Austin Gomber allowed one run and three hits over seven innings, Ryan McMahon had two hits and drove in a run, and the Colorado Rockies defeated the Washington Nationals 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar each had two hits and scored a run for Colorado, which has won three of its last four games.
Gomber (4-8) threw 96 pitches, struck out five batters, walked two, and completed seven or more innings for the fifth time this season.
“I thought I just had a good mix of pitches,” Gomber said. “For the most part felt like I was ahead in the count, on the attack and the defense made a lot of plays behind me.”
When rookie Victor Vodnik felt shoulder discomfort while warming up, manager Bud Black turned to another rookie, Angel Chivilli, who managed to get through the ninth inning after allowing a one-out walk and single to earn his first career save.
Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones, in his first game back from the injured list, went 1 for 4 with an RBI single and made a sliding catch in left field to prevent a run in the eighth inning.
He was activated on Sunday after being on the IL since July 11 with a lower back strain.
“I’m sure he feels good about tonight,” manager Bud Black said. “It’s been awhile for him to make a big contribution both ways. That was a big hit for us. Then a nice catch there.”
CJ Abrams hit a homer to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the sixth inning, but the Nationals were limited to five hits and have lost five of their last six games. Abrams struck out in his other three at-bats.
“We’ve just got to swing at our pitch,” Abrams said. “(Gomber) threw a pretty good game. We just swung at his pitch. You can’t really get runs across when you do that.”
Nationals starter DJ Herz (2-6) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits, struck out seven batters, and walked two in 5 2/3 innings.
