Diamondbacks go for Series Win vs Nationals Behind Ace Starter

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals play the rubber match of their three game series Sunday with a 1:35 P.M. EST, 10:35 A.M. MST first pitch. Rain is in the forecast, but with the early start they should be able to get this one in ahead of the weather.

Arizona took the first game of the series 6-4 behind Brandon Pfaadt and Corbin Carroll's two-homer game. The Nationals evened the series by jumping out to a 4-0 lead against Eduardo Rodriguez and held on for a 4-3 victory. Alek Thomas was caught stealing for the final out of that game.

D-backs at Nationals lineups April 6, 2025 | Jack Sommers

Burnes first outing of the year came in Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. He went 4.1 innings, striking out eight batters, but gave up four runs, two earned. There were four hits, three walks, and some defensive lapses behing him. That led to throwing 96 pitches to get 13 outs in a no-decision.

Burnes has not had a lot of success against the Nationals the last couple of years. Over three starts since 2023 he's allowed nine runs in 18 innings (4.50 ERA). The main issue has been walks, as he's issued nine of them.

33-year-old righty Trevor Williams has had an up and down career. He was in the midst of a career year in 2024, with a 2.22 ERA through 11 starts with a 5-0 record. Unfortunately a strained forearm flexor cost him three months of the season. He made two more starts in late September and actually lowered his ERA to 2.02 for a succesful finish.

Toronto banged him around for 10 hits on April 1, but Williams managed to limit the damage to just three runs in a 5-3 Nationals loss. Williams' four-seamers and sinkers clock in at just 86-88 MPH, but he has an excellent sweeper that generates swing and miss and soft contact. He doesn't walk many batters either.

Williams hasn't faced the D-backs since May 7 of 2023, when he allowed five runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings, getting a no-decision.

Eugenio Suarez has torched Williams in his career, going 7-for-27 with four homers. Geraldo Perdomo is in the number two slot in the order. He's batting .344, going 11-for-32 with two doubles and a homer in the young season.

Alek Thomas is starting in centerfield for the second straight game and three of the last four over Jake McCarthy. Thomas is batting 7-for-17, .412 while McCarthy is hitless in 23 trips to the plate.

Jose Herrera is starting at catcher in a day game after night game. This will be his fourth start in 10 Diamondbacks games as Torey Lovullo and the medical team attempt to keep players healthy in the early going. That hasn't quite worked out for them however, as Ketel Marte is out with an injured hamstring at least for the next several weeks if not longer.

Nationals third baseman Paul DeJong is 7-for-22, .318 with two homers against Burnes. Former Diamondback Josh Bell has a homer among his three hits in twelve at bats against Burnes.

Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk, Ryan Thompson, and Joe Mantiply should all be available out of the D-backs' pen Sunday.

Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan only needed 13 pitches to close out Saturday's game and hadn't worked at all previously in the week.