Only 15,670 people were in attendance to witness the defeat, adding a dubious distinction for an otherwise unremarkable game that saw the D.C. cellar-dwellers grab an early lead and never look back.
The Nats began taking it to D-Backs starting pitcher Ian Kennedy in the first inning when Adam Dunn's two-run homer followed Ryan Zimmerman's double to make it 2-0. Although Arizona struck back in the second, cutting the lead to 2-1 after Justin Upton's sac-fly scored Chris Young from third base, Washington added runs in the third and fourth frames to force an early exit for Ian.
They were just as brutal with the Diamondbacks' bullpen, scoring a trio of RBI singles by Adam Kennedy, Michael Morse, and Dunn in the seventh and eighth innings.
The only other run produced by the Snakes came late in the game when Adam Laroche blasted a 421-foot home run (his 17th of the season) into the mostly-empty centerfield seats in the eighth.
Other than that highlight, it was a rather rotten night for the Snakes, including for Mark Reynolds, who left in the seventh inning after feeling a bit woozy following that scary-looking conk to his noggin with a 95-miles-per-hour fastball on Tuesday night. Manager Kirk Gibson (who probably shouldn't have started Reynolds to begin with) told reporters after yesterday's loss that it appeared that the lights were on but nobody was home for the third baseman.
"I looked at him, and it was obvious something was going on," Gibson stated. "We had to get him out of there for sure."
Here's hoping that Reynolds will have his brain back in working order for the final match-up in the four-game series later tonight. Who knows, maybe the Brokenbacks can get an even smaller crowd to show up as they attempt to salvage a series split against Washington. Barry Enright (2-2, 2.78 ERA) will be on the mound for Arizona. He'll face Ross Detwiler (0-1, 1.00) for the Nats. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. TV: Fox Sports Arizona. Radio: KTAR 620-AM. More info: www.dbacks.com.
