Gonzalez sick of watching the Nats lose to Pirates, notches win

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez turned in a gutsy performance Saturday night in the Nationals' 9-3 win over the Pirates. Despite feeling under the weather, Gonzalez finished five innings and allowed only one earned run to get the win (8-4).

"I thought Gio pitched well and gave us what he could," said manager Matt Williams to reporters. "He wasn't feeling great today, either. He was a little sick, so he may (have) run out of gas a little bit."

Gonzalez showed true grit for a Nationals team that needed to stop the losing after dropping the first two games against the Bucs. Pittsburgh had scored 14 runs and connected on 25 hits in winning Thursday and Friday.

But Gonzalez kept them off the board until the sixth, when three singles and a fielding error by Clint Robinson got the Pirates in business. Aaron Barrett replaced Gonzalez, who did his job getting 15 outs and helping the Nationals get on the board in the four-game series.

Gonzalez provided a sharp hit ball in the fourth that scored a run and lifted the Nationals to an early 2-0 lead.

Afterwards, Gonzalez offered no excuses for not feeling 100 percent.

"You still gotta go out there and do your job," Gonzalez told reporters. "The training staff helped me out a little bit and got me some fluids to stay afloat, but realistically the big help was our offense and defense. These guys came alive and they played great. All the way from one through eight, everyone did their job. It's fun to see these guys compete against a team that put us to the ropes two days in a row. It was a nice win for us."

Gonzalez showed some of the toughness that general manager noticed from the left-hander while he was with the Oakland A's. Still being able to deliver on the mound when you don't feel at your best is another signal that Gonzalez will be a crucial link to the Nationals in pursuit of another NL East crown.

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Left-hander Matt Purke makes his first start at Double-A Harrisburg this season today against Bowie. He was called up from high Single-A Potomac Saturday. Last season, Purke went 1-6 with a 8.04 ERA in eight starts for the Senators. He made eight starts with low Single-A Hagerstown this season and then threw five innings of one-hit shutout ball for Potomac to earn his move back to Harrisburg. He is only 25-years-old and would be one of the top comeback stories in Nationals history if he can pitch well at Double-A as well the rest of this season. Purke has battled shoulder, elbow and Tommy John surgery to return to the mound since signing with the Nationals in 2011.