The Arizona Diamondbacks have a roster stocked with talented young prospects, part of a vaunted minor league system that Baseball America magazine ranks the best in baseball.
It is the same path the Nationals have chosen to build their organization. So for four games, Washington gets a free glimpse into its own future.
Unfortunately for the Nats, one of those top Arizona (2-2) prospects contributed to their downfall on Thursday evening in front of 16,017 at chilly RFK Stadium. Center fielder Chris Young, ranked the game’s No. 12 prospect by Baseball America, singled home two runs in the first inning of a 4-3 victory.
Washington’s bullpen made up for a shaky start by Jason Bergmann (0-1), who allowed four runs on five hits and walked six in just 3 2/3 innings. One day after the bullpen tossed five scoreless innings, three Nats relievers — Micah Bowie, Jesus Colome and Jon Rauch — combined for another 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
An RBI double by Ryan Church in the fourth, a home run by Dmitri Young in the fifth and a fielder’s choice groundout by Brian Schneider in the seventh got the Nats (1-3) close. But Washington stranded 11 runners on base, including eight in scoring position.
