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Washington Nationals Reaction: Gio Remains Scorching Hot On The Mound

By Chris Lacey

Mar 21, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez (47) throws a pitch in the second inning against the Houston Astros at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez (47) throws a pitch in the second inning against the Houston Astros at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Nationals remained perfect on their road trip, as they defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-0 in Monday’s game.

There’s a statement in baseball that says “strong starting pitching can be infectious” and for the Washington Nationals they might have an outbreak. Gio Gonzalez continued the superb string of great performances from the rotation in his outing on Monday against the Royals.

Gonzalez tossed six scoreless innings and allowed just four hits while walking a pair of batters on 102 pitches. The southpaw had to use plenty of energy in the first inning, as the Royals forced him to throw 28 pitches in the opening frame.

He remained efficient in the following five innings, as he kept the batters in the lineup for Royals in check. The left-handed pitcher did a phenomenal job of mixing in his fastball with his off-speed stuff. There were only a couple of instances in which the Royals could generate scoring chances and Gonzalez made the necessary pitches to quell the threats. The solid start from Gonzalez lowered his ERA to 1.15 in five starts.

The weird part is that the terrific results that Gonzalez has generated aren’t even the best on the staff. Joe Ross has earned that distinction, as indicated by his 0.79 ERA and zero home runs given up in 22.2 innings. The entire rotation has been lights out, as scoring runs against them is something opposing teams have found to be an arduous task.

Ross and Gonzalez have been impressive, but Tanner Roark and Stephen Strasburg each has posted sub-three ERAs, and Max Scherzer has a respectable 3.55 ERA in six outings.

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The Nats have allowed just 61 runs so far this season, which is the lowest amount in the Majors. It’s easy for a club to have sustained winning streaks when there isn’t much pressure on the lineup to carry the club to victory. It appears that members of the Nationals starting rotation have had an ongoing completion of who can be the best on the mound.

It’s almost contagious in which one starter will have a dominating performance and the next starter will try to top the former pitcher. This is perfect for the Washington Nationals, but not much fun for the opposition. The scary part for the opposing clubs is there’s still room for improvement.

We still haven’t seen the best version of Scherzer, as he’s given up five home runs. He did provide a glimpse of what we can expect during his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals. He fired seven scoreless innings and struck out nine batters. This marked the first outing in 2016 that he didn’t walk any batters.

The rotation for the Washington Nationals has been the highlight for them this season and it’s a significant reason why they’re one of the best teams in the National League.

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