PHOENIX (AP) — Gabriel Moreno hit a two-run homer, Michael Soroka threw seven effective innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks avoided a series sweep with a 5-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
The Diamondbacks' bats came to life after losing the series’ first two games by a combined score of 20-2.
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Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Washington Nationals CJ Abrams hits a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Michael Soroka throws against the Washington Nationals in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno (14) hits against the Washington Nationals in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Corbin Carroll hit a solo homer in the first inning off Cade Cavalli (3-4) and Moreno added his two-run shot off the right-hander in the fifth.
Pavin Smith hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to put Arizona up 5-1.
Soroka (8-3) gave up a leadoff homer to CJ Abrams in the second inning and two other hits. He struck out six and walked two.
It was Soroka's first start of at least seven innings and one or fewer runs allowed since Aug. 10, 2019.
Washington finished with three hits after bashing the Diamondbacks for 24 the previous two games combined.
The Diamondbacks were held to two hits in Saturday's 6-1 loss, but had more than that by the second inning against Cavalli.
Carroll hit an 0-2 breaking ball onto the pool deck in right-center in the first inning, and Ryan Waldschmidt put Arizona up 2-1 with an RBI groundout in the fourth.
Moreno made it 4-0 in the fifth with his fourth homer, a two-run shot off the back of Arizona's bullpen in left.
Cavalli allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings with two strikeouts and a walk.
Nationals RHP Miles Mikolas (1-5, 6.39 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game series at San Francisco on Monday.
The Diamondbacks have a day off before RHP Zac Gallen (3-5, 5.32) pitches against Miami on Tuesday to open a three-game series.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Washington Nationals CJ Abrams hits a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Michael Soroka throws against the Washington Nationals in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno (14) hits against the Washington Nationals in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
NEW YORK (AP) — Police scuttled an NBA Finals watch party near Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks warned fans to get to Monday’s matchup at least two hours early as part of enhanced security measures with President Donald Trump attending the game.
Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He already has attended a number of major sporting events in his second term, including the 2025 Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.
Part of the fallout from Trump’s visit was the cancellation of a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said in a statement Sunday the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.
“There will be no watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 only,” the statement said. “This was done fully in coordination with the Secret Service because of the presidential visit. We expect watch parties at Madison Square Garden to resume for Game 4.”
Such parties, where thousands of fans pack in to watch the game on a big screen, have been a point of contention for the city’s police department, even without the complication of a presidential visit.
More than two-dozen people were arrested as Friday’s watch party spilled into the streets surrounding the Garden after the Knicks beat the Spurs in San Antonio. One woman was accused of punching a police officer in the face, the NYPD said.
Heading into the NBA Finals, the city had moved to cancel watch parties outside the arena altogether because of rowdy behavior at unofficial gatherings but later reversed itself and granted a permit for Game 1 last Wednesday.
Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s New York field office, said he understood that with the Knicks on a historic run there would be some disappointment from fans.
“At the same time, our responsibility is to ensure the highest level of public safety,” he said. “After careful coordination and assessment, the Secret Service and the NYPD jointly determined that outdoor watch parties could not be accommodated in the immediate vicinity of Madison Square Garden due to the security requirements associated with an event of this scale and the need to maintain a secure environment for protective operations.”
Team-sanctioned watch parties will go on at Wollman Rink in Central Park and Brooklyn Bowl, the Knicks website said. Both events required advanced registration and were already at capacity as of Sunday afternoon.
Strict rules were put in place for those attending the game. The Knicks warned fans to bring as little as possible to Game 3 and encouraging them to arrive at least two hours before tipoff as part of enhanced security measures.
The Knicks said Saturday that a strict no-bag policy would be in place and there would be “TSA-style screening procedures” for fans when they enter Madison Square Garden for the game that is scheduled to begin just after 8:40 p.m. EDT.
The Knicks said there would be no storage at MSG for prohibited items brought to the arena. A list of them is available at https://www.secretservice.gov/prohibiteditems.
Associated Press writers Michael Sisak and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
FILE - Actor Elliott Gould, left, joins Donald Trump, center, and Marla Maples at courtside during an NBA basketball game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, in New York, March 6, 1991. (AP Photo/Steve Freeman, File)
FILE - Donald Trump, right, talks to an unidentified man from the stands at Madison Square Garden during the New York Knicks game against the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 11, 2006, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
