Arizona Diamondbacks 1, Washington Nationals 3

It looked like the wheels had come off the Kochmobile earlier, as a lead-off home-run was followed by a double, but Matt Koch settled down and avoided further damage. The D-backs wasted a golden opportunity to get to Max Scherzer, but couldn’t score after having men on second and third with no outs in the first. David Peralta tied the game up with his seventh homer in the third, but Scherzer immediately helped his own cause out with an RBI double to give Washington the lead back.

Koch, however, pitched well and allowed only a solo home-run the rest of the way, working eight innings and giving the bullpen a much needed breather. He was charged with three runs on seven hits and a walk, with three strikeouts. New call-up (and probable short-term Diamondback) Jake Barrett made his 2018 debut with a scoreless ninth. Peralta had two of the team’s five hits, and there was a stretch of 19 batters for Arizona being set down in order. The team were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, all coming in the first two innings, and had 14 strikeouts with no walks.