After a winless trip to Toronto, the Washington Nationals took two of three at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Washington boasts a modest two-game winning streak as the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers come to town.
Washington eked out one-run wins on Saturday and Sunday against Arizona to claim its first series win against the Diamondbacks since 2021, and the first in Washington since 2017. The bottom of the batting order keyed Sunday’s 5-4 win, with Alex Call, Paul DeJong and Dylan Crews each notching a pair of hits. Trevor Williams struck out six in five innings to earn the win; Lucas Sims, Jose Ferrer, Jorge Lopez and Kyle Finnegan provided four innings of one-run relief. The margin of victory might have been greater had not two innings ended with Nats’ runners being thrown out at home.
Saturday’s 4-3 victory was delivered by the bats of Call and James Wood, who each drove in a pair of runs to back Mitchell Parker’s six innings of two-hit pitching.
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The Dodgers come to town with a glittering 9-2 record, compared to the Nats’ modest 3-6 mark, but if you want to be optimistic, you can find reasons to do so. Washington has played three outstanding teams so far, and held their own. Tonight’s starter, MacKenzie Gore, has pitched brilliantly in his two starts, and gives the Nats a chance against anybody. Catcher Keibert Ruiz has shown significant improvement both defensively and with the bat; he’s hitting .321 with two homers and six RBI. Nate Lowe appears to be as advertised: a solid middle-of-the-order bat. He leads the team with 10 hits, three homers and eight RBI.
The Nats’ .226 team batting average isn’t going to scare anyone, but guess what? The Dodgers’ .229 average isn’t much better. My advice? Don’t bet the mortgage on Washington to win this series – but don’t be shocked if it happens.
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