Luis García Jr. delivered his first career grand slam—his second home run of the night—while Foster Griffin limited Arizona to two hits over five innings as the Washington Nationals rolled to a 14-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
PHOENIX — The Nationals took the lead and never let go, the kind of night that turns a lineup into momentum. In a 14-1 romp over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Luis García Jr. powered the game into a rout with his first career grand slam, coming as his second homer of the night.
Washington’s scoring started early. After James Wood walked to begin the game, García followed with a home run into the Nationals’ bullpen down the right-field line off Merrill Kelly. The advantage grew fast enough that Arizona had little time to regroup.
Griffin, the pitcher taking the mound after Washington’s early burst, delivered a long stretch of control. Over five innings, he allowed just two hits, keeping the Diamondbacks from stringing anything together.
The Nationals kept piling on. García, who rarely faces a left-handed pitcher, stayed in against lefty reliever Philip Abner when Washington loaded the bases in the sixth. García hit his seventh homer of the season to center field, extending the lead to 11-1.
Wood, Daylen Lile and C.J. Abrams each added homers as Washington’s offense continued to break the game open. The only run Arizona managed against Griffin during his time came when backup catcher Aramis Garcia homered in the third inning.
Kelly lasted five innings, but the stat line told the story of the night: he gave up six hits and seven runs.
By the time the score reached 12-1 in the eighth, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo turned to an unusual move. He brought in position player Adrian Del Castillo to pitch. Del Castillo hit Dylan Crews with his first pitch. forcing in a run. but he then retired the next two batters to end the inning. In the ninth, he allowed a run on four singles.
There were also early signs of the next generation for Arizona. LuJames Groover went 0 for 4 in his MLB debut after being selected from Reno on Friday. Groover, 24, had hit .322 with three homers for Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate this season.
Arizona’s lineup wasn’t without its own complication. Ildemaro Vargas was not in the starting lineup on Friday, but he entered in the eighth inning at second base. Vargas was hit by a pitch in the leg but stayed in. Vargas and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Max Muncy had collided in Thursday night’s game, and both left that game.
Washington improved to .500 again, moving back to 32-32 with the win.
Up next, Washington RHP Zack Littell (5-4, 5.01 ERA) was set to oppose Arizona LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1, 2.24) on Saturday.
Washington Nationals Arizona Diamondbacks Luis García Jr. grand slam Foster Griffin Merrill Kelly Torey Lovullo Philip Abner Zack Littell Eduardo Rodriguez
14-1 is wild. Pitching was basically mowing them down.
So he hit his first grand slam and then they just kept scoring?? I feel like Arizona fell apart right after that bullpen HR. Also that position player pitching thing is always sketchy lol.
I don’t get why they kept García in if he “rarely faces lefties” or whatever. Like wouldn’t you bench him for the lefty? Unless they were just desperate to rack up runs, which I guess they were.
Adrian Del Castillo pitching and hitting someone with a first pitch?? That’s crazy. I swear I saw this kind of stunt before and it always turns into chaos anyway, but apparently they still got like 2 more runs in the ninth on four singles. Also LuJames Groover 0 for 4 in his debut… rough start but .322 in Triple-A so maybe he’ll bounce back.