Michael Soroka Mows Down His Old Team in Firm Diamondbacks Win

Right-hander Michael Soroka got some revenge on the club that traded him last season on Sunday afternoon, as the Arizona Diamondbacks salved the finale of their three-game series against the Washington Nationals by a score of 5-1.

Soroka threw a scoreless first inning — the first such instance by a D-backs starter in this series. That set the tone for what would be yet another dominant day for Soroka, who joined Arizona on a one-year flier this offseason.

The 28-year-old right-hander spent the first portion of the 2025 season with Washington, throwing to a 4.87 ERA in 16 starts before he was traded to the Chicago Cubs. His start Sunday afternoon was not reminiscent of his 2025 struggles, however.

Diamondbacks' Michael Soroka mows down Nationals

Jun 2, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Michael Soroka in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Soroka, with a 1-0 lead heading into the second inning, gave up a game-tying solo home run to Nationals shortstop C.J. Abrams.

From there, he was nearly perfect. Soroka tossed five scoreless innings, allowing two more base hits, one walk and no runs for the remainder of the game. He completed seven innings with just the one earned run, three hits, two walks and six strikeouts.

The outing marked the first time he's completed seven-plus innings with one or fewer earned runs since 2019. It also got him his eighth win of the season, which ties Braves ace Chris Sale for the National League lead. His ERA is down to 3.28 on the regular season.

Once the right-hander exited, it was relatively quick work for the Diamondbacks' bullpen. Despite poor pitching performances in back-to-back games against the Nationals on Friday and Saturday. Arizona held their opponents to just the one run.

Right-hander Kevin Ginkel threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and right-hander Taylor Clarke — who was reinstated from the family medical emergency list earlier Sunday morning — pitched a scoreless non-save ninth, with some defensive help from Corbin Carroll in right field.

Despite the 5-1 win, however, it was a rough situational showing from Arizona's offense.

Diamondbacks' offense struggles with RISP again

Jun 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) at bat during the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

The Diamondbacks got an early lead as a result of Corbin Carroll's 10th home run of the season. Gabriel Moreno launched a two-run homer in the fifth inning, and Arizona scratched two other runs across on productive outs by Pavin Smith and Ryan Waldschmidt. With an excellent pitching performance, it was enough to get the job done.

However.

Arizona could not manage to come away with one base hit with runners in scoring position. They went 0-for-7 in those situations and stranded seven runners — notably wasting a no-out setup with runners at second and third in the sixth.

There's no remorse for a win, but these issues are nothing new. Arizona struggled to put together productive innings in games one and two, as well. These are are factors that simply cannot continue if Arizona hopes to produce more consistent offense going forward.

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