Two 51-win teams stuck between contending and rebuilding collide in Washington, and neither club really knows which one it is yet.
Bush’s Picks
ARIWSH
ARIWSH
OverUnder
Best BetDiamondbacks
Arizona's the hotter team right now, riding a 7-3 stretch over its last 10 with Ketel Marte still doing damage even with Carroll banged up. Washington's offense has flashed but its week has been wildly inconsistent, blowing teams out one night and getting no-hit into the 7th the next. Take the more stable club here even with both rotations in rough shape.
Diamondbacks
+Won 7 of last 10, swept Dodgers recently
+Ketel Marte anchoring offense all season
+Perdomo/Vargas producing in reshuffled lineup
−Rotation gutted: Gallen, Burnes, Nelson, Soroka all out
−Bullpen decimated: Martinez, Puk, Saalfrank on 60-day IL
−Corbin Carroll day-to-day with elbow issue
Nationals
+Chaparro and Abrams driving a hot offensive stretch
+Bullpen closed out scoreless win in Colorado
+First season since 2021 not clear trade-deadline sellers
−Wild week: 23-4 win followed by 1-15 loss
−Rotation thin with Irvin, Williams still rehabbing
−Mikolas just back from suspension, Gray and Herz still out
Arizona hasn't named a starter for this one and Washington hasn't either, which tracks for two rotations that have been held together with tape since June. The Diamondbacks are already without Zac Gallen, Corbin Burnes, Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka, and the Nationals are waiting on Jake Irvin and Trevor Williams to finish rehab starts while Miles Mikolas just got back from a 5-game suspension. Whoever gets the ball Friday is pitching with almost no margin for error behind him.
That's especially true in the bullpens. Arizona has watched Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk and Andrew Saalfrank all land on the 60-day IL, which is about as bad as it gets for a relief corps. Washington's group looked fine closing out a scoreless finish in Colorado on July 20, but this is also a staff that no-hit itself into a 15-1 loss to the Athletics 2 days earlier. Depth is the story on both sides, not name recognition.
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Total
ARI Diamondbacks
WSH Nationals
Add it up and this is a game where lineups matter more than any name on the mound. Ketel Marte's still doing Ketel Marte things for Arizona, and Andrés Chaparro has been the best player on the field for Washington the last week and a half. Whichever offense forces the other bullpen into extra work first probably wins this one.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Jul 23?@ Cardinals—
Jul 22?vs Athletics—
Jul 21?vs Athletics—
Washington Nationals
Jul 22?@ Rockies—
Jul 21?@ Rockies—
Recent form.
Arizona comes in having won 7 of its last 10, a stretch that includes a series win over St. Louis and a statement sweep of the Dodgers, and it's arriving with real swagger even without Corbin Carroll, who's day-to-day with an elbow issue after hyperextending it against the Cardinals. Geraldo Perdomo's now hitting leadoff, and Ildemaro Vargas has been quietly productive in the bottom third of the order. It's a lineup finding secondary scoring even with its top prospect corner outfielders (Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Jordan Lawlar, Tommy Troy) all hurt.
Arizona Diamondbacks
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Washington Nationals
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Washington's whiplash week says everything about where this team is: a 23-4 blowout of the Athletics, then a 1-15 no-hit-bid loss the very next night, then a 7-3 road win in Colorado. Manager Blake Butera called the offense's recent stretch the real identity of this club, and it's hard to argue watching Chaparro and CJ Abrams do damage in back-to-back games. The question is whether a patchwork rotation and a taxed pen can hold up long enough for that offense to matter.
With the July 31 trade deadline bearing down, both front offices are still working out whether they're buying or standing pat, and series like this one against a fellow .500 club will shape that math as much as any front-office meeting does. Neither team looks built to make a real second-half push as currently constructed, but neither looks bad enough to fully punt on the season either. That in-between space is exactly where this series lives.
