Washington Nationals’ skipper Dusty Baker on Brewers’ pitching, abstract defense, and striking out quite a bit...

Edwin Jackson gave up seven hits (three home runs), three walks, and seven runs total, (three earned), in five innings against Milwaukee when he faced the Brewers in the nation’s capital on July 25th. Jackson needed 112 pitches total to get through that outing, in what ended up an 8-0 loss in Nationals Park.

In six starts between that outing and his turn in the rotation against Milwaukee in Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon, the 33-year-old, 15-year veteran went (4-2) with a 2.68 ERA, 12 walks, 29 Ks, and a .248/.303/.404 line against over 37 innings pitched, over which he allowed four home runs.

“His pitch count got up high,” Dusty Baker said after the loss in Washington.

“He didn’t have the command,” he’d had in his previous start, Baker added, referring to Jackson’s 2017 debut with the Nats in LA (7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER), and “... was wild, high and away.”

And the home runs didn’t help, Baker said.

“It was a rough night for Edwin tonight, and like I said, he didn’t have his command tonight.”

Travis Shaw, Eric Thames, and Manny Pina took Jackson deep in D.C.

Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

Sunday afternoon in Miller Park it was Domingo Santana who took the Nationals’ right-hander deep, twice, for the first run of the game on a hanging 0-1 slider inside that went out to center and bounced off the scoreboard 435 feet from home plate, then again for a two-run home run in the fourth.

Neil Walker and Ryan Braun hit back-to-back doubles off Jackson to start the bottom of the fourth inning, with Walker scoring on Braun’s, and Santana followed one out later with his second of the game and 24th of the season on a 1-2 fastball inside he sent out to center to make it 4-0.

Walker doubled again to lead off the sixth, took third on a passed ball, and scored on a sac fly that put the Brewers up 5-0. Jackson issued a two-out walk later in the bottom of the inning that ended his outing...

Edwin Jackson’s Line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 Ks, 2 HRs, 95 P, 63 S, 4/4 GO/FO.

“Well, it was really too much Santana, cause that’s who really hurt him,” Baker told reporters after Jackson took the loss in what ended up a 7-2 game.

The loss was Washington’s third in the four-game, long-weekend series in Milwaukee.

“The extra base hits really hurt him today,” Baker said. “I know he hung the breaking ball to Santana, and the second one was out over the plate, he couldn’t keep the ball down consistently which usually leads to the extra base hits.

“We didn’t have a lot offense going this whole series. They pitched us tough, you know, fastballs up, and breaking balls, a lot of them weren’t strikes. They played well this series, and we’ve just got to regroup before we got to Miami.”

“We’re pitching well,” Brewers’ skipper Craig Counsell said when asked about taking three of four in the big series.

“We’ve pitched well for a while now. Guys are doing a nice job in different roles and it was big. We’re pitching very well.”

The series win over Washington follows closely on the heels of Milwaukee taking two of three from the LA Dodgers as they fight to stay in the race for at least the second Wild Card spot (0.5-game back) if not the NL Central (3.5 games out).

Sean Doolittle on close shave save in Nats’ one win in Milwaukee...

Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

LINK: Sean Doolittle couldn’t bear to watch long game-ending fly...

Counsell was asked if that’s helped to build the Brewers’ confidence?

“They don’t need confidence,” he said. “We need wins. So to keep winning games and you feel like we’re holding serve, that’s what’s important and that’s where the confidence comes from, so like I said — I keep saying this — but we’re chasing and when you’re chasing the pressure is on to win, and you feel like you take 3 of 4 on a homestand from a good team you did your job.”

“We hit some balls hard here,” Baker said, “but their abstract defense took a lot of that away from us. Looked like they had them positioned perfectly over there, cause we hit some balls hard here, but it looks like your offense isn’t going because you’re not hitting any balls out of the park, but we squared up some balls and we struck out quite a bit.”