The National League wild-card race takes center stage when the Arizona Diamondbacks visit the Washington Nationals for a three-game series beginning Friday night.
Though the calendar still reads July, both teams are in the wild-card mix and trying to determine whether to be buyers or sellers ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Arizona has won three straight and five of six after winning a makeup game in St. Louis on Thursday, 10-6. The Diamondbacks hold the final NL wild-card spot with five teams within four games of them.
One of those teams is the Nationals, who are two back and return home after a 4-2 road trip.
“People are talking about the playoffs, trade deadline, buyers and sellers,” Washington manager Blake Butera said Wednesday. “And I know this is the first time a lot of these guys have played meaningful baseball in late July, and hopefully into August. So we’re having fun with this.”
Arizona will send All-Star left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3, 2.62 ERA) to face left-hander Carson Palmquist (0-1, 8.74) on Friday. Palmquist will serve as the opener ahead of right-hander Zack Littell (7-7, 5.34).
After a string of five starts in which he went at least six innings and gave up two runs or fewer, Rodriguez was roughed up by the Cardinals his last time out. He gave up five runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings on Sunday, but Arizona rallied from a 7-0 deficit for an 8-7, 10-inning win.
“I feel like I missed a lot of spots with the changeup,” Rodriguez said after that contest. “The four-seam (fastball) wasn’t working great today. I had a good plan, they had a good plan. They executed, and they took advantage of it.”
Rodriguez is 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA in five career games (four starts) against Washington. He lost to the Nationals on June 6 after yielding four runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings.
After two solid efforts working behind an opener, Littell started against the Athletics on Saturday and gave up eight runs on eight hits (two home runs) over six innings in a 15-1 loss.
Palmquist opened against the Rockies on Tuesday and gave up four runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Littell is 2-1 with a 4.84 ERA in 11 games (five starts) against the Diamondbacks in his career. He earned a victory over Rodriguez in Phoenix on June 6, when he permitted one run on two hits in five innings.
On Thursday in St. Louis, Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was scratched because of back stiffness. Amid an infield shuffle, Tyler Locklear got the start and went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs in a 10-6 Diamondbacks victory. It was his first long ball of the season.
“Not easy to do what he did,” manager Torey Lovullo said of Locklear. “He comes to the ballpark, he’s always preparing to play. I know that. … I think he’s got the right mindset. He’s always ready.”
Washington completed its road trip with an 8-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday in Denver. Cade Cavalli tossed six scoreless innings and the Nationals broke the game open with a six-run seventh inning keyed by Luis Garcia Jr.’s two-run homer.
“It’s like a ticking time bomb. We’re sitting in the dugout like, we know it’s going to happen. There’s no doubt,” Cavalli said. “Their pitchers did a great job, and give them credit. But our offense got to them. It’s just kind of what they do.”
The Nationals lead the majors in runs (567), stolen bases (113), home runs (150) and slugging percentage (.443).
–Field Level Media
