Nationals-Diamondbacks preview: Pitching probables, key players

The Arizona Diamondbacks may have won seven of their last eight series, but sometimes they just can’t get out of their own way.

This was evident in Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where they led 2-1 entering the ninth before closer Paul Sewald’s blown save ultimately prevented a sweep.

Arizona hasn’t swept a team since May 9, when it completed a three-game sweep against the Cincinnati Reds. It’s the team’s only sweep of the season thus far.

The D-backs sit at 55-51, half a game back from the third Wild Card spot as seven teams are within five games of each other atop the NL Wild Card race.

Now, the Diamondbacks welcome the Washington Nationals — a team that just took two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals while scoring 28 runs in the process.

Here’s what to know going into the week:

Nationals-Diamondbacks pitching probables

Monday, 6:40 p.m. – LHP Jordan Montgomery (7-5, 6.11 ERA) vs. LHP Mitchell Parker (5-6, 4.34 ERA)

Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. – RHP Ryne Nelson (7-6, 4.85 ERA) vs. LHP Patrick Corbin (2-10, 5.26 ERA)

Wednesday, 12:40 p.m. – Zac Gallen (8-5, 3.70 ERA) vs. LHP MacKenzie Gore (6-8, 4.51 ERA)

The Nationals have three southpaws lined up to face Arizona hitters this week, all with an ERA over 4.30.

Former D-backs starter Patrick Corbin is taking the mound on Tuesday for the Nationals. He is looking for his 100th career win, 56 of which he accumulated in his time with Arizona.

MacKenzie Gore and Mitchell Parker have both dealt with recent struggles of their own. They’ve both allowed 19 earned runs in their last five outings combined.

Arizona’s Jordan Montgomery had a solid outing in his return from the IL, allowing just one earned run across five innings of work against the Kansas City Royals last week. He’s allowed just two earned runs in 13.2 career innings against the Nationals.

Four of Ryne Nelson’s last five starts have been on the road, where he’s excelled the most this season. On the road, Nelson is 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA. At Chase Field, he has recorded a 6.21 ERA in 42 innings.

Diamondbacks, Nationals hitters to watch

D-backs: Outfielder Jake McCarthy gave the Pirates a headache over the weekend, slapping five singles in Saturday’s win and an RBI triple on Sunday. He is slashing .311/.388/.433 in his last month’s worth of games while stealing 14 bases.

Ketel Marte and Eugenio Suarez remain on a tear, with the latter hitting seven home runs since the start of July. Marte has homered in four of the past five games he’s started.

Nationals: Now that the Nationals traded one of their best sluggers, Jesse Winker, to the New York Mets on Saturday, all heads turn to the hot-hitting Juan Yepez. Since his promotion from Triple-A Rochester on July 5, Yepez has slashed .361/.407/.583 in 19 games.

Although he’s struggled in July, C.J. Abrams remains a tough out. He leads the Nationals in hits (100), home runs (15), triples (6), doubles (21) and runs scored (63). The Nationals have a young lineup, yet they can tally on runs if opposing pitchers aren’t careful. They rank last in the MLB with 86 team home runs but second in the league in stolen bases with 146.

How to watch Nationals at Diamondbacks

All three games will be televised on DBACKS.TV through channel 34 on Cox.

The Tuesday and Wednesday games will air on MLB Network in some regions but will be blacked out locally.

The radio broadcast for all three games will be available on the Arizona Sports app, 98.7 and ArizonaSports.com.