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Ryne Nelson's 7 efficient innings help Diamondbacks handle Nationals, 5-2

WASHINGTON (AP) Ryne Nelson pitched seven efficient innings, Christian Walker hit his team-high 17th home run in the ninth inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Thursday.

Randal Grichuk drove in two runs for the Diamondbacks, who took two of three at Washington and have won seven of 10 overall.

Arizona (37-38) has not been at .500 since it was 9-9 on April 16.

“We’re closing in on .500, which isn’t the final destination,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I’m proud of this team. We’ve taken on a lot this year. I’m saying it a lot and I’m sure everybody is tired of hearing me say it, but we’re missing three-fifths of our starting rotation. What we’ve done is pretty impressive, and we’re just getting better every single day.”

Lane Thomas and Jesse Winker homered for Washington, which was denied its second chance in three days to get back to .500 for the first time since it was 20-20 after the first game of a doubleheader May 14. The Nationals are 36-38.

Nelson (5-5) needed only 70 pitches to breeze through seven innings of three-hit ball, and he allowed two runs without walking a batter. The right-hander struck out two and retired 13 of his last 14 batters to win consecutive starts for the first time this season.

“Watching the last couple games, they seemed very aggressive,” Nelson said. “We didn’t know if they were going to change that game plan or if they were going to stick to it. It was a lot about executing good pitches early in the counts and trying to get them to hit my pitch and get some quick outs and it ended up working.”

Nelson is 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA in his last six outings. He’s dropped his ERA from 7.06 to 5.18 in that span.

“We made early outs,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “These guys all attacked us this series. We have to get ready to hit.”

Paul Sewald handled the ninth for his eighth save. Sewald has pitched 11 2/3 scoreless innings in 13 outings since May 9.

Down 1-0 entering the fourth, Arizona sandwiched a pair of singles around a sacrifice bunt before Tucker Barnhart’s single tied it. Two batters later, Grichuk doubled into the left field corner off MacKenzie Gore to drive in two more runs.

Kevin Newman added a two-out RBI single in the fifth off Gore (6-6), who had won four of his previous five starts. The left-hander allowed four runs and a season-high 10 hits in five innings. He struck out seven.

Thomas ripped Nelson’s 93 mph fastball into the visitor’s bullpen in left-center in the third, and Winker smashed a changeup to deep center with two outs in the sixth. It was Thomas’ fourth home run on Washington’s 4-2 homestand, while Winker went deep for the second consecutive day. Both have eight homers this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: RHPs Zac Gallen (strained hamstring) and Miguel Castro (shoulder) are scheduled to throw simulated games early next week. ... OF Alek Thomas (strained hamstring) will play in Arizona Complex League games Friday and Saturday as part of a rehab assignment. ... OF Corbin Carroll was out of the lineup for rest but entered as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning.

Nationals: SS CJ Abrams was out of the lineup for the second consecutive day. Martinez said Abrams was day to day with a small ganglion cyst in his left hand. ... RHP Josiah Gray (forearm flexor strain) allowed two runs in five innings while striking out five and throwing 79 pitches Wednesday in a rehab start for Double-A Harrisburg.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks: LHP Jordan Montgomery (5-4, 6.00 ERA) starts Friday as Arizona begins a three-game series at Philadelphia, its first visit to Citizens Bank Park since winning Game 7 of last year’s NLCS there.

Nationals: LHP DJ Herz (1-1, 3.77), who struck out 13 on Sunday against Miami, will make his first career road start as Washington begins a three-city, nine-game trip Friday at Colorado.

---

This story has been corrected. A previous version said Walker’s homer was in the eighth inning, not the ninth.

---

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Diamondbacks ARI37-38	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	1	5	13	0
Nationals WAS36-38	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	4	0

Nationals ParkWashington, DC

W: R. Nelson (5-5)L: M. Gore (6-6)S: P. Sewald (8)
HR: ARI - C. Walker (26)

ARIDiamondbacks

WASNationals

.R. NelsonRyne Nelson
P
7.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 SO, 70 P
.P. SewaldPaul Sewald
P
1.0 IP, SO, 8 P

HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	FPTS
K. Marte DH	5	0	1	0	0	0	2	2	.280	.343	.505	.848	0.0
R. Grichuk RF	4	0	2	2	0	0	0	1	.304	.360	.464	.824	5.0
C. Carroll CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.217	.308	.322	.630	0.0
L. Gurriel LF	5	0	2	0	0	0	1	2	.256	.292	.395	.687	1.5
C. Walker 1B	5	1	2	1	1	0	2	2	.258	.334	.484	.818	6.0
E. Suarez 3B	5	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	.198	.279	.317	.596	-1.5
J. McCarthy CF-RF	4	2	3	0	0	0	1	0	.298	.378	.422	.801	8.5
B. Alexander 2B	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	.270	.335	.383	.718	0.5
K. Newman SS	3	1	2	1	0	1	1	0	.290	.324	.401	.725	4.5
T. Barnhart C	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	4	.169	.299	.200	.499	2.5

HITTERS	AB
K. Marte DH	5
R. Grichuk RF	4
C. Carroll CF	1
L. Gurriel LF	5
C. Walker 1B	5
E. Suarez 3B	5
J. McCarthy CF-RF	4
B. Alexander 2B	2
K. Newman SS	3
T. Barnhart C	4

HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	FPTS
L. Thomas RF	4	1	1	1	1	1	0	.229	.291	.400	.691	5.5
J. Winker LF	4	1	2	1	1	0	0	.270	.381	.421	.802	7.0
E. Rosario DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.180	.229	.335	.564	-0.5
K. Ruiz C	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.198	.231	.289	.520	0.0
L. Garcia 2B	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.263	.297	.382	.679	-0.5
J. Meneses 1B	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.242	.300	.325	.624	1.0
I. Vargas SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.282	.345	.366	.711	0.0
N. Senzel 3B	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.215	.330	.380	.710	-0.5
J. Young CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.254	.313	.311	.624	0.0

HITTERS	AB
L. Thomas RF	4
J. Winker LF	4
E. Rosario DH	4
K. Ruiz C	4
L. Garcia 2B	3
J. Meneses 1B	3
I. Vargas SS	3
N. Senzel 3B	3
J. Young CF	3

2B - K. Marte (16), R. Grichuk (10)
HR - C. Walker (17)
SH - B. Alexander
RBI - R. Grichuk 2 (17), C. Walker (50), K. Newman (17), T. Barnhart (4)
2-Out RBI - R. Grichuk 2 (2), C. Walker, K. Newman
Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out - L. Gurriel, C. Walker, E. Suarez, T. Barnhart 2 (2)

HR - L. Thomas (8), J. Winker (8)
RBI - L. Thomas (24), J. Winker (34)
2-Out RBI - L. Thomas, J. Winker

SB - J. McCarthy 2 (12)
CS - K. Marte

PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	SO	HR	ERA	WHIP	FPTS
R. Nelson (W, 5-5)	7.0	3	2	2	2	2	5.18	1.51	27.0
R. Thompson (H, 9)	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0.90	0.97	3.5
P. Sewald (S, 8)	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0.71	0.55	9.5

PITCHERS	IP
R. Nelson (W, 5-5)	7.0
R. Thompson (H, 9)	1.0
P. Sewald (S, 8)	1.0

PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	WHIP	FPTS
M. Gore (L, 6-6)	5.0	10	4	4	2	7	0	3.49	1.39	-2.5
J. Barnes	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	3.96	1.28	1.5
R. Garcia	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.94	1.39	4.0
D. Floro	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1.53	0.99	4.0
J. Weems	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	1	6.67	1.67	1.0

PITCHERS	IP
M. Gore (L, 6-6)	5.0
J. Barnes	1.0
R. Garcia	1.0
D. Floro	1.0
J. Weems	1.0

Pitches-Strikes - R. Nelson 70-46, R. Thompson 9-7, P. Sewald 8-6
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - R. Nelson 10-7, R. Thompson 2-0, P. Sewald 0-1
Batters Faced - R. Nelson 24, R. Thompson 3, P. Sewald 4

Pitches-Strikes - M. Gore 103-72, J. Barnes 17-12, R. Garcia 15-10, D. Floro 14-10, J. Weems 14-9
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - M. Gore 6-3, J. Barnes 1-0, J. Weems 1-1
Batters Faced - M. Gore 27, J. Barnes 4, R. Garcia 3, D. Floro 3, J. Weems 4

.R. NelsonRyne Nelson
P
7.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 SO, 70 P
.P. SewaldPaul Sewald
P
1.0 IP, SO, 8 P

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Diamondbacks ARI37-38	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	1	5	13	0
Nationals WAS36-38	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	4	0

Nationals ParkWashington, DC

HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	FPTS
K. Marte DH	5	0	1	0	0	0	2	2	.280	.343	.505	.848	0.0
R. Grichuk RF	4	0	2	2	0	0	0	1	.304	.360	.464	.824	5.0
C. Carroll CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.217	.308	.322	.630	0.0
L. Gurriel LF	5	0	2	0	0	0	1	2	.256	.292	.395	.687	1.5
C. Walker 1B	5	1	2	1	1	0	2	2	.258	.334	.484	.818	6.0
E. Suarez 3B	5	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	.198	.279	.317	.596	-1.5
J. McCarthy CF-RF	4	2	3	0	0	0	1	0	.298	.378	.422	.801	8.5
B. Alexander 2B	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	.270	.335	.383	.718	0.5
K. Newman SS	3	1	2	1	0	1	1	0	.290	.324	.401	.725	4.5
T. Barnhart C	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	4	.169	.299	.200	.499	2.5
Total	38	5	13	5	1	2	12	14	-	-	-	-	-

HITTERS	AB
K. Marte DH	5
R. Grichuk RF	4
C. Carroll CF	1
L. Gurriel LF	5
C. Walker 1B	5
E. Suarez 3B	5
J. McCarthy CF-RF	4
B. Alexander 2B	2
K. Newman SS	3
T. Barnhart C	4
Total	38

HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	FPTS
L. Thomas RF	4	1	1	1	1	1	0	.229	.291	.400	.691	5.5
J. Winker LF	4	1	2	1	1	0	0	.270	.381	.421	.802	7.0
E. Rosario DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.180	.229	.335	.564	-0.5
K. Ruiz C	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.198	.231	.289	.520	0.0
L. Garcia 2B	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.263	.297	.382	.679	-0.5
J. Meneses 1B	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.242	.300	.325	.624	1.0
I. Vargas SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.282	.345	.366	.711	0.0
N. Senzel 3B	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.215	.330	.380	.710	-0.5
J. Young CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.254	.313	.311	.624	0.0
Total	31	2	4	2	2	4	3	-	-	-	-	-

HITTERS	AB
L. Thomas RF	4
J. Winker LF	4
E. Rosario DH	4
K. Ruiz C	4
L. Garcia 2B	3
J. Meneses 1B	3
I. Vargas SS	3
N. Senzel 3B	3
J. Young CF	3
Total	31

2B - K. Marte (16), R. Grichuk (10)
HR - C. Walker (17)
SH - B. Alexander
RBI - R. Grichuk 2 (17), C. Walker (50), K. Newman (17), T. Barnhart (4)
2-Out RBI - R. Grichuk 2 (2), C. Walker, K. Newman
Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out - L. Gurriel, C. Walker, E. Suarez, T. Barnhart 2 (2)

HR - L. Thomas (8), J. Winker (8)
RBI - L. Thomas (24), J. Winker (34)
2-Out RBI - L. Thomas, J. Winker

SB - J. McCarthy 2 (12)
CS - K. Marte

PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	SO	HR	ERA	WHIP	FPTS
R. Nelson (W, 5-5)	7.0	3	2	2	2	2	5.18	1.51	27.0
R. Thompson (H, 9)	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0.90	0.97	3.5
P. Sewald (S, 8)	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0.71	0.55	9.5
Total	9.0	4	2	2	4	2	-	-	-

PITCHERS	IP
R. Nelson (W, 5-5)	7.0
R. Thompson (H, 9)	1.0
P. Sewald (S, 8)	1.0
Total	9.0

PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	WHIP	FPTS
M. Gore (L, 6-6)	5.0	10	4	4	2	7	0	3.49	1.39	-2.5
J. Barnes	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	3.96	1.28	1.5
R. Garcia	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.94	1.39	4.0
D. Floro	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1.53	0.99	4.0
J. Weems	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	1	6.67	1.67	1.0
Total	9.0	13	5	5	2	12	1	-	-	-

PITCHERS	IP
M. Gore (L, 6-6)	5.0
J. Barnes	1.0
R. Garcia	1.0
D. Floro	1.0
J. Weems	1.0
Total	9.0

Pitches-Strikes - R. Nelson 70-46, R. Thompson 9-7, P. Sewald 8-6
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - R. Nelson 10-7, R. Thompson 2-0, P. Sewald 0-1
Batters Faced - R. Nelson 24, R. Thompson 3, P. Sewald 4

Pitches-Strikes - M. Gore 103-72, J. Barnes 17-12, R. Garcia 15-10, D. Floro 14-10, J. Weems 14-9
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - M. Gore 6-3, J. Barnes 1-0, J. Weems 1-1
Batters Faced - M. Gore 27, J. Barnes 4, R. Garcia 3, D. Floro 3, J. Weems 4

SCORING

ALL PLAYS

3RD INNING
Thomas homered to left center 0 1
4TH INNING
Barnhart singled to deep left, McCarthy scored, Newman to second 1 1
Grichuk doubled to left, Barnhart and Newman scored 3 1
5TH INNING
Newman singled to right, McCarthy scored, Alexander to third 4 1
6TH INNING
Winker homered to center 4 2
9TH INNING
Walker homered to left 5 2

3RD INNING
	Thomas homered to left center	0	1

4TH INNING
	Barnhart singled to deep left, McCarthy scored, Newman to second	1	1
	Grichuk doubled to left, Barnhart and Newman scored	3	1

5TH INNING
	Newman singled to right, McCarthy scored, Alexander to third	4	1

6TH INNING
	Winker homered to center	4	2

9TH INNING
	Walker homered to left	5	2

1ST INNING
Diamondbacks
M. Gore Pitching:
K. Marte: Foul, Ball, Strike swinging, Strike swinging, Marte struck out swinging
R. Grichuk: Ball, Foul, Grichuk singled to left center
L. Gurriel: Strike looking, Strike looking, Foul, Foul, Strike swinging, Gurriel struck out swinging
C. Walker: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Pickoff attempt, Strike swinging, Walker struck out swinging
Middle of the 1st (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
Nationals
R. Nelson Pitching:
L. Thomas: Thomas grounded out to shortstop
J. Winker: Ball, Foul, Winker grounded out to second
E. Rosario: Strike looking, Strike swinging, Rosario flied out to deep right
End of the 1st (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
2ND INNING
Diamondbacks
M. Gore Pitching:
E. Suarez: Strike swinging, Strike (foul tip), Ball, Strike swinging, Suarez struck out swinging
J. McCarthy: Strike looking, McCarthy singled to right
B. Alexander: Strike (foul tip), Pickoff attempt, Ball, Ball, McCarthy stole second, Strike looking, Alexander grounded out to second, McCarthy to third
K. Newman: Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Newman walked
T. Barnhart: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Foul, Ball, Barnhart grounded out to third
Middle of the 2nd (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
Nationals
R. Nelson Pitching:
K. Ruiz: Strike looking, Ball, Ruiz flied out to center
L. Garcia: Foul, Strike swinging, Garcia grounded out to first
J. Meneses: Ball, Meneses singled to left
I. Vargas: Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Ball, Vargas flied out to left
End of the 2nd (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
3RD INNING
Diamondbacks
M. Gore Pitching:
K. Marte: Strike looking, Strike (foul tip), Ball, Ball, Foul, Strike looking, Marte struck out looking
R. Grichuk: Foul, Ball, Grichuk flied out to deep right
L. Gurriel: Ball, Foul, Gurriel singled to right
C. Walker: Walker singled to shallow right, Gurriel to third
E. Suarez: Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul, Pickoff attempt to first, Strike swinging, Suarez struck out swinging
Middle of the 3rd (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
Nationals
R. Nelson Pitching:
N. Senzel: Senzel flied out to deep right
J. Young: Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Strike (foul tip), Young grounded out to second
L. Thomas: Ball, Ball, Ball, Foul, Thomas homered to left center
J. Winker: Ball, Strike looking, Winker grounded out to third
End of the 3rd (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
4TH INNING
Diamondbacks
M. Gore Pitching:
J. McCarthy: Foul, McCarthy singled to left
B. Alexander: Alexander hit sacrifice bunt to pitcher, McCarthy to second
K. Newman: Strike looking, Newman reached on an infield single to shortstop
T. Barnhart: Barnhart singled to deep left, McCarthy scored, Newman to second
K. Marte: Marte popped out to first
R. Grichuk: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Grichuk doubled to left, Barnhart and Newman scored
L. Gurriel: Ball, Foul, Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul, Gurriel grounded out to shortstop
Middle of the 4th (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
Nationals
R. Nelson Pitching:
E. Rosario: Ball, Foul, Strike swinging, Rosario grounded out to second
K. Ruiz: Ball, Ball, Ruiz popped out to shortstop
L. Garcia: Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Strike swinging, Garcia struck out swinging
End of the 4th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error)
5TH INNING
Diamondbacks
M. Gore Pitching:
C. Walker: Walker grounded out to shortstop
E. Suarez: Ball, Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul, Foul, Foul, Strike swinging, Suarez struck out swinging
J. McCarthy: Strike looking, Ball, Foul, McCarthy singled to center
B. Alexander: Pickoff attempt, Pickoff attempt, Ball, Ball, McCarthy stole second, Strike swinging, Strike (foul tip), Foul, Ball, Foul, Foul, Ball, Alexander walked
K. Newman: Ball, Strike (foul tip), Newman singled to right, McCarthy scored, Alexander to third
T. Barnhart: Ball, Barnhart flied out to center
Middle of the 5th (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
Nationals
R. Nelson Pitching:
J. Meneses: Meneses lined out to left
I. Vargas: Strike looking, Vargas grounded out to second
N. Senzel: Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Senzel grounded out to shortstop
End of the 5th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
6TH INNING
Diamondbacks
Jacob Barnes relieved MacKenzie Gore
K. Marte: Strike looking, Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Marte doubled to right
R. Grichuk: Strike looking, Grichuk grounded out to third
L. Gurriel: Strike swinging, Foul, Ball, Gurriel singled to right center, Marte to third
C. Walker: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Marte caught stealing home, catcher to third to pitcher, Gurriel to third, Strike swinging, Foul, Strike swinging, Walker struck out swinging
Middle of the 6th (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
Nationals
R. Nelson Pitching:
J. Young: Ball, Young flied out to right
L. Thomas: Strike looking, Ball, Thomas grounded out to third
J. Winker: Ball, Winker homered to center
E. Rosario: Foul, Foul, Strike swinging, Rosario struck out swinging
End of the 6th (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
7TH INNING
Diamondbacks
Robert Garcia relieved Jacob Barnes
E. Suarez: Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Ball, Suarez lined out to left
J. McCarthy: Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Strike swinging, McCarthy struck out swinging
B. Alexander: Foul, Strike swinging, Ball, Foul, Ball, Strike swinging, Alexander struck out swinging
Middle of the 7th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
Nationals
Corbin Carroll in center field
Jake McCarthy in right field
K. Ruiz: Ruiz popped out to third
L. Garcia: Ball, Foul, Garcia lined out to left
J. Meneses: Ball, Ball, Meneses flied out to deep right
End of the 7th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
8TH INNING
Diamondbacks
Dylan Floro relieved Robert Garcia
K. Newman: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Strike looking, Strike swinging, Newman struck out swinging
T. Barnhart: Foul, Strike looking, Strike looking, Barnhart struck out looking
K. Marte: Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Marte popped out to shortstop
Middle of the 8th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
Nationals
Ryan Thompson relieved Ryne Nelson
I. Vargas: Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Strike swinging, Foul, Vargas grounded out to first
N. Senzel: Strike looking, Foul, Strike swinging, Senzel struck out swinging
J. Young: Young grounded bunt out to pitcher
End of the 8th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
9TH INNING
Diamondbacks
Jordan Weems relieved Dylan Floro
C. Carroll: Foul, Ball, Foul, Carroll popped out to shortstop
L. Gurriel: Ball, Gurriel popped out to shortstop
C. Walker: Foul, Ball, Walker homered to left
E. Suarez: Ball, Strike swinging, Foul, Ball, Suarez grounded out to third
Middle of the 9th (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
Nationals
Paul Sewald relieved Ryan Thompson
L. Thomas: Ball, Strike looking, Strike swinging, Strike looking, Thomas struck out looking
J. Winker: Winker singled to left center
E. Rosario: Ball, Rosario flied out to deep right
K. Ruiz: Ruiz lined out to first
End of the 9th (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)