Nationals at Diamondbacks
The Washington Nationals have begun to resemble the team everyone envisioned running away with the National League East and hope to continue their strong play when they visit the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday for the second contest of their four-game set. Washington outlasted Arizona 2-1 in 11 innings in the series opener to improve to 10-2 in its last 12 contests and 3-1 on its seven-game road trip.
After Andrew Stevenson scored the tying run on a balk in the eighth inning, Matt Adams delivered an RBI single in the 11th for the Nationals, who have bounced back from a difficult April and are just 2 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. David Peralta and Daniel Descalso each recorded two of the eight hits recorded by the Diamondbacks, who have lost five of their last seven overall contests and four of six at home. Peralta is riding a four-game hitting streak during which he has gone 6-for-18 while Descalso is 7-for-14 on his five-game run. The season series is even at two wins apiece after Arizona took two of three in Washington from April 27-29.
TV: 9:40 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington), FS Arizona
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Max Scherzer (6-1, 1.74 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Matt Koch (2-0, 2.13)
Scherzer had his string of five straight starts with a victory snapped Sunday as he settled for a no-decision against Philadelphia despite allowing just one run and five hits while fanning a season-high 15 batters in 6 1/3 innings. The 33-year-old three-time Cy Young Award winner has reached double digits in strikeouts in five of his eight turns this year, with Sunday's effort being the fifth with at least 15 in his illustrious career. Scherzer has yet to lose to Arizona, going 5-0 with a 3.13 ERA in seven starts against the team he was a member of in 2008-09.
Koch made his season debut in relief but has made four starts since, allowing fewer than three earned runs in each while working at least six innings three times. The 27-year-old native of Iowa was superb in a victory over Houston on Sunday as he gave up one run and six hits over 6 1/3 frames. Koch made his first major-league start at Washington on Sept. 27, 2016 and settled for a no-decision after yielding two runs and one hit in five innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Nationals C Matt Wieters left the series opener following his single in the second inning with an apparent left leg injury.
2. Arizona 1B Paul Goldschmidt's slump continued as he was hitless in five at-bats on Thursday and is 2-for-34 this month.
3. Washington OF Adam Eaton underwent surgery on his left ankle Thursday and is out indefinitely.