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 34th 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.