2012 Memories: Gio Gonzalez Falls On His Face

The Fall & Rise Of A 20 Game Winner

Gio Gonzalez had one of the best 2012 seasons of any pitcher in the Major League.  While most people expected Stephen Strasburg to be the ace that carried the Nats to the playoffs, much of the credit went to the pitching of the newly acquired Gio Gonzalez.

Gio had a very fun season, filled with a lot of smiles and a lot of crazy antics off the field.  The former Athletic finished with 21 wins and was third in the voting for the National League Cy Young award.

In classic Gio Gonzalez fashion, during a September 22nd game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the day he became the first Major League pitcher to record 20 wins on the season, he tripped while he was pitching and embarrassingly fell flat on his face as the pitch flew about 20 feet wide of home plate. (Gif down below)

As the Nats top pitcher went crashing to the ground, there was a moment of panic that could be felt throughout the DC metro area.  The TV & Radio announcers thought the worst as the fans held their breaths waiting for Gio to get up and show them he was fine.

Instead, Gio just stayed on the ground, flat on his face for a few seconds, adding dramatic effect to what turned out to be just an embarrassing and injury free moment.

Gio finally picked himself up a bit, stretched out, and then buried his head into his glove to hide from the world as his teammates and coaches came out to the mound to make sure he was fine and to poke fun at him.

Do The Davey, Nats win

Nationals 11, Brewers 10 (11 innings)

It took 2 huge comeback innings and a go-ahead 11th, but the Washington Nationals defeated the Brewers on Sunday in Milwaukee 11-10 in 11 innings.  Michael Morse was the hero of the day, hitting a 9th inning game saving homer and putting the Nats up for good with a 2 run RBI double in the final frame.

Michael Morse made Davey Johnson so happy he almost had a heart attack.  But the move has spawned a new dance craze.  Do the Davey!




Gio Gonzalez struggled with his control and with the umpire's strike zone all day long.  Gio gave up 5 runs (4 earned), 5 walks and hit a guy in 6 innings of work including a bases loaded walk. 

Ryan Mattheus came in to relieve Gio and gave up 4 hits, 3 of them homers.  Mattheus has now allowed 5 homers in his last 4 appearances.  Tyler Clippard picked up his 20th save, despite giving up a homer in the outing.

The first comeback came in the 8th inning Roger Bernadina came up in the 8th and hit a 2 run shot off of Not-So-K-Rod to cut the lead to 2 runs.  The fans in Milwaukee booed the reliever ferociously as he was yanked by the manager.  A few batters and a run later, Corey Brown tied the game on a wild pitch.

In the 11th after a Harper walk and a Zimmerman single, Michael Morse came to the plate and smashed a double that gave the Nats the 2 runs they would need to win the game.  You really cannot turn off the TV when the Nats get down.  A team of rallies.

Nats Look To Power In Win Over Brewers

Nats 4, Brewers 1

The Washington Nationals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night 4-1 behind a great outing by Jordan Zimmermann and some offensive power.  Tyler Moore, Ryan Zimmerman, and Corey Brown all homered in the contest.  For the recently called up Corey Brown, it was his first Major League hit.

Zimmermann went 6 innings, giving up 5 hits and a run while striking out 6.  Jay-Z may be the most reliable pitcher on the staff.  Clippard came in to pick up his 19th save.

Bryce Harper did not play, which I believe is the first time he didn't see any action in a game since he was called up in late April.

Also, dear DVR...WTF.  Why is the entire game just a gray screen?  Cuz the Nats had on the Grays jerseys?

Ricky Weeks got hit...again.  This time by Drew Storen.

One more for the series win on Sunday afternoon...

Nationals @ Brewers: Game Preview (7/28)

Nationals vs Brewers

7:10 PM Miller Park

MASN-2

Story Lines:

• Jordan Zimmermann will look to continue his dominance and get the Nats back on the winning track.
• The Brewers will be playing knowing that the ace of their staff, Greinke, has been traded to the Angels and will not start tomorrow.

Pitching Match Up:

• Jordan Zimmermann
• 7-6 with a 2.31 ERA.
• All 20 of his starts this season have been quality starts, best in MLB.
• Has given up 1 run over his last 18 innings.

• Randy Wolf
• 3-6 with a 5.46 ERA.
• In the month of July, he has given up 10 runs over 21.2 innings.
• Gave up 2 homeruns last time out.

Who to Watch:

• Michael Morse
• Traditionally has good numbers against Brewers.
• Went 2-4 with 2 RBIs in the first game of the series.
• Has 4 homeruns in the month of July.

• Ryan Braun
• Hitting .314 on the season with 28 homeruns.
• Went 1-4 last night with a run scored and a RBI.
• Has 6 homeruns in the month of July.

Keys to the Game:

1. Do What You Do J-zimm.
2. Keep the Ball in the Yard.  Brewers have a lot of guys who can knock it out, and J-zimm has given up homers this year.
3. Get Runners In.  Nats had 12 guys left on base yesterday.

Bad Night For Nats

Nationals 0, Brewers 6

Tonight wasn't pretty as the Nationals saw their winning streak end at 6.  They lost to the Brewers tonight, giving up 6 runs without scoring a single run.  Detwiler didn't pitch that bad, but he did give up 4 runs over 4.2 innings.  Craig Stammen came in from the pen and proceeded to give up 2 more runs to get the Brewers to 6.  Cory Hart and Aramis Ramirez both homered for the Brewers.

Their isn't much to talk about on the offensive side of the coin.  Lombardozzi, LaRoche, Morse, and DeRosa all recorded 1 hit on the night, and that was all she wrote.

"Michael Morse gets what you call a thing" -Bob Carpenter

H-rod pitched well in the 8th and Storen had a solid 7th inning, although both had zero pressure on them.

Can't win them all.  The Nats are at it again tomorrow for the third game of four against the Brewers. 

Nationals @ Brewers: Game Preview (7/27)

Nationals vs Brewers

8:10 Miller Park

MASN-2

Story Lines:

• Nationals will try to be the first team to reach 60 wins this season with a win tonight.
• Nationals will also try to extend their winning streak to 7.
• The Brewers are looking to snap their losing streak at 7.

Pitching Match Up:

• Ross Detwiler
• 5-3 with a 3.01 ERA.
• Hasn't been tagged with a loss since May 19th.
• Has a 1.89 ERA in July over 19 innings pitched.

• Mike Fiers
• 3-4 with a 1.96 ERA.
• Has only gone less than 6 innings in games he started once this season.
• Is 0-2 in July with a 1.33 ERA over 20.1 innings pitched.

Who to Watch:

• Adam LaRoche
• Has a homer streak of 3 games.
• Also has recorded 2 RBIs in each of his last 3 games.
• Batting .293 with 4 homeruns and 12 RBIs in the month of July.

• Aramis Ramirez
• Batting .167 with a homerun against Detwiler.
• Went 2-3 in last nights game.
• Batting .341 with with 14 RBIs in July.

Keys to the Game:

1. Get runners in.  Fiers 1.33 ERA in July shows he isn't giving away many runs.
2. Error Free Defense.  Detwiler has pitched well, but he will give up some baserunners.  Fielders need to back him up.
3. Table Setters Get On.  Odds are if they do, LaRoche will drive them in with a homer.

Brew Through

Nationals 8, Brewers 2

The Washington Nationals won their 6th straight game on Thursday night, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 behind their 6th straight 5+ run game.  Adam LaRoche homered in his 3rd straight game and Edwin Jackson pitched 7 shutout innings.

In the 2nd inning, LaRoche hit his homer and Steve Lombardozzi hit a bases loaded triple to give the Nats the 4-0 lead.  That lead was more than enough for Edwin Jackson who gave up 8 hits and struck out 4 while blanking the Brew Crew.

The Nats lost the shutout bid in the 8th inning because of...guess who...Henry Rodriguez.  Rodriguez almost took of Rickie Weeks head, hitting him in the back, and then gave up a 2-run homer to the next batter.  He has now given up 4 runs in his last 3 games while getting just 3 outs.

3 more vs the Brewers...

Nationals @ Brewers: Game Preview (7/26)

Nationals vs Brewers

8:10 PM Miller Park

MASN-1

Story Lines:

• Edwin Jackson will try to rebound after a tough loss last start in which he pitched well.
• The Nationals are trying to move 20 games over .500 with a win tonight.
• The Brewers come into the game having dropped 6 straight.

Pitching Match Up:

• Edwin Jackson
• 5-6 with a 3.73 ERA.
• Pitched 7 innings and only gave up 1 run his last time out.
• In the month of July, he has given up 9 runs over 17.2 innings pitched.

• Yovani Gallardo
• 8-7 with a 3.72 ERA.
• Gave up 4 runs in 5.2 innings his last time out.
• In the month of July, he has given up 6 runs in 25.1 innings pitched.

Who to Watch:

• Adam LaRoche
• Batting .316 with a homerun against Gallardo lifetime.
• Had a homerun and 2 RBIs in last nights win over the Mets.
• Has a 4 game hitting streak, and has homered in each of his last two games.

• Corey Hart
• Batting .462 with 3 homeruns against Jackson lifetime.
• Went 2-5 in his last game with a run scored.
• Homerless since July 16th.

Keys to the Game:

1. Keep the Ball in the Yard.  Jackson has given up multiple homeruns to multiple guys on the Brewers.
2. Run Support.  Another 7 inning, 1 run game from Jackson should be good enough for a win anytime out.
3. Keep the Streak Alive.  Both the Nat's winning streak, and the Brewers losing streak.

Series Preview: Nationals @ Brewers

After winning their 5th game in a row by completing a sweep over the Mets, the Nats stay on the road to face the Brewers in a 4 game series.  The Brewers are under .500 and have lost 6 in a row.  This is how the series breaks down:

• Thursday: 8:10 PM, Jackson (5-6) vs Gallardo (8-7).
• Friday: 8:10 PM, Detwiler (5-3) vs Fiers (3-4).
• Saturday: 7:10 PM, Zimmermann (7-6) vs Wolf (3-6).
• Sunday: 2:10 PM, Gonzalez (13-5) vs Greinke (9-3).

Game of the Series:  Sunday.  Gio had to square off against the Mets best pitcher Dickey, and now he is doing it again against Greinke.  Going to be a good one.

Sound of the Series:  Beer.  It's the Brewers so this is the first song that came to mind.  Enjoy the series, I think it's going to be a good one.

  

Prediction Time:

Baseball reputation on the line.  Tell me I'm dumb in the comments or via twitter @dru90.

• Nationals WIN Thursday
• Nationals WIN Friday.
• Nationals WIN Saturday.
• Nationals WIN Sunday.

Nationals SWEEP the series 4-0.