The Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals are playing live on the MLB baseball schedule in the afternoon on Thursday and the game starts up at 4:05 pm ET and the matchup is from Nationals Park in DC and the game comes as the Nats are playing some fantastic ball and they have taken over the east and they have Gio Gonzalez going against Wade Miley in the pitching matchup.
The team has now won nine games in a row and they are going for their team record with this matchup against the Diamondbacks. The team hasn't won that many games in a row in a decade and they did the last one with another walk off win. The team has now walked off in four of the last five games and this one saw Anthony Rendon get the winning hit and now the Nats have the chance to sweep the D Backs and the way the team has played has put them in position to make the playoffs again.
The Nationals have played some amazing baseball as of late and now they are trying to keep that going and even with the Braves winning five in a row, they did not gain any ground in the division standings. Gonzalez has been up and down this season and he has been 0-5 in his last seven starts and will try and turn things around and the team knows he can pitch much better than this. The team is now up by seven games in the division and barring a collapse they are likely into the playoffs after missing out last season and winning the division the season before that.
Gonzalez has won both of his starts against the Diamondbacks and that gives him something to lean on when he pitches on Thursday. The game comes ahead of a big series coming up, as the Giants are coming to town and while they are not directly battling each other, San Fran is in playoff contention and these two teams could face off down the line in the postseason.
The Nationals are ranked in the top half of the league in hitting and their pitching is one thing that has kept them going. The team has a deep rotation and they are ranked second in the league in ERA and sixth in quality starts, while the Mariners are the only team with a better overall ERA. The team also is fourth in WHIP and now they can try and get the 10th win in a row for this stretch against Arizona.
Check here for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals live coverage from the MLB.
