Washington Nationals Reactions: Ryan Zimmerman Continues To Be Mr. Clutch In DC

May 19, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez (47) throws a pitch in the second inning against the New York Yankees at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

 Gio Gonzalez Continues His Inconsistency

For the first three innings, the Nats lefty was doing his best Doug Fister impression. He got the first nine Yankees hitters out and eight of them were via ground ball outs. The only non ground ball in that stretch was a line out by Chase Headley in the second inning that went right back to him. Then, in the fourth inning, Gio became unglued.

It started when he walked Jacoby Ellsbury on five pitches and could not find the plate. Two batters later, Chris Young got the Yankees on the board with a RBI single to center. Then, after Mark Teixiera walked on four pitches, you could sense that Gonzalez was starting to unravel.

He had three chances with two outs to get out of the inning, but then gave up a double to Chase Headley, an infield single to Jose Pirela, and a two-run single to Stephen Drew that gave New York a 4-2 lead. Once again, Gonzalez was not able to get out of a key situation.

In his last ten innings, he has given up 11 runs on 15 hits and has had as many walks as he has strikeouts (four). With Fister out, the Nationals need guys like Stephen Strasburg and Gonzalez to elevate their games and try to match Scherzer and Zimmermann. In addition, it does not help that he is averaging about 87 pitches per game.

Even though he got the no decision, that start was disappointing from a veteran like Gonzalez, especially when you consider how strong he looked in the first three innings of the game.

Next: Nats Begin Comeback In 5th