Young Players May Help Secure Wins Down The Stretch

Trying to salvage their last game of the series against the Washington Nationals, youngsters Patrick Corbin and Paul Goldschmidt led the Diamondbacks rally. Corbin did an outstanding job keeping the Nationals hitters off balance, and Paul Goldschmidt just played intelligent baseball. This bodes very well for the Diamondbacks future, as Corbin just turned 23, and Goldschmidt is only 24.

After the game, it was obvious that Manager Kirk Gibson was very pleased with the performance of starting pitcher Patrick Corbin. He said, "Patrick was outstanding, obviously, he pitched seven great innings for us. His pitch count was extremely low all the way through." Corbin finished the afternoon striking out seven batters, while giving up only two runs off of four hits. In his last three outings, Corbin has pitched 19 innings, and has only given up 12 hits and four runs, while striking out 19 batters. Gibson said, "His strike ratio right from the get go was very efficient," which led Corbin to getting ahead in the count, and helped him keep the Nationals hitters off-balance throughout most of the game. After Bryce Harper singled in the first inning, Corbin retired 16 Nationals hitters in a row before finally giving up two runs in the seventh inning. Gibson went on to say that Corbin shut a very good team down. When Manager Kirk Gibson said, "He's got it all," you can't get much higher praise than that, especially for a 23-year old.

When asked what led to his success in the game, Corbin said he "just got ahead of the guys today with my fastball," and that he was able to keep it down in the zone. He praised Miguel Montero for calling a great game, and also said, "I felt really good today." When Corbin was reminded that he had zero walks in the seven innings he pitched, he was quick to say, "That definitely helps too."

Gibson has the same opinion towards Paul Goldschmidt as he does Corbin. Goldschmidt, who is playing his first full season in the major leagues, is already enjoying enormous success. Goldschmidt has a .299 average so far this season, with 34 doubles and 16 home runs. Gibson said that Goldschmidt works hard every day to study the opposing pitcher, and work on his game, both offensively and defensively. He doesn't feel that Goldschmidt gets bogged down with too much information, and said that Goldschmidt knows how to process information, and the way he uses it "is very impressive." When Goldschmidt scored in the second inning, Gibson said that "he really set the tone for us early, got us on the board." That's a very good sign when one of your youngest players on the team is setting the tone for how to win baseball games.

Goldschmidt talked about the series and said, "We had our chances yesterday, and even in the first game." He was quick to say that Corbin did a great job to help in today's win, and that down the stretch "we need to play well." Goldschmidt ended the game two for four, scoring two runs, with a double, and three RBI's.

The Diamondbacks will get a much deserved day off tomorrow before heading out to play against the St. Louis Cardinals. Having two young players such as Patrick Corbin and Paul Goldschmidt showing success at the major league level gives the Arizona Diamondbacks hope towards making the playoffs this year, and into the future.

Diamondbacks Avoid Getting Swept At Home

After committing three errors the night before, it was the Diamondbacks turn to take advantage of some early mistakes by the Nationals, as they avoided the sweep with a 7-4 victory. The Diamondbacks were able to take a 1-0 lead in the game before recording their first hit. Paul Goldschmidt led off the second inning, reached first on a throw in the dirt by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, and advanced to second on the error. On the very next pitch, Goldschmidt stole third, and was able to advance home on another throwing error, by newly acquired catcher Kurt Suzuki, who came to the Nationals from the Oakland Athletics August 3.

The Diamondbacks were able to build on their lead as Chris Young connected on a double down the third base line to get things started in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Jason Kubel was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Paul Goldschmidt proceeded to hit his 34^th double of the season on a fly ball down the left field line which scored Young and Kubel to give the D-backs a 3-0 lead.

Another Nationals mistake came in the bottom of the fifth inning when pitcher Ross Detwiler walked Chris Young. The next batter, Aaron Hill, smashed a line drive double to the left-center field gap to score Young. Jason Kubel drilled a line drive back to Detwiler, who reacted just quick enough to avoid getting struck in the face by the batted ball. With two outs, Detwiler was immediately replaced by reliever Craig Stammen after the play.

On the first pitch by Stammen, Goldschmidt hit a single straight up the middle to score Hill. Justin Upton got in on the fun by hitting a double down the third base line, scoring Goldschmidt, and Miguel Montero followed with his own double to the right-center gap, scoring Upton. By the time the inning ended, eight batters had come to the plate, and the Diamondbacks had a 7-0 lead.

The Nationals finally got on the scoreboard when leadoff batter Danny Espinosa hit a double to right center to start off the seventh inning, and Ryan Zimmerman singled to score Espinosa. Tyler Morse singled to center field, advancing Cesar Izturis, who replaced Zimmerman as a pinch runner, to third. Adam LaRoche hit a sacrafice fly to score Izturis, but Patrick Corbin struck out Tyler Moore to end the inning and end his afternoon, with a 7-2 lead.

Corbin looked very comfortable on the mound as he retired 16 Nationals hitters in a row during the game. He cruised through the first six innings, facing the minimum number of batters, with a little help from Bryce Harper, when he got picked off while attempting to steal second base in first inning. Corbin finished with seven strikeouts on 88 pitches, giving up just two runs on four hits.

The Nationals made it interesting as Diamondbacks reliever Takashi Saito gave up two runs on back-to-back doubles, and a single by Tyler Moore. With one out, Saito was replaced by closer J.J. Putz, who walked Steve Lombardozzi to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs. Putz struck out Roger Bernadina to close out the game and end any hopes of a comeback.

The Diamondbacks will head out of town to take on the St. Louis Cardinals for three games, and then head on to Houston for a three-game series before heading back home. The Diamondbacks got a much needed victory before facing the Cardinals, who they lost three straight against earlier in the season.

Diamondbacks vs. Nationals: Pregame Notes And Starting Lineups

The Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to avoid being swept at home for the third time this season, as they take on the Washington Nationals this afternoon. The Nationals are undoubtedly the hottest team in baseball right now, riding an eight game win streak, and currently holding the best record in baseball at 71-43. They have had the D-backs number this season, as they have won four straight against them, and hold a 4-1 edge heading into today's game.

Patrick Corbin, who recently turned 23 last month, will be making his first career appearance against the Washington Nationals. In his last outing, he posted a career-high seven strikeouts in six innings, but did not figure in the win. Corbin was recalled from Triple-A Reno August 1, making it the third time he has been brought up to the Diamondbacks this season. When asked about the biggest difference between his first stint in the rotation and how he has looked in his last two outings, Manager Kirk Gibson said, "He knows what he has to do with his pitches, you can't nibble. You've got to command the strike zone, and he's found his breaking ball. He's always been athletic." Gibson also said that the more experience he has at the major league level, the better he will understand the league and his catcher's. Corbin is also understanding that, "You have to make adjustments to survive," at this level. Corbin is 3-4 with a 3.53 ERA in seven starts and 12 appearances for the Diamondbacks.

Corbin and the Diamondbacks will be facing lefty Ross Detwiler of the Nationals. In his last meeting against the Diamondbacks, Detwiler outpitched Ian Kennedy to earn a 2-1 victory on May 3. Detwiler did not earn a decision in his most recent outing August 7, as the Nationals defeated the Astros 3-2 in 12 innings. Detwiler is 5-4 on the season, with a 3.21 ERA in 17 starts.

When asked about last night's loss, Kirk Gibson said, "We beat ourselves", although he added, "They're a good team." You just can't make mistakes against good teams or they will beat you 19 out of 20 times. Gibson said, "We've got to be better today," and that's the only way the Diamondbacks will avoid the sweep.

The Diamondbacks have played 29 games in the last 30 days since the All-Star break, and Gibson said, "The schedule is probably getting us a little bit right now, we just got to hang on." Entering today's game, the Diamondbacks are five games behind the Giants and four games behind the Dodgers.

Here are tonight's starting lineups:

Nationals:

Danny Espinosa (SS)

Bryce Harper (CF)

Ryan Zimmerman (3B)

Michael Morse (RF)

Adam LaRoche (1B)

Tyler Moore (LF)

Kurt Suzuki (C)

Steve Lombardozzi (2B)

Ross Detwiler (P)

Diamondbacks:

Chris Young (CF)

Aaron Hill (2B)

Jason Kubel (LF)

Paul Goldschmidt (1B)

Justin Upton (RF)

Miguel Montero (C)

Chris Johnson (3B)

John McDonald (SS)

Patrick Corbin (P)

Nationals' Success Tied To Diamondbacks

Nationals Rally With Big Inning, Hold Off Diamondbacks

There are reasons the Washington Nationals are the best team in the major leagues, at least going by record. One is their ability to not panic in the face of a deficit, and instead put forth quality at-bats and stay aggressive at the plate. That strategy worked Saturday, as the Nats batted around and plated five runs in the fifth inning on their way to a come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This one had to be a tough loss to take for the Diamondbacks, who built a 4-1 lead only to see it disappear. A pair of errors opened the door for the Nationals' big inning, which featured five hits including a two-run single by Ryan Zimmerman.

All-Star starter Wade Miley (12-8) was unable to make it out of the inning and lasted 4 1/3, allowing six runs but only four of those were earned, plus the wild pitch he threw. The Diamondbacks didn't help him with three errors on defense (two in the fifth), one each for Justin Upton, third baseman Chris Johnson and catcher Miguel Montero.

"I make good pitches and I get out of it," Miley, who has been heralded as an NL Cy Young Award candidtate, said. "Just go out (six days from now) and put hit behind me. Just forget about it and go home."

Aaron Hill hit his 14th home run of the season and Montero hit his second triple of 2012, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks grab the early lead. The Diamondbacks looked to have control of the game in the second inning when they scored twice, Upton hitting a leadoff double off the glove of Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and scoring on Montero's triple to center. Two outs and four batters later. Stephen Drew drove in Montero with a single to make it 3-1.

Upton heard the boos early when he booted a hit into the right field corner that allowed the Nationals' Danny Espinosa to score from first base. But Hill got that run back quickly, hammering an Edwin Jackson pitch into the left-field seats.

It turned out to be a very good offensive day for Upton, who also doubled in the third inning. The Diamondbacks added their fourth run when Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Jason Kubel to score from third with the bases loaded and one out.

Jackson left the game in the sixth ahead 6-5 after a single by Gerardo Parra and a pinch-hit double from Ryan Wheeler. As usual, Parra, the star of the night due to it being his bobblehead likeness giveaway, motored around the bases and scored.

Newly recalled pitchers Brad Bergesen and Bryan Shaw turned in scoreless performances out of the bullpen. Bergesen pitched 1 2/3 innings and Shaw struck out the side in seventh.

Hill led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, but was left stranded there. The Diamondbacks still had life though, and the crowd was energized when reliever David Hernandez struck out the brash rookie Bryce Harper looking to end the top of the eighth.

Parra reached base twice in three trips to the plate, but was removed in favor of Chris Young in the bottom of the eighth. Young drew a walk, and with runners at first and second, Arizona State standout Jake Elmore made his major-league debut. But Elmore flied out to right, and Stephen Drew struck out.

"In the seventh and eighth we were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson pointed out. "To play as poorly as we did, it hurts that much more."

Washington closer Tyler Clippard set down the D-backs in order to earn the save.

The Diamondbacks (57-57) missed a chance to gain ground on the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost in Miami, and fell to five games out of first place behind San Francisco in the NL West.

Diamondbacks Place Infielder Willie Bloomquist On DL, Make More Roster Moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks have placed Willie Bloomquist on the disabled list, the club announced before Saturday's game. The infielder has been struggling with a back injury for weeks and was unable to continue playing through it. Bloomquist was hitting .300 and had 22 RBI in 79 games.

In addition to placing Bloomquist on the DL, Arizona made the following roster moves: they recalled right-handed pitcher Bryan Shaw, designated lefty Mike Zagurski for assignment, and selected the contract of infielder Jake Elmore from Triple-A Reno. Shaw had been optioned to Reno in late July after posting a 1-4 record and a 4.26 ERA in 43 games in the majors. At Reno he allowed two earned runs in eight innings and struck out 10 in eight appearances.

Elmore, 25, hit .344 with 30 doubles and nine triples to go with 73 RBI, 95 runs scored and 32 stolen bases in 108 games with the Aces. Elmore was a 34th-round pick out of ASU in 2008, and this year was the starting second baseman on the PCL mid-season All-Star team.

When Elmore plays, he'll be the second Sun Devil to appear in a game for the D-backs in club history, joining Bloomquist. He's wearing No. 14.

Zagurski never really caught on with Arizona. He had a 6.18 ERA in 32 games.

Stick with this StoryStream and SB Nation Arizona for all the latest news on the Arizona Diamondbacks. For full coverage of the team, head over to AZ Snakepit. For all your other MLB needs, SB Nation's MLB hub has you covered. And don't miss SB Nation on YouTube:

Stephen Strasburg Looks Smooth Against Diamondbacks, Allows Just One Hit

There really isn't much to say about the Diamondbacks' 9-1 butt kicking handed to them by Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals. The offense wasn't there, the pitching was subpar and the energy level seemed down, despite this being the Diamondbacks' first home game in almost two weeks.

Still, it's hard to get any sort of big run going when you are forced to hit against one of the league's premier young pitchers. Strasburg threw a total of six innings and allowed a total of one hit and one earned run. The only thing that anyone could remotely criticize is the fact that he walked four batters. In a word, Strasburg was smooth.

Manager Kirk Gibson recognized as much in his postgame comments:

"Well, he's got good stuff obviously. I actually thought we had a pretty good approach on him. We didn't have a lot of energy to overcome that tonight to be honest with you. He pitched well. You've got to play a lot better to beat that... We won't hit tomorrow or the next day and we'll try to get some energy back."

After a long road trip, it seems that the Diamondbacks players were just simply worn out. Strasburg threw a gem of a game by all accounts, but the D-backs just didn't have any rhythm at all on the night. Because of that, Gibby sounds as if he will be giving the guys a couple of nights off from batting practice to help refresh them a bit.

Newcomer Chris Johnson was the sole Diamondbacks player to register a hit on Strasburg and he was somewhat blown away with what he saw as well.

"I saw all of his pitches today. He's really good. He's one of those guys that when he's on his game, it's going to be really tough. We got some guys on base, we [were able to] draw some walks, we tried to be selective, but his stuff got the better of us tonight. You're not going to consistently do well against him. If you get that chance, you've gotta jump on him."

Strasburg's opponent on the night was Trevor Cahill, who besides a couple of bad pitches, actually threw a pretty good game. He allowed two home runs to Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman, but he was able to get through the first couple of innings unscathed and he looked pretty sharp.

"It was just one of those night where I couldn't put anyone away. I made a couple of mistakes and they made me pay for it," Cahill said of his performance.

He also noted that facing someone with Strasburg's type of talent is never easy to do and that as a pitcher, you have to be on your best game if you want to keep your team in it. "It's always fun facing number ones [pitchers in the rotation] to kind of see how you compare. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get it done."

It's always tough when your baseball team has to face the opposing team's ace. But it's an entirely different circumstance when that ace is Stephen Strasburg.

Get more Diamondbacks coverage over at AZ Snakepit.

For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.

Stephen Strasburg Dominates D-backs, Nationals Win 9-1 In Series Opener

The Arizona Diamondbacks opened a three-game homestand against the Washington Nationals on Friday night and got a taste of why they own the National League's best record. Stephen Strasburg pitched six innings of one-hit ball and Arizona starter Trevor Cahill gave up a pair of homers as Washington bested Arizona 9-1 in the first game of their series.

Arizona struggled early against the young right-hander. Strasburg did not allow a hit in the first three innings.

Meanwhile, Cahill, excluding a small blip in the third, was every bit Strasburg's match. With one out, Steve Lombardozzi tripled. Bryce Harper then drove him home on a fly ball sacrifice fly to right to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

But Strasburg's wildness caught up with him. He walked Justin Upton and Miguel Montero in the fourth inning, and Chris Johnson singled to tie the game at 1-1. Strasburg had to wait for a while, as during Montero's at-bat, home plate umpire Dale Scott was struck in the mask with a foul ball with the cound 1-2, leaving him woozy. He left the game and C.B. Bucknor took over behind the plate duties. But when play resumed, Strasburg could not find the strike zone and Montero reached, allowing Johnson the opportunity for the RBI.

But Ryan Zimmerman got to Cahill in the top of the fifth. Lombardozzi singled with one out and, with two outs, Zimmerman blasted a two-run shot to give Washington the lead back at 3-1.

Michael Morse added a homer of his own in the sixth to make it 4-1. The way the start went for Cahill was typical of the season. He was outstanding, except for three pitches. And those three pitches were the triple and two homers.

After Matt Albers came on relief, he allowed a hit and a walk to Lombardozzi and Harper. With one out, Adam LaRoche (former D-back) hit a grounder to Paul Golldschmidt that looked like could be a double play to end the inning. They got the force at second, but Stephen Drew's relay throw was errant and Lombardozzi came in to score.

Washington finished their night of scoring by adding four runs in the eighth off Mike Zagurski.

Strasburg, who improved to 13-5, went six innings, allowing the one hit and one run, struck out six and walked four. Sean Burnett, Ryan Mattheus and Craig Stammen combined for three shutout innings to close out Arizona.

Cahill fell to 9-10, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks in six innings.

Get more Diamondbacks coverage over at AZ Snakepit.

For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.

Diamondbacks Vs. Nationals: Pregame Notes, Injury Updates And Starting Lineups

Before the game, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson announced that bullpen long man, Josh Collmenter, has been moved to the 15 day disabled list. According to a team press release, the issue deals with some sort of stomach ailment pertaining to ulcers.

Gibby noted that after he got off the plane last night, Collmenter was not feeling too well and has been placed on the DL because of it. Brad Bergesen has been recalled from AAA Reno to help fill Collmenter's role while he is out.

I caught up with Henry Blanco before the game to talk to him about his torn UCL in his left thumb. He had surgery on it yesterday here in Phoenix. "Everything went well," Blanco said of the surgery. "We've just got to wait the six weeks and see what happens after that."

On whether he expects to be back before the end of the regular season, Blanco seemed optimistic. "I'm going to try and do the best I can to see what I can do in six weeks and [we will] see what's going to happen after that."

Tonight's game vs. the Nationals also marks the debut for Chris Johnson at Chase Field. Johnson has been spectacular since coming over to the D-backs in a trade with the Astros. During the month of August, Johnson has not yet been able to play at home and has still managed to get 9 hits with 4 home runs and 10 RBI's in 30 at-bats.

In the hitter friendly Chase Field, those numbers should only get better. Johnson seemed to acknowledge that when I spoke with him before the game. "It's a really good place to hit, it's got a great batter's eye. It'll definitely take some getting used to being that it's my home park now. But I'm excited. It's just like going on the road for me right now and trying to get comfortable at the plate. It shouldn't be too hard because this is a pretty good place to hit."

As far as Willie Bloomquist goes, the disabled list has been something that has been discussed Gibson said, but that for right now, he will just be day-to-day. "He's actually way better today [Friday] than he was yesterday. He's probably being held out of activity more on our behalf right now. He's had an MRI and everything looks fine."

Gibby also noted that Parra is likely to play in center field for the first two games of the series while Chris Young will sub in for the final game before the team hits the road once again.

Here are tonight's starting lineups:

Nationals:

Stephen Lombardozzi (2B)

Bryce Harper (CF)

Ryan Zimmerman (3B)

Adam LaRoche (1B)

Michael Morse (LF)

Jayson Werth (RF)

Danny Espinosa (SS)

Kurt Suzuki (C)

Stephen Strasburg (P)

Diamondbacks:

Stephen Drew (SS)

Aaron Hill (2B)

Jason Kubel (LF)

Paul Goldschmidt (1B)

Justin Upton (RF)

Miguel Montero (C)

Chris Johnson (3B)

Gerardo Parra (CF)

Trevor Cahill (P)

For more on the Arizona Diamondbacks, make sure to check out AZ Snake Pit.

Diamondbacks Vs. Nationals, Series Preview: First-Place Nats Come To Chase Field

For more on the D-backs, head to AZ Snake Pit.