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WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals' offense struggled of late, a slump that included catcher Wilson Ramos, who was hitless in 17 at-bats before he got a single in the ninth inning Monday. He built on the momentum Tuesday, as his two-run, bloop single to right in the eighth inning broke a 3-3 tie and led Washington to a 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Ramos entered the game third among National League catchers in RBIs, and he now has 45 on the year after going 2-for-3 with the two RBIs.
"That was big because I helped the team to win this game. It's (an) important game for the team," said Ramos, who is hitting .239 on the year.
His hit against reliever David Hernandez (0-2) drove in first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and left fielder Jayson Werth, whose double sent Zimmerman to third.
"I was trying to hit the ball in the air and try to bring in one of those runners, get that single," said the personable Ramos. "It made me feel excited. It's a good day for me, and now I can go back to sleep and try to have a good dream."
Nationals manager Matt Williams said of Ramos, "I think that the ball ... that he can hit to the middle of the diamond is important for him. He can get into hitter's counts and get the head out, too. But his success comes when he hits the ball back through the middle. That's why he's had good RBI numbers for the amount of at-bats that he's had. That's why he's been a very productive player from the catcher's position in the league. So that's his key. That takes discipline, and that takes getting a good pitch to hit and the right pitch to hit to do what he does."
Washington (55-50) snapped a four-game losing streak, while Arizona (51-54) lost for just the fourth time in 12 games. The Nationals remain one game back of the National League East-leading New York Mets, who won 5-1 at Miami on Tuesday.
Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon got the save -- his first at home with his new team -- as he eventually set down Arizona in the ninth after allowing a leadoff single. Arizona scored an unearned run on a throwing error by third baseman Yunel Escobar with two outs to make it 5-4. but Papelbon got second baseman Cliff Pennington for the final out on a comebacker.
"We couldn't push it across there," Arizona manager Chip Hale said. "We were battling all of the way. There was no give up in them. It was a tough one to take."
Nationals starter Max Scherzer, who was not involved in the decision, went six innings and allowed three runs and four hits with nine strikeouts.
Scherzer has 181 strikeouts in 22 starts this season and 1,502 in his career in 220 starts.
Washington reliever Casey Janssen threw a scoreless seventh inning, and Drew Storen (2-0) pitched a perfect eighth.
Arizona reliever Josh Collmenter allowed just one hit and no runs in 3 2/3 innings in relief of starter Patrick Corbin, who did not figure in the decision after exiting in the second inning.
"He was just missing too much in the zone," Hale said of Corbin. "They were obviously aggressive against him. He felt fine when I took him out. It is about his arm and the health of it."
"I thought I made some decent pitches and (also) made some mistakes," said Corbin, who was making his sixth start since coming back from Tommy John surgery. "It was just one of those days. They came out swinging. They are a good hitting team. We were well prepared; we knew they were going to be aggressive."
Escobar also had two hits, including a homer, for the Nationals, and third baseman Jake Lamb finished with two hits and two runs for Arizona.
Washington got a leadoff homer from Escobar, his second leadoff blast of the year.
Later in the inning, Zimmerman hit an RBI single and Werth drove in a run with a fielder's choice.
Corbin was lifted with two on and one out in the second, and Collmenter came on to induce a double-play grounder off the bat of Zimmerman to end the threat. Corbin allowed six hits and three runs in 1 1/3 innings, and nine of the 12 batters he faced reached base.
"I wanted to stay in," Corbin said. "(Hale) felt it was a good time to take me out. I know I am going to be on a tight limit if I get into trouble (after the elbow surgery)."
Arizona tied the game with three runs in the fourth off Scherzer. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit an RBI single, and second baseman Chris Owings drove in two runs with a double down the left field line to make it 3-3.
NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 30 minutes by threatening weather, though the tarp was not put on the field. ... Washington LHP Gio Gonzalez (8-4, 3.75 ERA) will start Wednesday against Arizona RHP Rubby De La Rosa (8-5, 4.59). ... The Nationals entered Tuesday with a team batting average of .248, fourth worst in the National League. The Washington lineup included three players with a batting average below .220: SS Ian Desmond (.217), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.211) and LF Jayson Werth (.203). ... The Nationals went 20-5 from late April to late May but in all other games are 35-45. ... The Diamondbacks had a team average of .262 through Monday, third best in the league.
