In six starts in August, Gio Gonzalez went (4-0) with Washington 4-2 in his outings, over which the 30-year-old lefty put up a 3.58 ERA, a 3.49 FIP, seven walks (1.93 BB/9) and 31 K (8.54 K/9) in 32 2⁄3 innings pitched, holding hitters to a combined .208/.250/.383 line.
In nine second-half outings before last night’s, the Nationals’ veteran southpaw was (5-1) with a 3.00 ERA, a 3.29 FIP, 13 walks (2.29 BB/9), 42 Ks (7.41 K/9) and a .209/.257/.358 line against in 51 IP after he held the Philadelphia Phillies to one run on two hits in six innings last time out.
Tuesday night in the nation’s capital, Gonzalez got hit hard and was out early, giving up eight hits and six earned runs in just three innings, over which he threw a total of 85 pitches.
After the Nationals rallied from a 4-1 deficit with a five-run bottom of the third, in which Anthony Rendon hit a grand slam and Ryan Zimmerman added a solo shot, putting the Nats up, 6-4, Gonzalez returned to the mound in the fourth and allowed a leadoff single and a double that put runners on second and third before he was lifted by Dusty Baker.
“We ran Gio back out there, not to give him a chance to win, necessarily, but to take us an inning or two and then I could mix and match and stuff, cause we are on a streak of games again,” Baker explained, after what ended up a 9-7 win.
Asked what he saw from Gonzalez, Baker said, “I saw some line drives.”
“He wasn’t walking people, but they must have been center-cut pitches. I mean there were a couple balls in there that were broken bats and the one that Freddie Freeman hit, but those things happen to you in the game, so just hope that next time out he can get it back together and stay positive.”
Gonzalez told reporters, including Washington Post writer Jorge Castillo, that he thought it was just “one of those starts” that you have to get through.
“It’s September,” Gonzalez said. “So, try doing it from February to September. It’s a long, gruesome thing. You’re going to hit a wall. Tonight definitely wasn’t my best. I’ll take that one in however many starts.”
Baker was asked about Gonzalez’s struggles pitching with a lead, but he didn’t have any answers.
“I’m trying to figure that out myself,” he said. “I don’t notice anything different. This has kind of happened three or four times, you know what I mean, so we just have to address it and try to alleviate it.”
The Braves tied it up at 6-6 in the fourth, but the Nationals rallied again in the eighth with a three-run inning giving them a 9-6 lead.
Baker said it was a full team effort, with his bullpen picking Gonzalez up after was out early and the offense coming through with a couple big innings that gave them what they needed.
“At least I had reinforcements here,” Baker said, “and the guys in the bullpen, even though I’m only throwing to one batter, they’ve come in and done the job.
“That was a full team effort today, guys off the bench came through, guys ran the bases.
“We played a good game, a very good game and it was big for us to come back and win like that because we haven’t come back too much lately, so that’s a good sign.”
• We talked about Gio Gonzalez’s struggles, the Nationals’ comeback and more on Nats Nightly after the game: