experiencing a setback in his rehabilitation program, the Nats announced Thursday.

The 27-year-old battled right forearm pain all season. He began the year on the disabled list, returned to make 12 starts with a 1-5 record and 5.83 ERA, but was shut down June 25 when the pain lingered. Hill began a throwing program earlier this month at the organization’s training complex in Viera, Fla., but his progress was abruptly halted with a swollen right elbow. He will visit Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. today.

Hill was expected to rejoin the Nats in September and pitch out of the bullpen. He has a history of arm injuries. Hill underwent Tommy John surgery in 2005 and missed the entire season. He started just six games in 2006 and a shoulder injury and compressed radial nerve in his right forearm kept him to 16 starts last season.