Washington Nationals Recap: Home Runs, Errors Prove Costly in Loss to Tigers

The Washington Nationals lost to the Detroit Tigers 11-5 Wednesday to fall to 6-2 in Grapefruit League play so far this spring.

Nats’ lefty Gio Gonzalez was roughed up in his second start of Spring Training as Washington fell to the Detroit Tigers 11-5 Wednesday afternoon at Joker Merchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida. The 30-year old southpaw went 2.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on two hits, four walks, and a strikeout.

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On his second pitch of the contest, Gonzalez gave up a leadoff home run to Detroit second baseman Ian Kinsler. The damage would not stop there, however. After allowing Justin Upton to draw a walk and steal second, Gio gave up an RBI-single to Victor Martinez two batters later.

The Tigers would strike again two innings later. A two out error by Danny Espinosa in the bottom of the third coupled with a Gonzalez’s fourth walk of the day forced manager Dusty Baker to remove the left-hander before he could finish the inning. Reliever Nick Masset, who had impressed thus far this spring, immediately served up a three-run homer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia on his first pitch. A throwing error by Anthony Rendon and a second fielding mishap by Espinosa led to Detroit scoring another before the inning was over.

In the fourth, with Masset still on the mound, Miguel Cabrera hit his second home run of Spring Training to make it 7-0 Tigers. The Nationals had been struggling to get much going offensively against Detroit starter Justin Verlander, but were finally able to put a few runs across the plate in the fifth. Daniel Murphy drove in the first runs of the game for the Nats, plating Spencer Kieboom and Ben Revere with a two-out double.

That would do it for the starting position players on both sides, with Washington and Detroit entering the sixth inning with new players across the diamond. Ben Revere finished 2-for-3 with a double to bring his spring batting average up to .500. Rendon, Bryce Harper, and Jayson Werth went a combined 0-for-6 with a walk and a strikeout.

The Nats tacked on another run in the sixth on a solo home run by Tyler Moore to bring the score to a manageable 7-3, but the Tigers pushed the game out of reach with a three-run seventh. Sammy Solis gave up a three-run bomb to former National Nate Schierholtz, who is fighting for a roster spot with Detroit on a minor league deal.