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Nats drop Sunday finale to Diamondbacks

Chris Graham

washington nationalsRemember when the Washington Nationals were the hottest team in baseball? We can declare that one done.

The Nats got another poor outing from a high-dollar starter, then another poor outing, surprise, from the bullpen, in a 7-5 loss at Arizona on Sunday.

The loss means Washington has now dropped each of its last three series, and seven of its last 10 games overall.

Patrick Corbin was hit hard in his return to the desert, giving up five runs on seven hits in five and a third innings, striking out five and walking three in the no-decision.

The Nats offense kept the team in the game long enough for the pen to blow it, in the form of Wander Suero (3-6, 4.80 ERA), who gave up a two-run single to Adam Jones in the seventh.

Jones, the former Baltimore Oriole, had three hits and four RBI on the afternoon.

Gerardo Parra (8) and Brian Dozier (16) each homered for the Nationals.

More bad news for the Nats: the team placed Howie Kendrick and newly-acquired reliever Roenis Elias on the 10-day injured list, both with hamstring strains.

The Elias one was particularly frustrating to see happen. For some reason, he was left in the game to hit after throwing two-thirds of an inning in relief in Washington’s 3-0 win on Friday night, and was injured trying to beat out an infield grounder.

Story by Chris Graham

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].