Bryce Harper was called up for moments like Wednesday night. The rookie phenom, brought to the majors just this week, provided a spark the team needed to get out of a major funk. He doubled twice and scored the game-winning run against the Arizona Diamondbacks, snapping a five-game losing streak to help the Washington Nationals retain sole possession of first place in the NL East.

The Nationals hope to stay on track tonight where they close up a three-game series against the Diamondbacks, where they are underdogs by 1 1/2 runs, according to Bovada with a -101 moneyline.

Harper scored on Ian Desmond’s two-run homer in the ninth to give Washington a 5-4 lead. Harper scored two runs in the game, leading his team their most runs in over a week. The Nationals had scored a combined seven runs during their five-game skid.

“He was born for these situations,” manager Davey Johnson said.

So does the win get them back on track?

“You guys are asking the wrong questions,” Desmond told reporters. “We’re in first place. We’re playing good baseball.”

To make it a winning streak, they’ll have to do something no team has done since last August: beat Arizona’s Ian Kennedy. The righty has won nine consecutive decisions dating back to last year, going 6-0 to close out 2011 and starting 3-0 this year.

He didn’t pitch well in his last start, a 3-2 walkoff loss to the Miami Marlins, but didn’t get the decision.

“Definitely, the whole night was a battle trying to throw strikes,” Kennedy told MLB.com. “It wasn’t very fun pitching like that, feeling like you had runners on every single inning. My fastball was up, my offspeed was up. … I feel like I’ve had ‘C’ stuff every time (out).”

He’s 2-0 recently against the Nationals, surrendering just three combined runs over 21 innings. He’s favored by Bovada’s MLB Player Props to strike out around five hitters tonight.
Washington has won nine of 12 at home, while Arizona has won three of its last four.

“It won’t be the last time it happens to us this year,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “We’re playing good baseball. We just have to shake this one off and come back (Thursday).”

Ross Detwiler starts for the Nationals. He beat them last year 4-1 and comes in with a 1.64 ERA.

Justin Upton homered for the second time in three games last night, and has +550 odds to homer again, according to Bovada.