Diamondbacks Bats Come Alive Against Washington, Revive Playoff Push

Arizona Diamondbacks Blast Nationals To Finish Road Trip Strong

It was a tough road trip that featured a six-game losing streak and an offensive drought that was certainly troublesome. But at the end of the day, the bats woke up and the pitching stayed solid and the Arizona Diamondbacks won their third-straight over the Washington Nationals in convincing fashion, 8-1.

With the win, the D-backs finish the tough road trip with a decent 4-6 record. We would have liked to have seen better, but with the Giants struggling as well the D-backs are still up two-games in the NL West. They were up two-games in the NL West after their last home game against the Mets. 

While it's safe to say that the class of the National League -- the Phillies and the Braves --- are still a ways better than Arizona, these final three wins over Washington make a division pennant all the more possible.

To beat the Nationals, the D-backs got a solid six inning scoreless start from youngster Wade Miley. In his second start in the majors, Miley gave up five hits and four walks but he used his four strikeouts to help himself out of a few jams.

The game remained scoreless for both sides until the sixth inning when Chris Young hit a bomb to drive in himself along with birthday boy Justin Upton (24) who singled ahead of him. In the bottom of the sixth, Brian Shaw struggled out of the pen and gave up a run and left a mess that Brad Zeigler was able to clean up.

In the eighth inning, Paul Goldschmidt ended any doubt when he toasted a ball well into the left field seats to increase the lead to 5-1. Three more runs in the ninth and the route was secure.

The D-backs now return home to start the final stretch of their schedule that includes nine out of ten series against NL West opponents. It starts with a home stand against the Padres this weekend at Chase Field. 

For more on this game and all things D-backs, visit AZ Snake Pit.

Hudson Pitches Gem, Nearly Goes All Nine In 4-2 D-backs Win

Daniel Hudson, after a month of struggling, finally put together another one of his signature games: he gave up some early hits before settling down and shutting down the opposition to pitch deep into the game for a win. He nearly dropped a complete game shutout on the Washington Nationals, but Hudson gave up two solo two-out homers in the ninth to spoil an otherwise excellent outing.

Through the first three innings, the Nats accumulated four hits, but Hudson proceeded to send down 13 straight batters before a double in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Washington a chance to score. But they didn’t, at least until the final out of the game, when two consecutive batters — Laynce Nix and Jonny Gomes — sent solo homers out of the park to ruin Hudson’s party and send in closer J.J. Putz for the final out. Despite the late trouble, Hudson improved his record to 7-0 when pitching at least eight innings.

The D-backs again had a relatively quiet night offensively, getting only eight hits — one hit less than Washington — but got an RBI single from Lyle Overbay and a two-run, bases-loaded single from Miguel Montero to help put Arizona on the board. Justin Upton also scored on a Gomes error in the fourth after a double from Chris Young.

The D-backs had been looking for anything to help them break out of their six-game slump, and their normally strong one-two punch of Ian Kennedy and Hudson served as the catalysts for a team still looking for productive at-bats. With the win, the D-backs move 2.5 games over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

For more D-backs coverage, head over to SB Nation's blog, AZ Snake Pit.

Sean Burroughs' Home Run Leads Diamondbacks Over Nationals, 2-0

After trading away second baseman Kelly Johnson, the Diamondbacks and Kirk Gibson had to get creative with their lineup.

Gibson moved Ryan Roberts to second base and inserted Sean Burroughs into the lineup at the hot corner, and his decision paid off in a big way as Burroughs hit a decisive two-run home run in the seventh inning to lead Arizona over Washington, 2-0.

Ian Kennedy earned his 16th victory of the 2011 season on Tuesday night against the Nationals in our nation's capitol. He went seven scoreless innings, but his shining moment came in the bottom of the fifth inning.

With the bases loaded and one out, Kennedy was in a precarious situation, facing the heart of the Washington order. Ryan Zimmerman and Mike Morse are an impressive duo, and Arizona fans had to be quite nervous.

Kennedy, on the other hand, was unfazed. Instead of giving up key runs in this situation, the D-backs' young ace stepped up and struck out both star players, utilizing both the late life on his fastball and the nasty break of his curve to send the Nationals back into their dugout without scoring.

Arizona hasn't solved any of their offensive woes, getting only six hits on the game. The important thing is that they broke their six game losing streak and can focus on winning the series against the Nationals over the next two nights. 

A scary moment happened for the D-backs in the fourth inning as Justin Upton was hit on the elbow by a Jordan Zimmermann pitch. While he appeared to be okay, he was replaced in the next inning by Collin Cowgill. Hopefully this was just a precautionary move, and not a signal of something worse.

Tomorrow is the third game of four in Washington. Daniel Hudson takes the mound for Arizona, while Washington counters with Livan Hernandez.

Is the Arizona Diamondbacks Offense Slumping Or Regressing?

Diamondbacks Drop Sixth Straight Game, Fall 4-1 To Nationals

The Arizona Diamondbacks kept up their recent streaky play in a 4-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday. The Diamondbacks, who have now lost six games in a row, had won seven consecutive contests before that.

Arizona simply didn't generate enough offense night to keep up with the Nationals. Washington claimed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning behind Jonny Gomes' single. The Nationals piled on more runs in the bottom of the fifth as Jayson Werth punched in a three-run home run. Arizona got one run off of Henry Blanco's homer in the seventh inning, but unfortunately the strike turned out to be the team's entire offense for the evening.

Joe Saunders (8-11) gave up six hits and four runs over six innings. He has been struggling lately, giving up no less than five hits in each of his last eight starts and sporting a 3.98 ERA overall.

The Diamondbacks fall to 69-59 and are just one game ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. Arizona will look to snap its losing streak and regain some momentum at the top of the NL West on Tuesday night, when they will send pitcher Ian Kennedy (15-4) to the mound to face the Nationals in Game 2 of the series.

Arizona Diamondbacks Look To Salvage Road Trip By Winning Baseball Games In Washington, DC

The Diamondbacks are 1-4 so far on their ten-game road trip. Can they salvage the trip with a few wins against the Nationals? We'll soon find out. Joe Saunders takes the mound Monday.