While the Nationals’ offense may be struggling mightily, they don’t need much of it when the starters pitch like Gio Gonzalez did today. He locked the Giants down into the eighth inning, but Madison Bumgarner did the same to the Nationals’ much less potent offense. Bryce Harper pumped some life into the feeble, frail Nationals’ offense with a home run and an extra-inning double that would eventually see him score as the game-winning run. However, as happy as the team must be to end their tough road trip with a win, they need to realize that scoring two runs a game will not win a team many games. Either a change needs to be made, or some players need to do some serious slump-breaking. It looks like Ian Desmond and Harper are out of theirs, and LaRoche and Ryan Zimmerman are hot, so perhaps the Nationals will score a little more soon. Don’t hold your breath though.

Most Important Nationals Hit: Ian Desmond’s RBI single (+33.2%)

May 21, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond (20) hits a single during the fourth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT

Perhaps a sign of hope for the Nationals’ offense is the timely hitting they finally got in the top of the tenth today. Harper doubled and Zimmerman was intentionally walked to get Desmond to face the lefty Jeremy Affeldt. Desmond was 0-4 in the game’s first nine innings, but came through when it mattered. His single put the Nats up by one, and would prove to be the game’s winning run after Rafael Soriano locked down the tenth inning for his 13th save.

Most Important Nationals Pitch: Buster Posey‘s game-tying single (-29.2%)

After Gonzalez left the game, Drew Storen entered with one out and a runner on first in the eighth, leading by one. Wasting no time, Storen walked a batter and allowed Posey’s single to tie the game. While Gonzalez was charged with the earned run, Storen is accountable for the WPA hit because he allowed the game-tying hit, even though the baserunner was not his. Fortunately, Storen ensured that he allowed no runs by retiring the next two batters he faced to end the inning.

Champ of the Game: Gio (+41.0%) was stellar, allowing one run on four hits and two walks in 7.1 innings while striking out five. Curiously, Bumgarner had the exact same line, except that he recorded one fewer out. However, WPA held him accountable for his earned run, while Gio was let off the hook, so the Giants’ champ was Posey (+23.5%), who was 1-4 with his clutch single.

Chump of the Game: Storen (-22.7%) didn’t allow a run on the scoresheet, but was held responsible for Gio’s baserunner and the ensuing run. Affeldt (-33.4%) suffered for having allowed the game-winning run.

Bryce Harper hit his 12th home run of the season, but Drew Storen allowed an inherited runner from Gio Gonzalez‘s otherwise excellent outing to score, and the Nationals (24-23) had to score on an Ian Desmond single in the tenth to salvage the series finale over the Giants, 2-1.

May 22, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez (47) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning at AT

Through five innings, this game was completely scoreless. Gonzalez and Madison Bumgarner were matching each other pitch for pitch, each having allowed three hits and one walk through five scoreless innings. Leading off the sixth, Harper decided to change that. He launched Bumgarner’s pitch into the left field bleachers to put the Nats on top, 1-0. As noted by ESPN’s Baseball Tonight,  Harper is in good company with his homer numbers at his age. Through 47 games, he trails only Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson, and Mel Ott in home runs among 20-year-olds through their team’s first 50 games. Each of them had 13, a mark Harper has three games to reach, and they are all in the Hall of Fame.

The Giants struck back in the eighth. Gonzalez was pulled after recording one out and walking a batter. Drew Storen came in, promptly walked another batter, and allowed a game-tying single by Buster Posey. However, he was able to get the next two outs to preserve the tie. A side note on Storen: he has struggled in late innings this year despite being a dominant reliever in the past. Will he ever get back to where he was?

The run allowed by Storen was a baserunner for which Gonzalez was responsible, giving him an earned run and a nearly identical line to Bumgarner’s final. Both pitchers allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five, and the only difference between them was that Gonzalez pitched 7.1 innings, while Bumgarner pitched only 7. Neither team allowed a run in the ninth as Tyler Clippard (W, 3-1) and Sergio Romo pitched clean frames, but the Nationals broke the tie in the tenth.

May 22, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (34) walks back to the dugout after scoring against the San Francisco Giants during the tenth inning at AT

After Denard Span grounded out against Jeremy Affeldt, Harper doubled and the Giants intentionally walked Ryan Zimmerman to get to Desmond, who had been 0-4 in the rest of the game. Desmond delivered a single that scored Harper, the game’s eventual winning run. Rafael Soriano redeemed himself for his two blown saves by throwing a perfect inning to lock down his 13th save of the year.

The Nationals ended their grueling West Coast road trip at a disappointing 4-6, but will finally get home to take on the Phillies starting on Friday. Unfortunately, the team’s offensive issues persist. They had just a few more hits than yesterday, and didn’t score more runs, but hey, Danny Espinosa got a hit. Can’t we all just forget about our troubles for a day?

Next Game: Friday v. Philadelpha, 7:05 PM. Zimmermann (7-2, 1.62) v. Kendrick (4-2, 2.82)

May 21, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (34) catches a fly ball against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at AT

Washington

Denard Span CF

Bryce Harper RF

Ryan Zimmerman 3B

Adam LaRoche 1B

Ian Desmond SS

Tyler Moore LF

Danny Espinosa 2B

Kurt Suzuki C

Gonzalez LHP

San Francisco

Angel Pagan CF

Marco Scutaro 2B

Buster Posey C

Hunter Pence RF

Brett Pill 1B

Joaquin Arias 3B

Andres Torres LF

Brandon Crawford SS

Bumgarner RHP