Diamondbacks Manager Reacts to Tough Loss to Nationals

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost a tight contest to the Washington Nationals on Saturday, falling by a score of 4-3. It was a mistake-laden game for the D-backs once again, but a pair of bright spots shone through an otherwise gloomy result.

Manager Torey Lovullo spoke to D-backs.TV's Todd Walsh following the contest.

"These are the tough games that are hard for all of us to swallow," said Lovullo. "I think we kept fighting."

The contest was held close by starter Eduardo Rodríguez after a rough first inning saw three runs cross the plate for the Nationals. But Rodríguez buckled down and finished the next four innings, allowing just one more run while ending his day with a phenomenal 12 strikeouts.

"E-Rod, I felt like, was fantastic,12 strikeouts. ... Overall, I thought he was fantastic and deserved a better outcome.

"A couple of things didn't go his way. I don't think we played smart in a couple of situations. And that's probably the difference in the game," Lovullo said.

Lovullo referenced a pair of plays in the outfield that led to unfortunate runs. In the first inning, CF Alek Thomas was turned around by a well-struck ball that became a double. In the fourth, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made a curious diving attempt for a ball that afforded former Diamondback Josh Bell a leadoff triple.

Had he stayed put and played it off the bounce, it might have remained a single, but ultimately led to the fourth run. Lovullo addressed the outfield mistakes, but maintained faith in his players and coaches.

"We have very dependable, sure-handed type of players. I can never fault a player going hard trying to make a great play. But overall, that [mistake] combined with a couple of other things was the difference in the game.

I think we've just got to be a little bit smarter there. It's a hard read out there. I know it's a different time of the night. I'm aware of that. But he's very consistent out there. I know that [outfield coach Dave McKay] will have a conversation with him, and they'll try to come up with the best game plan possible," Lovullo said.

But despite the mistakes and disappointing final score, the debut of infielder Tim Tawa was one to remember.

The 25-year-old made his first MLB appearance on Saturday in the stead of an injured Ketel Marte.

Tawa ripped a 100 MPH single in his first at-bat, then later walked, scored a run, and delivered an RBI fielder's choice. Tawa accounted for two-thirds of Arizona's run production on the night, and became only the third player in franchise history to record a hit, walk and RBI in his debut — Adrian Del Castillo and Mark Reynolds being the other two.

Lovullo praised Tawa and his mature approach.

"It was action-packed, right? He did a nice job in a lot of different areas. The base hit, the quality at-bats, getting on base. He understands what his role is, and he did exactly what we wanted him to do," Lovullo said.

The Diamondbacks move to 5-4, and will play one more in D.C. at 10:35 a.m. on Sunday before returning to Phoenix.

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