Going into the night, I think everyone would have been very pleased if they had tuned into the game in the eighth and seen a tie game and a battle of the bullpens. However, that would hardly tell the whole story. Patrick Corbin started for the Diamondbacks, let the Nationals bat around the order in the first inning, giving up three runs, and was chased from the game in with one out in the second.
Max Scherzer had a much better game overall, but ended up with a similar result. He went six innings and only gave up four hits, but in the course of just one inning, he also allowed the Diamondbacks to tie the game, taking himself out of the decision, and ultimately bringing the game down to a battle of the bullpens.
Or at least, that's what it should have been, but instead, home plate umpire Mark Carlson decided to make himself a factor in the game. He had one of the most inconsistent strike zones I have personally seen all season, and it finally came back to bit the Diamondbacks in the eighth inning, when David Hernandez ended up giving up two runs to break the tie. Full recap to follow.