'We made it a battle': Nats' comeback falls apart 

PHOENIX -- The Nationals penned the script for a memorable, ninth-inning comeback. The D-backs overrode it in walk-off fashion.

Entering the final frame trailing by four on Saturday at Chase Field, the Nats powered a five-run rally that gave closer Kyle Finnegan a save opportunity. But Arizona countered Washington’s late-game tenacity and dealt the Nationals an 8-7 loss on a walk-off walk by Pavin Smith.

“I can’t say enough for what our team did,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Behind like that and coming back, it shows a lot of fight, it shows a lot of character of our ballclub. Then you’ve got a team over there that’s fighting back. We made it a battle. At the end, we couldn’t hold the lead. We’ve got to come back tomorrow and do it again.”

Let’s take a look at three key factors in the up-and-down ninth inning.

Ruiz goes the distance
Keibert Ruiz got the Nationals' rally going by belting his longest home run -- a Statcast-projected 431 feet -- in the leadoff at-bat against Scott McGough.

Ruiz had gone 0-for-16 in his last four games, but he turned it Saturday with a 2-for-4 performance and three RBIs.

“He stayed back a little bit better right-handed, drove the ball to left field,” said Martinez. “Then left-handed, he fouled some pitches off, some tough pitches, but he stayed back and used his legs. That’s a key for him.”

After going 0-for-4 in the series opener, Ruiz kept an optimistic outlook.

“I need to go back to keep it simple and just don’t try to do too much,” Ruiz said Friday. “But that’s part of the game. This game’s tough, and I don’t want to put my head down. I’m going to keep my head up and keep getting better.”

Bottom third sparks offense
Following Ruiz’s dinger, the Nos. 7, 8 and 9 batters Alex Call, Michael Chavis and Ildemaro Vargas drove the offense with two outs. Call drew a walk, which ended McGough’s outing. Facing Andrew Chafin, Chavis singled into right field and reached second on defensive indifference. Former D-back Vargas then sent a line-drive single into left to score Call and Chavis.

Leadoff hitter Lane Thomas connected for his third homer of the season off an 82.1 mph slider into left-center field to give the Nationals a 7-6 lead.

“I took a fastball for a strike, and then I swung through a breaking ball kind of ball,” said Thomas. “Took a good swing on an elevated fastball, so I kind of just was going to see the next pitch deep and a little longer because I knew I took a good swing on that fastball, so he might throw me the slider. So he did, and I put a good swing on it.”

The Nationals were three outs away from winning their first game this season when trailing after eight innings.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win and that’s all you can do, so that’s why I was excited,” said Thomas. “But it’s still early in the season; Finney will have plenty of chances to go out there.”

Rally suddenly gone
Finnegan had a 0.00 career ERA against the D-backs in five outings. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. quickly erased that unblemished mark with a leadoff homer to even the score.

“It's not anything that you predict that you’re going to give up five runs in the top of the ninth inning and the opposing team is going to take the lead,” said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. “You're managing frustration, you're managing your own personal emotion. And you pull it together to have a quality at-bat and a solo home run and then you just piece things together slowly piece by piece by piece.”

Finnegan allowed a single to Christian Walker and a walk to Corbin Carroll. Dominic Fletcher was out on a sacrifice bunt, and Finnegan intentionally walked Geraldo Perdomo to load the bases.

A five-pitch at-bat to Smith ended in a walk that plated Walker for the winning run.

“Anything you can do to win the game there,” Smith said. “It was a good AB, you know, didn't chase, so I was happy with it. He just threw me five fastballs, he was kind of pulling them and yanking them in. Then he got one over and I was definitely ready to swing 3-1, to get the job done, but it wasn’t in the zone, so I took it."

Finnegan was charged with his second blown save of the season.

“That one hurts because we made such a great comeback,” said Finnegan. “The guys did everything you could ask for to win a tough game like that, and I just wasn’t able to do my job tonight and secure us the win.”