Desmond on hand: "It's good"

BALTIMORE -- Nationals manager Matt Williams confirmed that shortstop Ian Desmond's hand is not broken, at least from the X-rays taken at Camden Yards after the game. The X-Ray's were negative.

Desmond on how his hand felt after the game: "It's good."

How much pain was he in?

"It doesn't feel good, but it's not broken," he said. "I think I'm good hands. You just hope for the best and pray."

How did Desmond describe the pain?

"Kind of like you got hit in the funny bone where it's not really that funny," he said. "Kind of what it felt like."

Does he think he would miss any time?

"I don't think so," Desmond said.

Desmond was asked about a critical play in the third when the Orioles scored three runs. On a Nelson Cruz base hit that scored a run, Desmond tried to throw to third base to get Adam Jones, but the ball sailed over third baseman Anthony Rendon's outstretched glove and another run scored. Desmond was charged with an error. It was the Nationals first error in 14 games.

"If you go back and look, I had a play at third," Desmond said. "It's just one of those instinct plays. I think if you watch the games, you see me make that play before. That one just got away from me. You take chances and sometimes you got to pay for those consequences."

Later, he got a chance to face submarine-style pitcher Darren O'Day, who had pitched in Monday's Orioles win, as well. This time, Desmond thought he had a better look during the at-bat. He ended up getting hit by a pitch.

"I thought I saw him really well, actually," Desmond said. "I was happy that the situation came up again. But we got a lot of chances."

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez was tagged with the loss. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits, with three walks and seven strikeouts.

"I felt fine. After the first two innings, I felt like I found my groove and was going out there and trying to attack the strike zone," Gonzalez said. "It's a tough lineup to go against these guys, especially all the way down to the last guy. It's definitely a battle, trying to mix it up, and try go out there and work a tough game.

"Instead of trying to nitpick the corners, just go out there and try to attack them. Again, it's a tough lineup just to say and go out there in the strike zone but each one of those guys can make you pay for it. I was just trying to do my best to at least keep the team in the game as long as possible. But there's no excuses if I want better results. I can't be walking guys with two outs and I can't be falling behind on a good-hitting ball team like that."

Overall, Desmond thought the Nats played the Orioles well, even though they lost two of the three games the teams played this week.

"It was a great battle," Desmond said. "We're playing well. I like where we're at."

Gonzalez felt like the Nationals did accomplish something during the Beltway series, even though they lost two of the three games. The makeup game for Tuesday's rainout is scheduled for Aug. 4 at Nats Park.

"It was a good series, very well put together," Gonzalez said. "It showed that there's a lot of hope in the Beltway series. They looked good, we looked good. It was a fun game all around. Everyone had some fun. We all got some smiles out of it. But at the end of the day, we got to go out there and do our job. Again, if I want to go out there, I have to do my job, keep the ball down and get the outs when I need it."

Right fielder Jayson Werth was hit on the foot during his ninth inning at-bat. He was not available for comment after the game.