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Nationals-Diamondbacks Preview

Aug 1, 2010 - 11:52 PM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Washington (46-58) at Arizona (38-66), 9:40 p.m. EDT

The Arizona Diamondbacks return home without a few familiar faces, but with a little momentum from a rare winning road series.

Trying to win consecutive games for the first time in almost two weeks, the Diamondbacks open a four-game set against the Washington Nationals on Monday night.

Arizona (39-66) concluded a 3-4 homestand by losing to San Francisco and trading ace Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels on July 25. During its 2-4 swing through Philadelphia and New York, the club dealt veteran pitchers Edwin Jackson and Chad Qualls, plus catcher Chris Snyder.

"Yeah, there's 25 guys. We try to keep it that way," interim manager Kirk Gibson said.

The Diamondbacks received veterans Bobby Crosby, Ryan Church, and reliever D.J. Carrrasco from Pittsburgh in the deal for Snyder. They already got a solid effort from rookie Daniel Hudson, who was acquired from the White Sox for Jackson and went eight innings in a 14-1 rout of the New York Mets on Sunday.

Arizona took two of three from the Mets for their first winning road series June 25-27. After totaling 18 runs during a seven-game skid, Arizona outscored the Mets 27-12.

"It was good to get some runs up on the board," said Adam LaRoche, who hit a pair of three-run homers and finished with a career-high six RBIs on Sunday.

LaRoche has been one of the few consistent contributors for the Diamondbacks, posting 16 home runs and a team-leading 70 RBIs.

After Hudson's stellar NL debut, Arizona hopes Rodrigo Lopez (5-9, 4.68 ERA) can avoid a third straight loss Monday.

The right-hander allowed four runs and walked five in five innings, but didn't factor in the decision of a 9-5 loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday. Lopez is 0-2 with a 6.50 ERA in his last three starts.

"I don't know what the problem is," Lopez told the Diamondbacks' official website.

Lopez is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA against the Nationals, but hasn't opposed them since pitching for Colorado in 2007.

Facing Washington (46-59) for the first time this season, Arizona has lost six of eight against the Nationals.

Washington looks to bounce back after its three-game winning streak was snapped with a 6-4, 11-inning loss to Philadelphia on Sunday. Despite the defeat, Washington went 4-2 on the homestand against the Phillies and AL East-leading Atlanta.

"A lot of really good things happened and we've got to realize we're not that far away in terms of competing with these clubs," manager Jim Riggleman said.

Ryan Zimmerman went 5 for 13 with six RBIs against the Phillies. He is 13 for 31 with two home runs in his last seven games against Arizona.

Washington's Livan Hernandez (7-7, 3.22) faces one of his many former teams in the opener. The right-hander, who helped the Diamondbacks win the NL West in 2007, is 10-7 with a 3.74 ERA in 20 starts against Arizona.

Hernandez, who gave up three runs in 4 1-3 innings of a 3-1 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday, has dropped three of four starts.