Washington Nationals Can't Figure Out Josh Collmenter Either, Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 Winners.

• Tonight's Chase Field Top Five: 

5. Deceptive Snake: Arizona D-Backs' right-hander Josh Collmenter's delivery, which has the pitcher hiding the ball behind his head until just before he throws toward home with an exaggerated overhand motion, precedes him, and the 25-year-old '07 15th Round pick has Nationals' batters off-balance in a 1-2-3 first. No Nationals have seen the Diamondbacks' rookie in the Majors, and he's through the top of the frame on ten quick pitches. Yunesky Maya's a mystery for Arizona batters too. The 29-year-old Cuban-born right-hander drops his old-school 12-to-6™ curve on Ryan Roberts, freezes Kelly Johnson with a fastball outside and is almost through his own first when Justin Upton rips a 1-1 change to left for a two-out single. After Upton steals second, shortstop Stephen Drew rips into a full-count curve, grounding sharply to first, and though Michael Morse bobbles it, his throw to the covering pitcher is in time. 0-0 after one. 10 pitches for Collmenter, 16 for Maya...

4. Game Winner: Chris Young crushes a 1-2 change that's out over the plate. Roger Bernadina turns back at the track and watches it soar. Young's 10th puts the D-Backs up early. 1-0 AZ. Maya gives up a one-out single too, but Michael Morse turns a slick 3-6 DP on a sharp grounder to first to help the Nats' right-hander out of the second. Pudge Rodriguez connects on the 11th pitch he sees in the first at bat of the third, doubling to right for the Nationals' first hit off Josh Collmenter, but three outs later he's still standing at second when the D-Backs' starter's done with the third. Laynce Nix collects the second hit off Collmenter with one down in the fourth, but that's all the right-hander allows through four scoreless innings. 60 pitches, 39 strikes. 

3. LaRoche'd: Michael Morse doesn't like the call, but he can't get to the sharp grounder by first that comes off Miguel Montero's bat either way, fair or foul, and it's a two-out double for the D-Backs in the fourth. Maya slows down considerably with a runner in scoring position and issues his second walk of the night to Xavier Nady to put two on with two out. Gerardo Parra pops out to left, two runners stranded, and it's still 1-0 Arizona after four.

2. Inherited FAIL: Collementer throws a 12-pitch 1-2-3 fifth, then walks on five pitches from Maya to start the bottom of the frame. Ryan Roberts follows with a double on the sixth pitch of the inning, driving a liner to the left-center gap off Maya, and the Nats' starter is in trouble in the 5th. Second and third, 0 outs. Maya strikes Kelly Johnson out with another old-school 12-to-6™ bender, and issues a one-pitch base-loading walk to Justin Upton, which might cost a Nat later like it did Jayson Werth last night. The Nats' right-hander is done for the night. Maya's Line: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's, 1 HR, 82 pitches, 50 strikes, 3/3 GO/FO...

Doug Slaten enters the game with the bases loaded and he's quickly down 3-0 to Stephen Drew, who gets the green light and crushes a get-me-over-heater. Off the center field wall, the bases are cleared, and Slaten's now allowed 15 for 30 inherited runners to score. 4-0 D-Backs after five.  

1. CollTormenter: Ian Desmond singles in the Nats' sixth, for what's only the Nationals' third hit of the night. Desi's stranded one out later when Laynce Nix strikes out. Danny Espinosa takes a one-out walk from Josh Collmenter in the seventh, the first walk the D-Backs' starter's issued tonight, but two outs later, Pudge Rodriguez is caught on the field mics dropping an audible f-bomb as he flies out to right to end the seventh scoreless frame of the night for Collmenter. 103 pitches, 67 strikes, three hits and just one walk allowed. Collementer's done after seven, the Nationals will have to come back against the Arizona bullpen. AZ RHP David Hernandez throws a quick 1-2-3 eighth. Lefty Joe Paterson gets two quick outs, and Michael Morse is up with one last change to keep his 11-game hit streak going. No luck, swinging K for Morse. 4-0 win for Arizona. 

• From the Twitter: @DBacks (Arizona's official Twitter): "#dbacks Josh Collmenter is only fifth rookie since 2004 to allow total of 4 ER and 16 H or less in 5 straight starts #Elias

• Miss the Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...

• Doghouse's Post Game WPA Graph: "DFA Slaten.":

via www.fangraphs.com

• Eerily familiar: Yunesky Maya (+0.8%) struggles through 4.1 IP, striking out 4, walking 3, and leaving the bases loaded.
• Sickeningly familiar: Doug Slaten (-15.1%) gets his inherited runners scored percentage back up to 50 by giving up a bases-clearing triple to the one batter he faced.
• Regress your BABIP! Ivan Rodriguez (+3.0%) hits a leadoff double in the 3rd (+6.7%), back when the Nats were close enough to have done something with it.
• FAIL at the plate: Aside from Pudge, Nats' hitters rack up -44% WPA, collecting only 2 more hits and a walk.

Nationals now 25-32.