Diamondbacks rock Nationals with rare 7-run, 2-out rally

The Arizona Diamondbacks responded to a five-run rally in the ninth inning of a walk-off win on Monday night with early fireworks on Tuesday in a 17-0 win over the Washington Nationals.

Arizona scored 11 runs in the first three innings off former D-backs left-hander Patrick Corbin and had a total of 22 hits in the game, which tied a franchise record.

Third baseman Eugenio Suarez took the cleanup spot in the order after Christian Walker was placed on the injured list and looked the part right away with a two-run homer in the first inning.

GENOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. pic.twitter.com/YdnsdwkF4Y

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 31, 2024

Suarez’s smash was his eighth home run in July after he entered the month with six. He will end the month with a one-dot OPS for July, and his 25 RBIs is the most in a calendar month by a D-back since Eduardo Escobar’s 28 in August 2021.

The second inning began with a Kevin Newman single sandwiched by two outs. Geraldo Perdomo scored Newman with a single, and then after Ketel Marte singled, five straight RBI hits followed. It was a Gabriel Moreno two-RBI double, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. double, Suarez single, Randal Grichuk double and Jake McCarthy double.

That was the fourth time in franchise history the D-backs recorded seven hits in a row, the first since 2013, per Arizona Diamondbacks communications.

A RBI single for Marte and sac fly via Moreno were responsible for runs Nos. 10 and 11 in the third inning.

Suarez later homered two more times in the game, giving him 10 long balls for the month. A Perdomo RBI double, Pavin Smith RBI single and Alek Thomas two-RBI double made up the other two runs to get to 17.

Ryne Nelson threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks. It is the best form of the right-hander’s career and that is going to inspire some discussion on if he’s done enough to earn the fifth rotation spot once Arizona is fully healthy.

The D-backs will roll with a four-man rotation until it is presumably Eduardo Rodriguez coming back in early-to-mid August. From there, it is awaiting Merrill Kelly, and given Jordan Montgomery’s massive struggles, Nelson could give the D-backs no choice but to roll with him over Montgomery if he continues to pitch like this. Nelson ends July with 10 earned runs in 37.1 innings.

The win for Arizona clinches a series victory, extending an undefeated streak of series that goes back to late June.

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