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Nationals avoid sweep, defeat Diamondbacks 9-8

May 7, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks' Miguel Castro (50) pitches against the Washington Nationals at Chase Field.

In what looked to be a smooth sail into a weekend series sweep, the Nationals mounted a late-game rally to comeback and beat the Diamondbacks 9-8.

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Similar to Saturday, where the Nationals put up a five-spot in the ninth inning, the Nats began cutting into a 7-3 deficit in the seventh inning, relentlessly adding pressure until they broke through in the ninth to take the lead.

This time, however, they were able to hold on to this comeback and avoid the sweep.

It was a three-run homer from Joey Meneses that put the Nationals ahead. Miguel Castro, out of the Diamondbacks bullpen, allowed three hits in this inning, all of which scored.

The Diamondbacks have now seen late game collapses from their bullpen in back-to-back games, something that was a major problem in 2022.

Three errors from the defense also played a big role in the Nationals’ comeback; two of the errors came from shortstop Ketel Marte.

However, there were still some positives from the offensive perspective as Arizona kept the bats hot, led once again by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Gurriel Jr. now has eight hits in his past 12 at-bats, and he drove in four of the Diamondbacks eight runs in their loss. This includes two home runs; he now has a home run in each of the last three games.

The Diamondbacks will now look to quickly forget about this game as they take on the Florida Marlins on Monday. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM, and it will once again be at Chase Field.

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