The vibes are high in Arizona. Just twenty-four hours after staging a dramatic comeback with five runs in the 9th inning, capped by a Corbin Carroll walk-off two-run home run, Eugenio Suarez and the Diamondbacks overwhelmed the Nationals with a 17-0 victory.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!While the Diamondbacks are still outside a Wild Card spot, as the Padres staged a comeback against the Dodgers, the D-backs are now five games above .500, their highest mark all year. Arizona has won six of their last seven games, averaging 8 runs per game during this stretch.
Bombs away for Eugenio Suarez
The best offense in baseball showed no mercy to former Diamondback Patrick Corbin. Eugenio Suárez greeted Corbin early, staying hot with a two-run home run.
This would ultimately be Suarez’s 1st of not, two, but three home runs of the night, as he blasted another shot in the 6th inning, followed by one in the 7th.
Suárez, who entered July with just six home runs, now has ten for the month. His .416 OPS is the highest it’s been since April 16th, and his batting average has climbed from .192 in mid-June to .227.
Reports from a month ago speculating about Suárez’s future with the team seem unfounded as his place in the roster now appears secure.
EUGENIO SUAREZ THREE-HOMER GAME! pic.twitter.com/NYQW3bIZUE
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 31, 2024
Another poor Patrick Corbin outing
In the 2nd inning, the Diamondbacks sparked a seven-run rally with two outs, featuring seven straight hits. The sequence included singles from Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte, a double by Lourdes Gurriel Jr., another single by Suárez, and doubles by Randal Grichuk and Jake McCarthy.
Corbin remained in the game until the end of the 3rd inning, by which point he had allowed 10 earned runs on 13 hits. His season record now stands at 2-11 with a 5.88 ERA. If he continues at this rate, Corbin, a two-time All-Star, could lead the National League in losses for the fourth consecutive season.
The Diamondbacks finished the night with 22 hits, tying a franchise record which was also tied earlier this season against the Giants, where they also scored 17 runs.
Notable Performances besides Suarez
- Ketel Marte: 2-for-3, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Gabriel Moreno: 2-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs
- Jake McCarthy: 3-for-5, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Geraldo Perdomo: 3-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs
Ryne Nelson shoves
From a 6.02 ERA entering June, Ryne Nelson’s ERA now stands at 4.53 as the Nationals’ offense had no answer for the 26-year-old. Throwing a career-high 106 pitches, Nelson tossed seven scoreless innings while allowing just two hits. It was Nelson’s first seven-inning shutout since his major league debut, back in September 2022.
He also tied a season-high nine strikeouts.
With Eduardo Rodriguez scheduled to return to the Diamondbacks rotation as soon as next week, all of a sudden, the D-backs starting pitching has done a complete 360. That is besides Jordan Montgomery, whose struggles continued on Monday.
Additionally, Merrill Kelly should be back sometime in August. Arizona has been without Kelly since April.
Up next
The Diamondbacks aim to complete a series sweep over the Nationals tomorrow at 12:40 PM with Zac Gallen on the mound. In his last outing against Washington in 2022, Gallen posted an almost identical stat line to Nelson’s recent performance, throwing seven shutout innings while allowing just two hits.
A win would set up a happy flight and a well-earned rest day before the team departs for Pittsburgh to face the Pirates in a three-game series starting on Friday. The road trip will continue against the Cleveland Guardians to start next week.
In trade deadline news, the Diamondbacks made three acquisitions, bringing in A.J. Puk and Josh Bell from the Marlins and Dylan Floro from the Nationals, mirroring their active approach from 2023.
