D-backs' pitching fails again as Nationals complete sweep
PHOENIX -- The Washington Nationals put the finishing touches on a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday afternoon at Chase Field, breaking open a close game with a two-out, two-run single by pitcher Max Scherzer in the sixth inning and then dousing any hopes of a comeback by scoring four times with two outs in the ninth to salt away an 8-3 victory.
Scherzer, who began his major-league career with the Diamondbacks, struck out 11 and limited the D-backs to four hits over eight innings to improve to 12-6, but the victory wasn't assured the Nationals capitalized on yet another Arizona bullpen meltdown.
It was an all-too-familiar plot line for the D-backs, who have given up 46 runs in the course of their current four-game losing streak -- in successive increments of 14, 14, 10 and 8.
Pitching is a problem. Manager Chip Hale conceded as much afterward. But Hale was also clear to make the distinction that just because the pitching isn't good enough to win, it doesn't necessarily follow that the pitchers aren't good enough.
"Obviously it's not good enough because we're not winning games and giving up big innings," Hale said, "but the guys who are throwing the pitches are good enough. They just need to execute better, locate better, pitch selection better, which the catchers and pitchers are both responsible for.
"I hate to make a blanket statement. I think the guys throwing the pitches when we're struggling are good enough to get people out, we just need to keep working with them to make them better."
A case in point Wednesday was the performance of starter Zack Godley, who saw his record fall to 3-2 by giving up eight hits and four runs in six innings. He was effective for most of the afternoon, matched his career best with seven strikeouts and walked just one but was victimized by a couple of ill-timed pitches.
In the third inning he left a cutter up over the middle of the plate, and Trea Turner deposited it 451 feet away in the left-field bleachers for his first home run. In the sixth, Daniel Murphy hit a solo homer to make it 2-1, but the real damage came with two outs. After a pair of singles put two runners on, Godley hit Pedro Severino to load the bases and bring up Scherzer. Godley got ahead 0-2, then left another cutter over the plate that Scherzer redirected into center field for a 4-1 lead.
"I didn't make a pitch," Godley said. "I threw a cutter than just ran in like a fastball and he put a good swing on it, and got it back up the middle. You tip your hat to him, I just didn't make my pitch."
Solo homers by Jake Lamb and Yasmany Tomas pulled the D-backs within 4-3, but newly anointed closer Jake Barrett couldn't keep them within striking distance. After retiring the first two batters in the ninth, he was unable to field a softly hit ball by Murphy, and the floodgates opened. Murphy's infield single was followed by a walk, a Danny Espinosa's ground-rule double, an intentional walk and a bases-load walk to Severino. The deficit was 6-3 when Evan Marshall came on and gave up a seeing-eye single to pinch-hitter Clint Robinson before the inning came to a merciful end.
"We felt good about coming back in the ninth and just couldn't get the third out," Hale said. "Got the first two and the third one, obviously a mishit ball by Murphy, and it just bounced off his glove. When things are going bad, stuff like that happens.
"We have to turn that stuff around."