Behind "B" bullpen, Nationals eke out 2-1 win over D-backs

PHOENIX - If the Nationals are going to insist on playing low-scoring, tight ballgames every night, Davey Martinez is going to have no choice but to ask the members of his "B" bullpen to record some key late outs every once in a while.

Such was the case this afternoon at Chase Field, where Brandon Kintzler and Sean Doolittle were unavailable after pitching the previous two nights (both low-scoring victories) and Ryan Madson was being saved to pitch the ninth.

So it was that Martinez asked Sammy Solís and Shawn Kelley to record the four critical outs needed to bridge the gap between Stephen Strasburg and Madson. And so it was that Solís and Kelley came through in impressive fashion, making the Nats' 2-1 victory over the Diamondbacks possible.

Solís got David Peralta on one pitch to end the bottom of the seventh, then struck out Daniel Descalso to open the bottom of the eighth. Kelley followed to face the meat of the Arizona lineup, and though the veteran walked Paul Goldschmidt, he bounced back to retire A.J. Pollock and Steven Souza Jr. (the latter on a 94 mph fastball just below the knees that got Souza ejected by plate umpire Doug Eddings).

It was the most significant spot Kelley has pitched in this season, and it was his best performance at a time when his club (which improved to 5-1 on this West Coast trip that wraps up Sunday night) needed it most.

Madson then pitched the ninth to record his third save, stranding the tying runner in scoring position.

The Nationals held a slim lead most of the afternoon, but they had countless opportunities to extend it. They got one run in the third on Bryce Harper's RBI double, then stranded the bases loaded when Andrew Stevenson and Michael A. Taylor struck out in succession. They again loaded the bases in the fourth, but scratched across only one run via Anthony Rendon's ground ball to short.

Along the way, the Nats had a runner picked off first base (Harper), another thrown out at the plate (Trea Turner) and others combining on poorly executed squeeze plays (Pedro Severino bunting, Howie Kendrick running from third). Fortunately, they had Strasburg pitching a gem to maintain a 2-1 lead.

Strasburg's afternoon didn't exactly begin in encouraging fashion, even if the end result was fine. The right-hander loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, allowing two sharp singles, a scorched grounder to short and then plunking Pollock with a fastball that registered only 92 mph. That radar gun reading was a bit concerning, as was the sight of Strasburg fidgeting with his neck in the top of the second as he stood in the on-deck circle, but he rebounded quickly and got the two outs needed to end the inning with his fastball going back up to 95-96 mph.

Strasburg then proceeded to strike out five batters in a row but suffering through a slight blip in the third, when a two-out walk of Goldschmidt and a double to the left-center gap by Pollock accounted for the Diamondbacks' first run.

Otherwise, Strasburg excelled, maintaining his fastball velocity and mixing in his curveball, changeup and even the occasional slider to keep Arizona's hitters off-balance. And with the back end of the bullpen in need of a breather, Martinez felt compelled to push his starter a bit farther than maybe he would have preferred.

Strasburg took the mound for the bottom of the seventh having thrown 97 pitches. He proceeded to retire two more batters before departing at 106 pitches, at which point Martinez summoned Solís from the bullpen to face dangerous left-handed hitter Peralta.

Solís needed only one pitch to get Peralta to ground out to first, then returned to pitch the eighth and help move the Nationals another step closer to winning their third straight this weekend in the desert.