WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 06: Jarrod Saltalamacchia #8 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on August 6, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
The Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the Washington Nationals, 8-3, on Thursday, but the mood in the clubhouse was positive as the team reflected on a successful 10-game road trip.
While the Diamondbacks aim to win every game they play, they were content to walk away from their road trip with a 6-4 record. The team is now third place in the NL West with a 52-55 record.
"Well, that's not too bad," infielder Aaron Hill said of the road trip. "Obviously, we would have loved to have come away with winning the series here. All in all, I thought we did pretty well. Our starters went deep into games. Our bullpen did a great job and guys kept fighting to the end offensively. Good road trip. Obviously, you'd love to win them all, but it feels like this team keeps getting a little bit better as we go on. It'll be fun to see how we finish here."
Although they had no intentions of conceding the game, the Diamondbacks knew they might not pull away with a win on Thursday, as manager Chip Hale rested a handful of starters, including first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and outfielder A.J. Pollock, the team's two most productive hitters.
"It would have been nice to get this one today, but we knew coming in that two of our top guys we were going to give a rest to," Hale said. "I felt the guys did a good job to stay in the game."
The Diamondbacks now return to Chase Field on Friday for a six-game homestand, which will begin with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
(h/t MLB.com)
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