Diaz, Profar homer, Rockies beat Nationals 7-6

DENVER -- — Elías Díaz had three hits, including his first home run this season, Jurickson Profar hit his first home run with Colorado and the Rockies weathered shaky pitching to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6 Sunday.

Ryan McMahon drew a bases-loaded walk in a four-run sixth for the go-ahead run, allowing the Rockies to gain a four-game split.

Dinelson Lamet (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh, and Pierce Johnson got three outs for his third save, Yonathan Daza made a diving catch of CJ Abrams’ sinking liner to center for the final out.

“That was a bullet. That could very easily have been an inside-the-parker,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “That was a game-saver for sure. But Daza is capable of that. He got a good jump.” Daza held up his glove to make sure the umpires saw he made the catch and then got a hug from Johnson during the post-game celebration.

“That was all I needed in that moment,” Daza said.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez praised his team's effort in the series.

“We played with a lot of energy these four days," he said. "It was awesome, so we’ve got to keep going, keep swinging the bats, keep playing defense. Our starting pitching is keeping us in the ball games.”

Washington capitalized on Colorado’s erratic pitching to score four runs, including two in the second on successive balks by Ryan Feltner.

Brad Hand relieved Jake Bird with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth and issued consecutive walks to Dominic Smith and Keibert Ruiz. Hand's wild pitch allowed Alex Call to score from third as Washington took a 6-3 lead.

Colorado rallied with four runs in the bottom half.

“I think we’re the type of team that fights from the first inning to the last, no matter if the other team scores four or five runs,” said Díaz, who got his first multi-hit game this season. “We’re going to try to fight back and it was good to fight back the way we did and get the win.”

Chad Kuhl walked Mike Moustakas and gave up a double to Elehuris Montero. Erasmo Ramirez (0-1) relieved, Yonathan Daza hit a run-scoring groundout and Díaz doubled home another run. Charlie Blackmon hit an RBI single, Kris Bryant was hit by a pitch and Hobie Harris relieved and walked McMahon.

Profar's leadoff homer in the fifth tied the score 3-all.

Díaz connected for a solo shot in a two-run second.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: INF Luis García was out of the lineup for a second game due to right hamstring tightness. He went through some agility drills Sunday and manager Dave Martinez said García has improved and could return Monday.

Rockies: 1B-DH C.J. Cron, suffering from flu-like symptoms, missed a second consecutive game. … Injured 2B Brendan Rodgers was presented with his 2022 Gold Glove for defensive excellence during a pre-game ceremony. Rodgers, the eighth Rockies player to win a Gold Glove, was credited with 22 defensive runs saved to lead all second basemen and rank second among all major leaguers. He suffered a torn left labrum making a diving stop in a spring training game. He underwent surgery March 7 and likely will miss all of this season.

UP NEXT

Nationals: LHP Patrick Corbin (0-2, 8.00 ERA) is set to start the opener Monday night in a three-game interleague series against the Los Angeles Angels. Corbin was a second-round draft pick of the Angels in 2009 and is facing his former team for the second time in his career.

Rockies: RHP Germán Márquez (1-1, 4.76 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, who will counter with LHP Steven Matz (0-1, 6.75 ERA).

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