WASHINGTON – Ryne Nelson pitched seven efficient innings, Christian Walker hit his team-record 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 made two of three at Washington and won seven of 10 overall.
Arizona (37-38) hasn’t been .500 since going 9-9 on April 16.
“We are approaching .500, which is not the final destination,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I’m proud of this team. We took on a lot this year. I’m saying this a lot and I’m sure everyone is tired of hearing me say it, but we’re missing three-fifths of our starting rotation. What we have done is quite impressive and we are improving every day.”
Lane Thomas and Jesse Winker went to 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 May 14 doubleheader. .
Nelson (5-5) needed just 70 pitches to go seven innings of three-hit ball and allowed two runs without walking a batter. The right-hander struck out two and retired 13 of his last 14 batters to win back-to-back starters for the first time this season.
“Watching the last few games, they looked very aggressive,” Nelson said. “We didn’t know if they were going to change that game plan or if they were going to stick with it. It was a lot about making good pitches early in the count 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 starts. He lowered his ERA from 7.06 to 5.18 in that span.
“We came out early,” Washington coach Dave Martinez said. “All these guys attacked us in this series. We have to prepare to hit.”
Paul Sewald made the ninth in his eighth save. Sewald has thrown 11 2/3 scoreless innings in 13 starts since May 9.
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, Arizona put a pair of singles around a sacrifice bunt before Tucker Barnhart’s single tied it up. Two batters later, Grichuk doubled into the left corner of the field off MacKenzie Gore to drive in two more races.
Kevin Newman added a two-out RBI single in the fifth for Gore (6-6), which had won four of its previous five starts. The lefty allowed four runs and a season-high 10 hits in five innings. He got seven right.
Thomas ripped Nelson’s 90 mph fastball into the visitor’s bullpen in left center in the third, and Winker made a move to deep center with two outs in the sixth. It was Thomas’ fourth home run as Washington beat 4-2, while Winker went deep for the second day in a row. Both have eight homers this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: RHPs Zac Gallen (hamstring strain) and Miguel Castro (shoulder) are scheduled to play simulated games early next week. … OF Alek Thomas (hamstring strain) 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 came in as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning.
Nationals: SS CJ Abrams was left out of the lineup for the second day in a row. Martinez said Abrams had a small ganglion cyst on his left hand every day. … 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.
NEXT
Diamondbacks: LHP Jordan Montgomery (5-4, 6.00 ERA) starts Friday as Arizona opens a three-game series in Philadelphia, its first visit to Citizens Bank Park since winning Game 7 of last year’s NLCS.
Nationals: LHP DJ Herz (1-1, 3.77), who struck out 13 Sunday against Miami, will make his first career start when Washington opens a three-city, nine-game road trip Friday at Colorado.
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This story has been corrected. An earlier version said Walker’s home run was in the eighth inning, not the ninth.
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