Diamondbacks 6, Nationals 3: Dbacks Contain League’s Best Offense

Both teams struck early tonight. The Diamondbacks did by getting a single and a stolen base from A. J. Pollock. Pollock made it to third on error by the Tanner Roark, and Goldy brought him home with a single.

The Nationals started things off with a lead off double from Trea Turner and a Jayson Werth walk. In a shocking turn of events, Bryce Harper got an RBI single to bring home Turner. However, Taijuan Walker was able to finish off the rest of the inning without letting the Nationals score any more. Tied at one

Walker got into more trouble in the second when he gave up a double to Anthony Rendon and walked Michael Taylor. He went full on the next two hitters, Jose Lobaton and Roark, but got them to ground out and strike out respectively. That brought Turner to the plate for his second at bat in as many innings. Unlike his first at bat, Walker got him to ground out and end the inning.

He wasn’t as lucky next inning. With one out, Harper walked. Ryan Zimmerman doubled, but Chris Owings was able to hold Harper at third, bringing Daniel Murphy to the plate. Murphy singled right up the middle, scoring both and giving the Nationals the lead. 3-1 Nationals

It was a lead that wouldn’t last long. First batter up in the next inning was Jake Lamb. He took the third pitch he saw and deposited it into the bleachers for his sixth home run on the year, cutting the lead in half. Two batters later, Drury singled, bringing Chris Hermann to the plate. Hermann had been taking a lot of flack in the GDT for his pitch framing skills, or the lack there of, but he made up for it, at least in some part, by hitting a two run home run and giving the Diamondbacks a lead. 4-3 Diamondbacks

The offense was mostly quiet, but they did manage to score a couple more runs, one in the eighth and then a Jeremy Hazelbaker homer in the ninth. 6-3 Diamondbacks

It ended up being a short night for Walker tonight. He kept the score in check, but a few really long innings and lots of threats left him with a 117 pitch count after 4 ²⁄₃ innings, after giving up a two out walk to Murphy. Since he was knocked out so early, he was not eligible for the win.

The bullpen took it from there and got the job done. T. J. McFarland went one and a third perfect innings. Hoover followed that up with an inning with a hit and a walk, but canceled that out with two strike outs. JDLR had a rough but scoreless eighth, and Fernando Rodney mowed down the heart of the National’s potent lineup to to get the save.

Bald Eagles: Chris Hermann, 22.0%

Apple Pie: TJ McFarland, 12.4%

Canada: Taijuan Walker, -7.3%

Over 880 comments on the night, with MichaelMcD easily leading the way with 183. Blue Bulldog also broke the century mark. All present were:

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Same time tomorrow. Be there