Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: Clint Robinson Saves The Day For Nats Offense

Jul 3, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez (47) throws a pitch to the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at Nationals Park. The Washington Nationals won 2 – 1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Gonzalez Keeps Composure Over Seven Strong Innings

It was unknown as to how Gio Gonzalez would fare last night after not finishing a start since June 21 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Early on, the San Francisco Giants had their chances. They had a leadoff single in each of the first three innings. However, Gonzalez was able to get himself out of trouble by inducing ground ball outs at the right time.

After a double play call was overturned in the first inning, Gonzalez would get Brandon Crawford to ground into a 6-4-3 double play after a leadoff single by catcher Andrew Susac. One of the things Gonzalez did well in this ball game was his ability to throw first pitch strikes. Out of the 25 batters he faced, 16 of them saw a first pitch strikes. You can partially say that San Francisco had that 11:00 AM start time in the back of their minds, but Gonzalez was able to pitch to contact and allow his defense to make plays.

The only mistake that the left-hander made in this game occurred in the top of the seventh inning. On the first pitch of the inning, Buster Posey, who has been red hot at the plate, took a two-seam fastball over the wall in dead center field for a solo shot.

Despite that mistake, Gonzalez was able to get the win. He went seven innings, gave up one run on five hits, and struck out six. The most important stat was that he did not walk a batter in this game on 82 pitches. It was the first time all season that Gonzalez did not walk a batter in a ball game.

Next: Robinson Comes Through In 7th Inning