The Arizona Diamondbacks wrap up their pre-All-Star schedule with their final Eastern road trip, a 6-gamer, starting tonight in Washington against the Nationals. The D-Backs will play in the brand new Nationals Park in D.C. for the first time. For the second straight series, the Diamondbacks play the team with the worst record in baseball. Washington limps into this series at 34-56, just percentage points worse than San Diego, who took 2 of 3 from Arizona last weekend. The Nationals have lost 5 straight, including a 4-game sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. They’ve also lost 14 of their last 19. And to add insult to injury, it appears the honeymoon period in D.C. is over and the novelty of having baseball back has worn off. The team is drawing the smallest regional television audience in baseball, an average of 9,000 households per game according to a Nielsen Media Research report. Kansas City has the second smallest tv audience, at 28,000 households, more than triple the audiences the Nationals are getting. I guess I wouldn’t flock to the tv to watch a team hitting .239 either. Here’s a closer look at both teams…

Washington Nationals(34-56, last place in NL East, 14 games behind Philadelphia)

Manager: Manny Acta (2nd year with Nationals, 107-145)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Cristian Guzman, .313

Runs: Cristian Guzman, 50

Hits: Cristian Guzman, 115

HR: Ryan Zimmerman, 8

RBI: Lastings Milledge, 32

SB: Lastings Milledge, 13

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Tim Redding, 108.2

Wins: Tim Redding, 6

ERA: John Lannan, 3.60

Strikeouts: Tim Redding, 69

Saves: Jon Rauch, 17

Bottom Line: Unlike the Diamondbacks’ last opponent, San Diego, there were no expectations put on the Washington Nationals this season. And the Nats have delivered on nothing. People cringe at the D-Backs’ offense, but Washington has been truly offensive at the plate this season. The Nationals are last in the majors in runs scored and team batting average, and are ranked 24th with only 65 home runs as a team. Ryan Zimmerman leads the team with only 8 round-trippers, and Lastings Milledge leads the club with 32 rbis, tied for 74th in the NL. The Diamondbacks, who won’t ever be confused with the ‘61 Yankees offensively, have 5 players with more than 32 runs batted in.

Injuries have also played a factor in Washington’s woes. Catcher Paul LoDuca has battled nagging injuries all season long, and has only played in 31 games, hitting just .221, 65 points lower than his career average. First baseman Nick Johnson is out for the year after having surgery on his right wrist. Third baseman Zimmerman is also on the shelf, sitting on the DL since early June with a tear in his left shoulder. Catcher Johnny Estrada’s, outfielders Elijah Dukes and Milledge are also on the DL, closer Chad Cordero is out for the year, you get the idea. A virtually anonymous Nationals’ lineup, is even more anonymous with all the injuries.

Shortstop Cristian Guzman can be singled out for the great season he’s having. Guzman, is 6th in the National League with a .313 average, and leads the league with 119 hits. He will represent Washington in next week’s All-Star Game in New York.

Washington’s Pitchers vs. Arizona

Tonight: Odalis Perez (2008: 2-5, 3.78 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 5-5, 3.45 ERA)

Wednesday: Jon Lannan (2008: 4-9, 3.60 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 0-1, 1.29 ERA)

Thursday: Jay Bergmann (2008: 1-6, 4.15 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 0-2, 5.82 ERA)

Arizona Diamondbacks (44-45, 1st place in NL West, tied with Los Angeles)

Manager: Bob Melvin (4th year with Diamondbacks, 287-287)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Orlando Hudson, .302

Runs: Mark Reynolds, 57

Hits: Orlando Hudson, 91

HR: Mark Reynolds, 18

RBI: Mark Reynolds, 53

SB: Conor Jackson, 6

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Brandon Webb 118

Wins: Brandon Webb 12

ERA: Dan Haren, 2.83

Strikeouts: Dan Haren, 103

Saves: Brandon Lyon 18

Bottom Line: The Diamondbacks make their only trip to Washington this season, to take on a team that is the worst in baseball. The Diamondbacks took 2 of 3 from the Nats in late May/early June, including back to back shutouts. The Nationals will have to deal with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, who were both named to the National League All-Star team earlier this week. Micah Owings also returns to the rotation for the D-Backs, in a city where he’s had success before. Last season, as a rookie, Owings baffled the Nats, allowing only 1 hit over 5 shutout innings in his first Major League start. It looks like Conor Jackson is the every day left fielder now with Eric Byrnes on the DL again. And it looks like the left field jinx is applying to Jackson as well. He went 0 for 11 in the San Diego series, when he started all three games in left. His average dipped from .312 to .300 during the series.

The Diamondbacks don’t have sole possession of first place in the National League West since early April. The suddenly red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers, who have won 6 of their last 7, are now tied with Arizona atop the division. The Dodgers continue a 7-game homestand tonight against Atlanta at Dodger Stadium.

Arizona’s pitchers vs. Washington:

Tonight: Brandon Webb (2008: 12-4, 3.43 ERA; career vs. Nationals: 3-2, 3.13 ERA)

Wednesday: Micah Owings (2008: 6-7, 5.15 ERA; career vs. Nationals: 1-1, 3.57 ERA)

Thursday: Dan Haren (2008: 8-5, 2.83 ERA; career vs. Nationals: 2-1, 2.40 ERA)

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