Diamondback Journal

In a lot of ways, the Diamondbacks farm system has been so good, that it’s not only been used for trades, but players have exceeded expectations and have made the quick jump to the big leagues.  Still, even after the Dan Haren trade, the Diamondbacks have some blue chips.

Josh Whitesell was the best hitter in the system and even better, he was a waiver wire pick up.  He drove in 110 runs and that was good for fourth best in all of the minor league baseball.  He’s 26 so he’s getting beyond the prospect stage but he’s definitely a guy you want in your back pocket as a potential reserve.  Cesar Valdez was the systems best pitcher and while he had an impressive 140 strikeouts, he’s still a ways away from making an impact for the D-Backs.

Max Scherzer would have made the list but he spent a lot of time with the Diamondbacks.  This year’s first round draft pick, Bryan Augenstein, didn’t get to show too much of his stuff but we’ll get to see him shine next year with his first full season coming up.

Baseball is still kicking here but when it comes to baseball gear, the best place to pick up a baseball glove has to be Baseball Rampage.   I coach my son’s little league team and when I called them up for some suggestions, they were a big help.  I don’t get to that side of the country too often, but if I do, I’m going to make a point to check out their very cool facility.

The Padres pounced on Dan Haren early and often, striking for four in the first inning and staking out a big lead for Jake Peavy. With that lead, it should be enough. Adam Dunn had other ideas, jacking a three run bomb in the bottom of the first to pull the Diamondbacks back within one. The Dbacks put up another three spot in the second and did not look back, winning by a score of 8-6.

The Padres outhit Arizona 12-6, but still lost. Both Haren and Peavy struggled on the game. Haren lasted just six innings giving up five runs and 11 hits. Peavy went just five giving up six, five earned, on five hits and four walks.

Kevin Kouzmanhoff hit a two run homer in the first, two of the four runs in the inning off Haren. Jody Gerut also homered, one of three hits in the game.

The Diamondbacks had no one with more than one hit. Dunn’s homer was his 34th of the year. Chris Snyder also homered, one of the runs in the second.

Adam Dunn and Doug Davis teamed up to beat the San Diego Padres in the opener of a three game series by a score of 7-6. The Padres made a late run with three runs in the top of the ninth inning but the Diamondbacks were able to hold off the Padres attempts to tie it up and pulled out the victory.

Dunn hit his first homer as a Diamondback in the fourth, a two run shot off Jared Banks with two outs. The homer staked the Diamondbacks to a 6-2 lead, after an original 4-0 lead after the first inning. That was all the starter Davis needed.

Davis went six strong innings allowing seven hits and just two runs. He struck out six.

The Padres made a run in the ninth inning off closer Brandon Lyon. Lyon lasted just .1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits. Tony Pena came in and finished up the game and the final two outs to close it out. It was his second save of the year.

A day after the Diamondbacks blasted two grand slams, they managed just two hits against the Astros pitchers. Starter Roy Oswalt allowed just one hit over eight innings and walked only two. Both hits came off the bat of Stephen Drew.

Ty Wiggington had his second straight three hit game. He drove in all three runs on a mistake by Randy Johnson in the first inning. He sent the ball deep into the bleachers bringing in all the run support that Oswalt needed.

Miguel Tejada had two hits in the game. Hunter Pence played his part in keeping Oswalt’s efforts at a shutout intact when he threw out Chris Snyder trying to score on a base hit.

The Diamondbacks found their way to a huge 11-5 win over the Astros by way of two homers off the bat of Miguel Montero, including one grand slam, and another grand slam added by Chris Young. Montero went 3-5 in the game and drove in a season high five runs all on the homers.

Astros starter Brandon Backe was on the end of the offensive outburst by the Diamondbacks. He was charged with 11 runs, all earned, and nine hits. He gave up all three homers and walked five. Three relievers combined to allow just three hits the rest of the game and no more runs.

Young matched Montero’s 3-5 game, but drove in his four on the grand slam. Adam Dunn also had a good game at the dish, going 2-2 and walking three times.

Yusmeiro Petit was the beneficiary of the solid outing and was solid in his own right. He went seven strong innings and allowed just four hits. He walked just one and struck out five.

Ty Wiggington led the way for the Astros with three hits.

Randy Johnson notched up his fourth straight victory and tallied up win number 292, pushing him that much closer to being the next member of the 300 win club. The Diamondbacks used Johnson’s strong outing to win over the Giants by a score of 7-2.

Johnson was benefited by another strong game from Conor Jackson who has been on fire lately at the plate. He was 3-4 in the game with three runs and one RBI. He hit his 12th homer of the year in the seventh. Mark Reynolds also homered in the game, his 21st.

Johnson threw seven innings of shutout ball. He allowed nine hits and just struck out two, a season low. Barry Zito was on the losing end, dropping to 5-13.

Stephen Drew had three hits and two RBI’s in the game as well.

Brandon Webb and Tin Lincecum had combined for 24 wins before they found themselves matched up on Saturday. The two NL All-Stars dueled over seven innings and Lincecum leaving with a 3-2 lead. The Diamondbacks jumped on Tyler Walker in relief of Lincecum for three runs in the top of the eighth and left winners 5-3.

Webb went seven innings striking out eight and giving up three runs on four hits. Lincecum had a slightly better stat line, going seven innings and striking out thirteen while giving up two runs on seven hits.

Augie Ojeda led off the eighth with a double, followed by a botched grounder off the bat of Stephen Drew. Chris Young drove home the tying run on a sacrifice fly. Orlando Hudson and Conor Jackson followed with singles that each drove in a run.

Webb took the win, to improve his record to 14-4.

Dan Haren was dominant again the Giants Friday, going eight strong innings of two run baseball. He allowed nine hits and struck out nine as well. The offense was more than up to the challenge, throwing five runs on the board in the second which was more than enough as they won 10-2.

Conor Jackson continued his hot hitting of late, with a homer in the third as one of two hits. He scored two and drove in one. Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds also homered in the game.

All but one Diamondback starter had a hit in the game, only Chris Burke was hitless. Chris Young and Reynolds had two hits along with Jackson. Stephen Drew drove in two runs.

The Giants had just one less hit than the Diamondbacks in the game, but they failed to capitalize on any opportunites. Fred Lewis and Jose Castillo each had two hits for the Giants.

Conor Jackson has been hot of late, since the All Star Break and is making his case for being snubbed after a solid first half. He was huge in a 9-2 win over the Cubs last night, going 3-5 with two runs scored and three RBI’s. One of his three hits was hit tenth homer of the year.

Yusmeiro Petit was the beneficiary of the strong performance from Jackson and the D’backs offense. He picked up his first win of the year against one loss. He gave up one run over five innings, but walked four.

Orlando Hudson also hit a homer in the game, his eighth.

Former second round pick Jame D’Antona got into the game as a pinch hitter, and notched his first MLB hit in his first at bat. Newly acquired bullpen help Jon Rauch worked the ninth inning. Tony Clark also saw playing time soon after returning to the Diamondbacks.

In a game that featured just four hits, two on either side, pitching was at a premium. Randy Johnson was just a notch above Cubs starter Rich Harden. Harden, in just his second start with the Cubs, took a no hitter into the sixth when Alex Romero broke it up with his first career homer.

Romero’s homer would prove to be the difference, but the Diamondbacks added one more run when Stephen Drew tripled home Chris Snyder in the eighth inning to provide a cushion of an additional run.

Johnson went seven innings and allowed both the Cubs hits while striking out four. Micah Owings worked a scoreless eighth and Chad Qualls worked the ninth for his second save of the year. Brandon Lyon the normal closer has been struggling of late and was given the night off from working.

Harden took the hard luck loss on a night when the offense did him no good. He struck out ten in th game, opposed to just two walks.

The Diamondbacks were poised to take the second game of the series by a score of 5-1, but they were snakebitten by the Dodgers five run ninth inning that left the Diamondbacks at a loss for explanations. After almost blowing a late game lead the previous night, Brandon Lyon recorded his fifth blown save of the year in the ninth.

Lyon was charged with five earned runs allowed on five hits in just .2 innings. Starter Brandon Webb was left with a no decision despite going eight incredibly strong innings in which he allowed just one run on six hits. He struck out four and walked three.

The Dodgers had six hits in the ninth, four in a row with two outs, that scored the runs to take the win.

Stephen Drew had a 4-5 day at the plate, including a triple and almost had an inside the park homer but was thrown out on the attempt.

James Loney had three hits for the Dodgers.

Going into the last inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers winning by a score of 3-0, all looked good with closer Brandon Lyon coming in to finish off the victory and seal the deal. Lyon however did not make things easy, giving up two runs to scrape out a 3-2 win over the visiting Dodgers.

Lyon finished off the job that Dan Haren started with seven shutout innings and seven strikeouts. He allowed just four hits to the Dodgers in the game.

Conor Jackson got the offense started early with a solo homer in the first inning off Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley. Jackson and Orlando Hudson each had two hits on the day.

Billingsley gave up three runs in 5.2 innings and took the loss. He dropped to 9-9 on the year.

Jeff Kent started the ninth inning rally with a leadoff solo homer off Lyon before Lyon settled down to pick up his 20th save of the year.

The Diamondbacks ended their up and down first half with a loss to the Phillies in the finale of a three game set. The Phillies took two of three games to take the series as well and go into the break leading the NL East. The Phillies won by a score of 6-3.

Chad Tracy homered for the second straight game for the Diamondbacks, a solo shot that was one of his two hits. Chris Burke led the way with three hits for the Diamondbacks, but they left 19 runners on base which hurt greatly. The Diamondbacks outhit the Phillies 14-11.

Pedro Feliz had three hits, including a big two run homer in the eight that was part of a four run eighth inning that gave the Phillies the lead and eventually the game.

Chad Qualls gave up the homer and took the loss, dropping him to 2-7. Brandon Webb had an effective start before heading to New York for the All Star Game. He went seven innings, giving up seven hits that led to two runs. He struck out six hitters.

Cole Hamels was pounded for 11 hits in seven innings, but managed to scatter them for just two runs. He struck out eight in an effort to show he was snubbed from the NL All Star squad.

Randy Johnson has never been known for his bat, honestly, with an almost seven foot frame, his strike zone is so big everything is there. Along with winning his 290th career game over the Phillies, Johnson had a huge two run double as a part of the Diamondbacks eight run fourth inning. They won by a tally of 10-4.

The Diamondbacks had 12 hits, led by Chad Tracy with three. Mark Reynolds also hit his 19th homer of the year in his return after missing the game the day before. Tracy drove in four runs, while Reynolds brought home three.

Johnson limited the Phillies to five hits and four runs in six innings. He struck out three and walked just one.

Micah Owings threw two innings in relief and struck out three batters.

Phillies starter Adam Eaton was roughed up in just 3.2 innings of work. He surrendered eight runs on seven hits, all runs were earned.

The Phillies took the first game of a three game set with the Diamondbacks by a score of 6-5 in a hard fought game that went 12 innings. The Phillies won a run scoring single by Jayson Werth that drove in So Taguchi who led off the 12th with a hit.

The Diamondbacks bullpen failed to hold a two run lead they were staked to by the offense. Connor Robertson took the loss after working in the 12th.

The offense rapped out 13 hits, while the Phillies had 15. Miguel Montero had three hits and scored two runs. Alex Romero, Stephen Drew, Orlando Hudson, and Chad Tracy each had two hits to round out most of the offense. Emilio Bonifacio had a big two run pinch hit double in the seventh that had put the Diamondbacks up.

Werth had the big game for the Phillies, along with the game winning hit he had two others base knocks. Shane Victorino also pounded out three hits.

The first two games of the Padres-Diamondbacks series had been a disaster for all concerned on the Diamondbacks side. The pitchers had been great, but the runs were not coming and the Padres won both of the games.

The third game looked headed in the same direction, when Randy Johnson gave up a homer to Scott Hairston leading off the game. It was Hairston’s third homer in two games. Johnson however settled down and did not allow another run over the next 6.1 innings.

Justin Upton made fans jaws drop with the second longest homer in the history of Chase Field. The ball landed in the third row of seating in the outer deck of TGI Friday’s. The blast traveled an estimated 484 feet. It was his 11th of the year.

Padres starter Jared Banks allowed three runs off seven hits in six innings and took the loss. Johnson allowed only three hits and one run, the homer, and struck out 10 Padres batters.

Mark Reynolds blasted his 18th homer of the year later in the game for the Diamondbacks. Brandon Lyon also picked up his 18th save.

Kevin Kouzmanhoff had two hits for the Padres.

The Diamondbacks might be getting a little taste of the frustrations of the Padres season with their lack of run scoring lately. The story of the Padres season thus far has been the lack of ability to score runs. That came to be again for the Diamondbacks for the second straight night. Doug Davis was left with no support from his offense and the Padres, fueled by Scott Hairston, took the second game of the series 4-2.

Davis went eight strong innings allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out seven. Hairston was the lone speed bump in the game. He went deep twice, once in the third with a runner on and again with a solo shot in the sixth. He had three hits in the game.

Jake Peavy was on the other side unfortunately, and he threw seven shutout innings blanking the Diamondbacks on just three hits. He walked two and struck out six.

The Diamondbacks did not get on the board until the eighth with one and put up one more in the ninth but fell short. Stephen Drew hit a solo homer in the ninth. Orlando Hudson had two hits, both doubles, and drove in the other run.

The Diamondbacks just cannot find the winning formula on a consistent basis. The pitching and hitting has not yet come at the same time and for a team that was the best in the bigs for the early part of the year, the season has started to become a lot more shaky. Dan Haren threw all he had, and gave up just two runs in seven innings. Sadly, the Diamondbacks offense managed just one run in the game. The loss was taken by a score of 5-1.

The Padres starter Cha Seung Baek gave up just two hits over six innings and struck out seven. The Diamondbacks had just five hits in the game of Padres pitching.

The run support came from the middle of the order, with an RBI coming one apiece from the 2-5 hitters. Jody Gerut and Kevin Kouzmanhoff led the way with two hits each.

Haren sturck out seven in seven innings and allowed the same number of hits. Sadly, triple sevens were not that lucky for Haren. He likely cemented himself in as an NL All-Star with the outing.

Chad Tracy drove in the lone Diamondbacks run with an RBI single in the seventh.

Randy Johnson dropped his sixth straight start in an 8-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. He was roughed up for seven runs in just 3.2 innings, his shortest outing of the year.

JJ Hardy and Joe Dillon homered off Johnson early, sending him spiraling downhill. Hardy homered in the first and the second innings off Johnson, while Dillon hit his first of the year. Johnson is winless since May 18, a span on seven starts without a win.

The Diamondbacks top of the order struggled in the game, Justin Upton had the lone hit among the top 3 hitters. Conor Jackson had a big game with three hits, three RBI’s and two runs. His big blow a two run homer. Mark Reynolds, Chad Tracy and Chris Young each had two hits.

Jeff Suppan picked up the win for the Brewers despite allowing five runs in five innings on nine hits.

The Brewers had strong offensive backing from Hardy who along with the two homers had three RBI’s and three runs. Corey Hart rapped out three hits and Mike Rivera had two hits. Hart also stole two bases, Hardy stole one.

Solomon Torres picked up the save for the Brewers. Three Brewers relievers combined to keep the lead intact, allowing just two hits over three innings from the sixth to the eighth.

The Diamondbacks jacked four homers against the Mets en route to a 9-5 win. Three of the homers came in the last two innings, giving the needed boost to lift the Diamondbacks to the win.

Orlando Hudson started the homer parade in the fifth inning, hitting a two out, two run shot. Chris Snyder went deep in the eighth inning. Stephen Drew followed with a two run homer in the ninth. Conor Jackson rounded out the homer streak with a two out solo shot in the ninth.

Drew, Hudson, Jackson, and Snyder all had two in the game.

David Wright had a two run homer for the Mets in the second inning of starter Micah Owings.

Owings lasted just 4.1 innings allowing eight hits and four earned runs, five total. Mets starter John Maine gave up three in five innings, he struck out seven as well.

Chad Qualls picked up the win, his first of the year.

Zach Duke out dueled Randy Johnson and just for the day, was the better left handed pitcher. Duke’s Pirates won 5-3 over Johnson’s Diamondbacks.

Duke fought through six innings allowing just two runs. He gave up five hits and struck out five. Matt Capps picked up his 15th save working the ninth inning.

Johnson struggled to five a groove after the first two innings, giving up runs in every inning from the third through the sixth. He gave up six hits and five runs to the Pirates offense. He also walked five, struggling to find good control in the outing.

Mark Reynolds homered for the second consecutive game, adding to the two he hit yesterday. Reynolds had three hits in the game. Stephen Drew had a homer, his eighth of the year.

The Pirates had seven hits, all singles.

The Pirates got to Doug Davis early, and hard. They put a five spot on the board in the fourth inning, knocking Davis from the game with his worst outing of the year.

Davis gave up all five runs on seven hits and four walks. The Diamondbacks were not able to put together enough of a comeback to win and dropped the game 6-4.

Adam LaRoche had three hits for the Pirates, who had ten as a team.

Mark Reynolds homered twice for the Diamondbacks, making a valiant effort to pull his team back into the game. He now has 13 on the year. He had three RBI’s in the game. Augie Ojeda and Conor Jackson each had two hits for the Diamondbacks as well.

Phil Dumatrait was the beneficiary of the outburst in the fourth inning. He gave up just two runs in 5.2 innings.

Chris Snyder has not had a great year offensively, but lately he has shown signs of heating up. A very nice sign was his sixth homer of the year. The homer came in the top of the ninth and put the Diamondbacks ahead 4-3 over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Reliever Juan Cruz was the recipient of Snyder’s heroics, picking up the win in relief. Dan Haren started for the Diamondbacks and was given an early 3-0 lead but could not hold it. He allowed five hits and three runs in seven innings. He also recorded six strikeouts.

Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny gave up three runs in seven innings of work as well. In the first inning against Gorzelanny, the D’backs had RBI’s from Conor Jackson, Chris Young and Mark Reynolds.

Young had two doubles in the game. Nate McLouth had two hits and two RBI’s for the Pirates.

Brandon Webb got back to his winning ways that had eluded him for a short time a couple of weeks ago. He shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates in the teams first meeting of the year, allowing just one run on three hits over seven innings. The Diamondbacks won the game by a score of 3-1.

The Diamondbacks had six hits, spread over six players. Each of the top five hitters in the Arizona lineup had one. Chris Young hit his first triple of the year. Orlando Hudson then brought Young in with a sacrifice fly to left.

Stephen Drew brought home the first run of the game in the second with a clutch two out double that brought in Jeff Salazar. Drew was hitting in the leadoff spot instead of his usual two hole.

The Pirates got their lone run in the sixth against Webb. Freddy Sanchez singled and Jason Bay followed with a double that brought him in. Sanchez had two hits for the Pirates.

Ian Snell took the loss for the Pirates despite striking out nine over just five innings. He gave up five hits and two runs, just one earned. He also walked three.

Brandon Lyon picked up his 13th save of the year.

The Brewers are on a bit of a roll lately. They have won six straight. The Diamondbacks…not so much. They have lost three straight. The finale of the series in Milwaukee was not pretty, the Diamondbacks took a hard 10-1 loss.

The Diamondbacks struggled all game long to get the bats going. The Brewers had no such troubles. They pounded out 14 hits and could have scored way more than 10 in the game. The first inning featured the first three batters reaching base, but Owings struck out Prince Fielder and then got Corey Hart to fly out to deep right and Justin Upton made a great throw to double off Gabe Kapler to end the inning.

Two innings later, in the third, the Brewers blew the gates off the door and the game wide open. They put up four runs, forcing Owings out of the game after that inning. Owings left having allowed eight hits and five runs in just three innings.

Edgar Gonzalez followed, and he fared no better. The Brewers jumped on him for five runs in the fourth inning, all with two outs. The start was when Justin Upton made a diving effort on a Corey Hart liner in right that was just beyond his reach and skipped all the way to wall. By the time the ball was retrieved, Hart had rounded the bases following the two runners before him for an inside the park homer.

Russell Branyan followed and hit a homer over the fence, his fourth of the year.

Ryan Braun had two hits, two runs, and drove in two runs. Gabe Kapler had four hits in five trips to the plate. Hart and Branyan each had two hits as well.

Manny Parra had a great game on the mound. He went seven innings, allowing the Diamondbacks just four hits. He struck out eight and walked just two.

The Diamondbacks made three errors in the game, two by outfielders and one by a pitcher.

Randy Johnson moved into sole possession of second place on the all time strikeout list with his first K of the game. He racked up eight in the game, but still Johnson took the loss 7-1.

Mike Cameron was the batter that swung and missed to give Johnson the K that moved him past Roger Clemens with 4,680. The Diamondbacks managed just six hits in the game. Seth McClung gave up all six hits in just six innings, he walked none and struck out four.

The Brewers hit three homers in the game. Ryan Braun hit his 16th homer of the year off Johnson in the sixth. Prince Fielder hit his tenth, and his second consecutive game with a homer. JJ Hardy rounded out the homers.

Johnson dropped to 4-2 after giving up four runs, three earned, in 6.1 innings. Max Scherzer gave up two of the homers in an inning of relief. He gave up three runs and struck out just one.

The Diamondbacks have now dropped 10 of their last 12 on the road.

Doug Davis put together a solid outing in his third start since returning from surgery. He went six strong innings allowing just one earned run to the Milwaukee Brewers. He walked just two and allowed only six hits.

The Diamondbacks led 3-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, but the Brewers put two runs on the board to tie the game. One inning later, a Prince Fielder homer put the Brewers ahead one and that was the final score at 4-3.

Davis started the seventh inning on the mound but gave up a hit and a walk and was pulled in favor of Chad Qualls. Jason Kendall attempted to move the runners up on a sacrifice bunt, but Qualls made a high throw to first and they were unable to get the out. With the bases loaded, Gabe Kapler was called on to pinch hit.

Kapler chopped a ball to third where Mark Reynolds got the ball and went home to start the double play but his throw was way off the mark and out of Chris Snyder’s reach.

Doug Slaten came in to face Fielder in the next inning, lefty against lefty. Fielder sent the ball into deep center field and gone to put the Brew Crew ahead.

Snyder had the big offensive output for the D’backs, having a homer and a double. His homer was a solo shot in the top of the seventh. He had two RBI’s.

For the Brewers, Fielder led the way with three hits including the huge homer.

The Diamondbacks have now lost nine of their last 11 road games.

Dan Haren and the Diamondbacks bullpen created an impossible combination for the Nationals to solve. Haren left the Nationals scoreline empty over seven innings. He struck out five and gave up only four hits in the game.

The game started off the right way for the Diamondbacks, the first two batters reached base and Orlando Hudson swiftly cleared them with one swing of the bat. Hudson took a 1-1 breaking ball from Shawn Hill and lofted it into deep right center field. Haren never looked back and allowed the Nationals few chances to try to get back into the game.

Chad Tracy added a homer in the third inning, a solo shot.

Chad Qualls and Tony Pena followed Haren, throwing an inning each and neither allowed a hit. Both had a strike out each.

Hill gave up seven hits and five runs in just four innings for the Nationals.

Brandon Webb found himself in a very unfamiliar place. He had lost his previous two starts after reeling off nine straight wins to start the 2008 season. His team was also in unfamiliar territory. The team that was considered the best in the bigs for a period to start the year had lost five straight. Both found the remedy for that problem Saturday.

Webb allowed no chance for this team to lose by preventing the Washington Nationals from scoring any runs. He allowed just six hits in nine innings. Webb had no more than two runners on base in an inning, giving up two hits in the sixth and two hit batters in the fifth.

Webb also rung up eight Nationals and did not walk a batter.

Mark Reynolds provided all the offensive punch needed. He hit his first homer, a 459 foot bomb into deep left center in the second inning and put the Diamondbacks ahead for good. He added another in the seventh inning right after Justin Upton went deep as well. Chris Young put the finishing touches on the solo homer barrage adding his own in the eighth inning.

The Diamondbacks had just seven hits in the game, but with four leaving the yard and Webb’s pitching there was little doubt as to the outcome of the game.

Nationals starter Sean Bergmann went all eight innings against the Diamondbacks. He matched Webb’s eight K’s and no walks. The loss dropped him to 1-2.

Lastings Milledge stole two bases for the Nationals for the second straight day.

The game lasted just an hour and 52 minutes.

The Arizona Diamondbacks were sitting high and mighty not too long ago with the best record in the majors. Now they sit just 2.5 games ahead of the second place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. The latest loss, a 7-4 victory for the Washington Nationals, was another lackluster performance by the Diamondbacks offense.

The D’backs, losers of nine of their last 11, had just six hits in the game. Twice in the game they fought back from down 2-0 and 3-1, but finally the Nationals extended the lead out of reach.

Willie Harris had the final blow, a three run homer in the seventh, that put the Nationals up 6-3. IT was just Harris’ second homer of the year.

Starter Micah Owings struggled all game long. In just 6.1 innings, he was rocked for six runs off eight hits. He struck out six in the game.

The D’backs received solo homers from Orlando Hudson and Chad Tracy.

Freddy Guzman had three hits to lead the way for the Nationals. Jon Rauch picked up his 12th save of the year working a scoreless ninth.

Max Scherzer worked 2.2 innings of relief and allowed just one hit and one run. He walked three and struck out one.

Brandon Webb will look to break the Diamondbacks losing ways and his own personal two game losing streak tonight.