After a stellar rookie season in 2012, Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Wade Miley has been more or less pretty bad this year. On Wednesday, he was refreshingly really good, but his team couldn't muster any kind of offense and dropped its second consecutive game to the Washington Nationals.
The 3-2 loss was the third-straight defeat overall for the D-backs, who have just begun a 10-day road trip on the East Coast and a stretch of 20 straight games without a day off leading up to the All-Star break.
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The San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres all lost Wednesday, as well, so the D-backs maintain their three-game lead in the National League West heading into today's action.
Miley, runner-up to Bryce Harper, in the 2012 Rookie of the Year voting, has struggled this year, entering Wednesday's start with a 4-7 record and a disappointing 4.70 earned-run average. On Wednesday, he showed flashes of last season by giving up only two earned runs in seven innings. He did give up seven hits and a walk but did a good job of minimizing the damage and getting out of trouble when he had to. The Nationals' winning run came in the fifth and it was unearned, thanks to a passed ball by catcher Miguel Montero.
The D-backs scored two quick runs in the first inning on a double by Paul Goldschmidt and a two-out RBI by Martín Prado. After that, the D-backs hitters were held in check by the Nats' Jordan Zimmermann (11-3, 2.28), who pitched seven innings. The D-backs managed to get two runners on in the ninth inning against Rafael Soriano, but nothing came of it.
The D-backs will try to salvage the series today at 1:05 p.m. by sending undefeated Patrick Corbin (9-0, 2.19) to the mound against onetime phenom Stephen Strasburg (4-6, 2.40) in what should be a pitcher's duel. TV: Fox Sports Arizona. Radio: KTAR 620 AM. More info: www.dbacks.com.