Diamondbacks drop 4th straight, fall 8-1 to Nats

JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chase Anderson has been one of the few consistent bright spots for the Arizona Diamondbacks this season. The rookie right-hander had only one bad outing in his first 15 major league starts.

Well, make that two in 16.

Anderson failed to record an out in the third inning Tuesday night as the Diamondbacks lost their fourth straight, falling 8-1 to the streaking Washington Nationals.

Anderson (7-5) allowed six runs, six hits and walked three. He was pulled after the first six Nationals batters reached base with five singles and a walk to start the third. It was his first loss since July 2, when he lasted 3 2-3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“I just kind of didn’t attack the guys like I should attack,” Anderson said. “I think if you execute pitches and get ahead, you can kind of get anybody out. That’s just the name of the game. When you get behind, you have to make pitches that are susceptible to get hit, and bad things usually happen.”

Jayson Werth’s broken-bat single up the middle scored the first Nationals run, and Ian Desmond’s single brought in two more. After Bryce Harper’s single loaded the bases, Anderson was pulled for Eury De La Rosa, who gave up a bases-clearing double to Asdrubal Cabrera.

“I wouldn’t call (Anderson) the kind of pitcher who’s had great command so far this year, but he’s always been able to make the pitch to get out,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. “These guys had a good approach on us. When he tried to make the out pitch, they were on it.”

David Peralta’s first-inning home run off Stephen Strasburg (10-10) accounted for all the scoring for the Diamondbacks. Strasburg allowed one run and three hits over a season-high eight innings as the Nationals ran their winning streak to eight games.

The Nationals needed a pressure-free win after three straight walk-off victories, including two decided in the 11th inning. Strasburg did his job perfectly, eating up innings to give the overtaxed relievers a break. He struck out four to give him an NL-leading 198 for the season, besting his previous single-season high of 197 in 2012 — the year he was shut down early after returning from elbow surgery.

“I guess it’s what the doctor ordered,” Strasburg said.

ENDER’S END GAME

Diamondbacks CF Ender Inciarte grounded out in the ninth to finish an 0-for-4 night, ending his team rookie record hitting streak at 18 games.

MAYBE I SHOULDN’T TELL THE SKIPPER

Nationals manager Matt Williams praised Desmond’s ability to “shorten down” on a swing that produced a pair of runs: “He’s going to get a bunch of homers, we know that, but when he can take a two-run single, he’s feeling it and he’s seeing the ball good.”

Oops. Turns out it was totally an accident. Desmond said he was just trying to fight off a pitch.

“I don’t know if I chose to shorten up,” Desmond said. “I think the ‘jammage’ probably shortened me up a little bit.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals OF Nate McLouth will have surgery Thursday for a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is done for the year. He hit .173 with one home run and seven RBIs in 79 games in his first season in Washington.

UP NEXT

Arizona’s Trevor Cahill (3-8, 4.68 ERA) faces Tanner Roark (12-7, 2.93) on Wednesday night in the third game of the four-game set.

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Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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