PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks returned to Chase Field on Friday night looking to carry momentum from a walk-off win over the division rival Dodgers only to be overwhelmed by a Washington Nationals lineup that savaged Arizona pitching with five home runs in a 14-1 rout.
From the outset, the game tilted decisively toward Washington. Starter Merrill Kelly, who had posted a 2.36 ERA over his previous five starts, failed to find the same command against a mostly left-handed Nationals order. After issuing a leadoff walk to James Wood, Kelly surrendered a two-run homer to Luis Garcia Jr., and the damage continued over the middle innings as Wood and Daylen Lile also went deep. Kelly left with seven earned runs allowed on six hits, three walks and a hit batsman; he said afterward it was "a bad day," adding that he simply had "not enough strikes."
Diamondbacks pitchers and catcher meet on the mound after a rough inning as Arizona's starters were pulled in the lopsided loss.
The first two innings were enough to make a rout inevitable. Kelly yielded multiple big swings and, after he exited, reliever Philip Abner surrendered a five-run inning that included a grand slam by Luis Garcia Jr. By the time the middle innings arrived, Arizona’s staff was stretched and several starters had been removed. Manager Torey Lovullo described the club’s pitching as out of rhythm and said the team "got to pitch better." Kansas City-born right-hander Kade Strowd, making his Diamondbacks debut after being acquired in the Blaze Alexander trade, entered in relief and faced his own struggles — walking the bases loaded in the eighth before leaving the game to be evaluated by trainers. Lovullo later said Strowd was experiencing what felt like a "dead arm" and that the team "might know more in the next 24 hours."
Ildemaro Vargas, who had collided with Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy the night before and was available off the bench, entered as a defensive replacement and was hit by a pitch in his only plate appearance. He remained in the game, and Lovullo had noted pregame that Vargas was feeling well enough to be used. Catcher Adrian Del Castillo, normally a hitter, took the mound in a position-player pitching role — filling the kind of emergency duty James McCann has performed in the past — and became one of the few Diamondbacks hurlers who managed to limit the damage. Del Castillo threw 1.2 innings and allowed a single earned run while lobbing off-speed pitches that rarely topped double digits on the radar guns; he stood out as the only Arizona pitcher that night to throw more innings than runs allowed.
Washington Nationals players celebrate a home run during the five-homer outburst that powered a 14-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Washington’s offensive outburst was punctuated by the five homers, a season-high allowed by Arizona. Nationals starter Foster Griffin, meanwhile, turned in a steady outing of his own: five innings, one earned run. That lone run came on a solo shot by Diamondbacks catcher Aramis Garcia — his first big league home run since 2022. The Nationals’ scoring feast made it the first time Arizona yielded at least 14 runs since an April 2 loss to Atlanta in which they allowed 17.
Offensively, Arizona never found an answer. The club managed six hits, two of them from shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, while newly called-up infielder LuJames Groover — summoned from the minors prior to the game and pressed into an unusual debut — went 0-for-4. Groover also shuffled around defensively, moving from first to third base in a night that unfolded far from the ideal environment for a major-league debut. Lovullo said he felt the dugout lost energy as the scoreboard widened, referencing a point in the game when Arizona trailed 6-0 and "I didn’t feel the energy in the dugout today." He added that, despite the poor showing, the club must continue to fight and perform professionally.
The scoreboard finalized at 14-1, dropping Arizona to 33-30 on the season. Washington, hovering around .500 at 32-32, has been a potent offensive club in recent weeks and now leads the majors in total runs scored this season with 345. James Wood has been a key figure in that attack; he entered the night sixth in the league in home runs with 17. The Nationals have had recent success at Chase Field, too: they posted two wins there last season, 11-7 and 9-7, and in one of those matchups they scored eight runs before Arizona recorded an out against Brandon Pfaadt.
Friday’s announced attendance was 24,272. The teams will meet again on Saturday in a matinee that begins at 1:10 p.m. MST. The Diamondbacks will hand the ball to left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1, 2.24 ERA), while the Nationals are scheduled to start right-hander Zack Littell (5-4, 5.01 ERA). Fans can follow the broadcast on 98.7 and through the Arizona Sports app.