PHOENIX -- Ian Desmond likes to be aggressive early in the count, often swinging at the first pitch. Facing a side-arming right-hander, one who had not allowed a run in 19 games, Desmonds approach worked out quite well for the Washington Nationals. Desmond and Tyler Moore each lined two-run singles off Brad Ziegler in the ninth inning, helping the Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 on Wednesday to salvage what started as a difficult road trip. "Hes really good, has some good numbers over the past few years, has been effective," Desmond said of Ziegler. "I just wanted to make sure I got something up in the zone and let the hands do the work." Washington had a hard time solving Brandon McCarthy, who locked into a pitchers duel with Doug Fister for the first seven innings. Ziegler (0-1) hadnt allowed a run in 18 1-3 innings, so pulling off another late-inning victory appeared to be a daunting task. Denard Span got it started with a gritty at-bat, drawing a walk after fouling off four straight pitches. The Nationals loaded the bases and Desmond came through, lining a single through the left side. Moore followed with another two-run hit, breaking his bat on a single up the middle. Jayson Werth homered and Tyler Clippard (4-3) tossed one scoreless inning for Washington, which took two of three from Arizona after being swept in Oakland. "We needed this one," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "It salvages the road trip. It started off really bad and its nice to get this one and head home on a positive note." The Diamondbacks had just come off a solid road trip and McCarthy put them in good position to win four straight series for the first time in nearly three years. Arizona lost to Washington in the ninth inning Monday night, and then had a surprising meltdown in the series finale by one of baseballs best relievers over the past few seasons. Aaron Hill homered and made several spectacular plays at second base for the Diamondbacks. "I had a lot of swing and misses over the top and a lot of balls chopped foul," Ziegler said. "I felt like I had decent stuff. Just didnt execute pitches that well." Fister was sharp after a rough debut for the Nationals. Acquired from Detroit in an off-season trade, the right-hander spent the first six weeks on the disabled list with a back strain. He returned Saturday against Oakland and was hit hard, allowing seven runs and nine hits in 4 2-3 innings. Fister worked around a couple of baserunners the first three innings until Hill, swinging on a 3-0 pitch, hit a drive to left for his fourth of the season. Fister allowed five hits and struck out six before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. "Great job by Doug," Desmond said. "After his last start, Im sure he needed that one. He did an excellent job of keeping the ball down, using his sinker a lot." McCarthy was hit hard by the White Sox on Saturday, giving up seven runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings. The veteran right-hander was sharp against the Nationals. Keeping them off balance with big breaking curveball, McCarthy was perfect until Desmond led off the fifth inning with an infield single up the middle. Washington had a runner on third with one out in the sixth after an error on Arizona shortstop Chris Owings and a sacrifice bunt, but Hill saved a run with a diving stop in the hole on a hard-hit ball by Anthony Rendon to end the inning. Hill nor anyone else had a chance to reach Werths tying homer in the seventh inning, a screaming liner to right-centre that got out in a hurry. McCarthy continued to get outs after that and got some more help in the eighth from Hill, who dived and scooped the ball in the same motion on a slow roller by pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen. McCarthy allowed two hits and struck out seven in eight innings. "Some of the changes I wanted to make off last week I felt I was able to execute and do a better job, and make it a high priority," McCarthy said. "The results kind of followed after that." NOTES: Arizona LHP Randy Wolf exercised the out clause in his contract and was granted his release. The 37-year-old signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks after missing last season due to reconstructive elbow surgery. ... Washington leads the majors in run differential from the seventh inning on at plus-38. ... Arizona has Thursday off before RHP Wade Miley opens a three-game series against the Dodgers on Friday. ... Washington has Thursday off and has yet to announce a starter for the start of a three-game series against the New York Mets on Friday. Vapormax Damen Sale . -- Augusta James of Bath, Ont. Nike Air Vapormax Damen Billig . His absence against the Celtics comes a day after he scored 43 points in the Heats 100-96 win at Cleveland. http://www.vapormaxschuhe.de/vapormax-damen-deutschland.html . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled. Nike Vapormax Off White Kaufen . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. Nike Vapormax Herren Billig . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7).WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- Two of the IndyCar series smaller teams are planning to merge in 2015. Ed Carpenter Racing and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing said Saturday they will unite to form CFH Racing. The teams that typically each just have one entry per race will form a multi-car organization. A joint statement said that details about personnel, suppliers and sponsors would be announced soon. The Indianapolis-based teams will be headquartered at Fisher Hartman offices a few blocks from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Carpenters team has victories this season with driver Mike Conway at Long Beach and Toronto, and owner-driver Carpenter at Texas Motor Speedway. Fisher Hartman driver Josef Newgarden is 16th in the driver standings going into Sundays race at the Milwaukee Mile. Conway is 22nd, while Carpenter is 23rd among drivers. Carpeenter has started at the pole in the last two Indianapolis 500s.dddddddddddd Carpenter also raced for then-Sarah Fisher Racing in 2011, finishing first at Kentucky, before starting his own team the following year. "There will be a lot of work to do this off-season to bring the two teams together to form one new team, but we feel that it is a great opportunity for all of us to grow and reach new heights of success," Carpenter said. Fisher became the first female IndyCar team owner in 2008. A former driver, Fisher is the first woman to win a pole and place second in an IndyCar race. She called the merger a "big-picture plan," with Carpenters 2011 win representing a foothold. Wink Hartman, who runs an oil company based in Wichita, Kansas, became a co-owner in Fishers team in December 2011. ' ' '