Montero hits 2 of Arizona’s 4 HRs, Kennedy pitches Diamondbacks past Nationals 9-2

Montero’s 2 homers, lead Kennedy, Diamondbacks

WASHINGTON — Miguel Montero hit two of Arizona’s four home runs and Ian Kennedy pitched seven strong innings and singled twice as the Diamondbacks beat the Washington Nationals 9-2 Saturday night.

The Diamondbacks have hit lots of home runs this week. On Wednesday, they tied a major league record by connecting for four consecutive homers. This night, they hit four more.

Montero, who hit the second of the four on Wednesday, started things by launching a long, two-run shot in the second off Jason Marquis (0-5). Gerardo Parra added his third home run with two outs to make it 3-0.

After Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman led off the bottom of the second with his 23rd home run, Kelly Johnson hit his 18th in the fourth for a 4-1 Arizona lead.

The Nationals, who have lost six of seven, scored their second run in the fourth on Adam Kennedy’s RBI single.

The Diamondbacks loaded the bases against Marquis in the fifth, and scored their fifth run on a double- play grounder by Justin Upton.

Kennedy (7-9) pitched seven innings — his longest start since June 9. He allowed two runs and five hits, walked one and struck out seven. His two hits were a career high, and he scored a run.

Marquis allowed five runs and seven hits in four-plus innings. His ERA actually decreased nearly a full run. He began the game with a 15.32 ERA and ended his forgettable night with it at 14.33.

In his last start at home on April 18, Marquis faced seven batters and got none out. All scored in a 10-run first inning for Milwaukee. After that nightmarish outing, Marquis had bone chips removed from his right elbow and was on the disabled list for 3½ months.

In his two starts since returning, Marquis, a winner in just one of his last 14 starts, has allowed 10 runs in eight innings.

The Diamondbacks scored three runs in the sixth off Miguel Batista. Montero led off with his second home run and Kennedy and Chris Young, who had three hits, had RBI singles.

Upton drove in the final run with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.

NOTES: Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo said that he was confident of signing 17-year-old Bryce Harper, the top pick in June’s draft by the Monday midnight deadline. “It’s a player we really want in the organization, and the talks and negotiations are always difficult, always unique. This is a unique situation,” Rizzo said. … The Diamondbacks are negotiating to play their first two games of 2011 in Taiwan against San Francisco. Representatives of the Players Association met with the team on Friday. They’ve already met with players from the Giants. … Washington CF Nyjer Morgan, who’s on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right hip, will begin a three-game rehab assignment in Class-A Potomac on Sunday. Morgan said he’s scheduled to play at Class-A Hagerstown Monday and Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday before rejoining the Nationals on Wednesday in Atlanta.