Gio Gonzalez was masterful in his no decision Sunday afternoon. He lost a perfect game in the sixth inning.

Gio was truly masterful Sunday afternoon. He had a perfect game until Dioner Navarro hit an infield single in the sixth inning, and finished with seven scoreless innings. Gio struck out five batter and only walked one, finishing with 86 pitches. If Davey Johnson hadn’t pinch hit for Gonzalez in the bottom of the seventh, Gio likely could have pitched at least one more inning. In a season full of early up and downs for him, Gio’s Sunday outing was a good sight for Nationals fans.

Drew Storen entered the game in the seventh inning and blew the lead on Starlin Castro‘s game tying single to center. Castro’s single scored Travis Wood, a starting pitcher pinch running for the catcher Navarro, who had singled to start the inning. Rafael Soriano started the ninth by giving up back to back singles to Alfonso Soriano and Julio Borbon. After Ryan Sweeney went down on strikes, Soriano and Borbon attempted a double steal with Wellington Castillo at the plate. Kurt Suzuki’s throw hit Castillo’s bat, sending the ball down the left field line and allowing Soriano to come around and score. Chicago closer Kevin Gregg pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth for his sixth save in as many opportunities.

Cubs’ left fielder Alfonso Soriano scores the go-ahead run on Kurt Suzuki’s throwing error in the ninth inning.

On the offensive side of things, the Nats bats were relatively shut down by Cubs starter Scott Feldman. Feldman gave up one run in six innings, the only run coming on Ryan Zimmerman‘s third inning RBI double. The double scored Span, who himself had doubled to lead off the inning.

After losing two of three to Chicago, the Nationals look to get back on track in Los Angeles monday night. Jordan Zimmermann (6-1, 1.59) will look to continue his excellent start and will opposed by Dodgers’ right hander Josh Beckett (0-4, 5.13). First Pitch is at 10:10 ET.

Inconsistent continues to be the word that best describes Gio’s 2013 season. Gonzalez threw eight innings of one hit ball against the Cincinnati Reds on the April 25th, and then was hammered by the Braves for 6 runs in his last outing. Four batters into his start against the Pirates, it looked like another short and ineffective start for Gio. After Starling Marte led off the game with a home run(Gio’s 2nd consecutive start with a leadoff homerun) Jordy Mercer hit a double, Andrew McCutchen reached on an error, and Gaby Sanchez worked a walk. Gio, however, would only give up one run and escaped the jam by striking out Russell Martin and Michael McKenry and getting Brandon Inge to ground out. Aside from Martin’s RBI double in the fifth, Gio was outstanding the rest of his outing. He lowered his ERA to 4.97 and picked up his third win of the young season.

After the early one run deficit, the offense was able to quickly tie the game on a 2nd inning sacrifice fly off the bat of Danny Espinosa. Espinosa wasn’t done however. In the fourth inning, he gave Gio a 3-1 lead with a line drive two run home-run to left, his 3rd of the year. After the Pirates trimmed the deficit to one run in the fifth, Tyler Moore hit a hanging slider from right hander Bryan Morris over the left field wall for a three run jack, opening the lead to 6-2. Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the series victory for Washington.

Next Game:
May 7th, 7:05 ET

RHP Jordan Zimmermann(5-1, 1.64) vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez(3-2, 1.82)

The Braves blasted Gio Gonzalez to the tune of seven runs in five innings, and Paul Maholm shut down the offense for nearly eight innings as the Nationals (7-5) fell to Atlanta, 9-0.

Apr 14, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez (47) wipes his brow as catcher Kurt Suzuki (24) talks after giving up three runs to the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Gonzalez had been pitching well coming into the game, having allowed just one run in two outings. Things fell apart for him immediately, however, as Atlanta jumped on him for three runs in the first inning. After struggling through that inning and getting through the second, he allowed four runs in the third innings, putting the Nats in a seemingly insurmountable hole. At the end of his outing, Gonzalez had surrendered seven hits and three walks, along with only three strikeouts. Zach Duke picked up the next three innings, allowing two more runs on five hits. His season ERA now sits at 9.45. In the top of the ninth, Henry Rodriguez did what Henry Rodriguez does: walk two batters, though he did manage to escape unscathed.

On offense, things were just as bad. The Nats’ best chance of scoring came in the eighth, when Bryce Harper walked to load the bases with two outs for Ryan Zimmerman, who promptly grounded out. Only one offensive starter garnered a hit: Kurt Suzuki, who was 2-3. Chad Tracy was 1-1 in replacement of Zimmerman, and Steve Lombardozzi was 1-3 after replacing Danny Espinosa, who left the game with a wrist injury after being hit by a pitch.

Like I said yesterday, it’s easy to worry or panic, but think about the length of the season. Adam Kilgore and District Sports Nats made two great points on twitter today. Kilgore notes that the Nats trail the braves by four games with 150 to go. DSP said that if this were a football season, it would be nearing the end of the first quarter of the second game. So if you’re concerned, don’t be: there is still quite a lot of time left on the clock.

Next Game: Tomorrow at Miami, 7:05 PM. Zimmermann (2-0, 2.08) v. LeBlanc (0-2, 3.27)