In what may have been his last start for the Washington Nationals, lefty Go Gonzalez was slammed by the Philadelphia Phillies in an 8-6 loss on Wednesday.
With his name swirling in trade talks lately, Gio Gonzalez didn’t do himself any favors on Wednesday. He allowed a grand slam in the fifth inning that was the killer blow in the 8-6 loss for the Washington Nationals.
Gonzalez issued his first pass of the night to old friend Wilson Ramos which loaded the bases for Carlos Santana. The rest, as they say, is history.
Truth be told, the pitch he delivered to Santana wasn’t a terrible one, as it was down and away. But the ball was flying at Citizens Bank Park and there’s no margin for error with the bases juiced.
Being unable to strand runners like he used to is a worrying theme of Gonzalez’s season so far. Every now and again he bounces back but seems to follow it up with another clunker.
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In his last seven starts, he has three starts where he’s allowed just one earned run over seven innings. However, in the start immediately after each of those efforts, he proceeded to give up at least five earned runs.
With the last chance to teams around the majors to add players so they’re postseason eligible coming up on Friday, it’s time to wait and see if Gonzalez is still a Nats come Saturday morning. Odds are he leaves given the interest in him, and the minuscule price tag he probably has.
After a largely successful tenure with the Nationals, it will be sad to see the left-hander leave for pastures new. With the team out of contention, it makes sense to get what they can for him though, even if it is just some small salary relief to get under the luxury tax threshold.
Soto still living the teenage dream
Juan Soto and his need for a day-off will continue to be an interesting talking point for this team. Even if he is fatigued, he’s proving he can still rake and make history at the same time.
He hit his 16th home run of the year to move him to joint-fourth on the list of home runs hit as a teenager. Oh yeh, and the player he’s tied with is Ken Griffey Jr., which isn’t bad company to be keeping.
Manager Davey Martinez is still holding firm on his stance that he won’t give Soto a day-off until rosters expand. Right or wrong, expect to see him in the lineup everyday, and hopefully, he can continue to climb that rookie home run list.
Stevenson comes up in the clutch
After being recalled following the departure of Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams, Andrew Stevenson continues to impress off the bench. In Wednesday’s game, he knocked an RBI single to right field before swiping his first base of the season.
Stevenson is just 2 for 7 since his recall, but he’s racked up three RBIs in that span and has hardly been an easy out to get for other teams.
A fourth outfielder is probably how Stevenson profiles in the long-term, and even more so if he keeps impressing in pinch hitting opportunities. It’s great to see his progress at the plate lately, and he’s shown he’s ready for the show.
The Washington Nationals now head home for a long homestand at Nats Park. The Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals are on tap and they could all have an ex-Nat or two on their roster by that time.