Storen gives up the lead (Ramos leads Nats to 8-5 win)

Over the last couple of months, Drew Storen has either been really good or really bad. During a 17-appearance stretch, Storen didn't allow an earned run in 16 of those games. Now, in his last two appearances, Storen has surrendered a total of seven runs. Today, it was the Brewers putting up three runs on Storen in the seventh inning, turning a 5-2 Nationals lead into a 5-5 tie. Storen allowed a solo homer to Yuniesky Betancourt with one out in the seventh, and after striking out Norichika Aoki, he allowed a single off the bat of Jean Segura. Storen then got ahead of Carlos Gomez 0-2, but left a slider over the fat part of the plate, and Gomez crushed it. The ball flew way out to left, tying the game and bringing on groans from many of the 38,221 in attendance at Nats Park here today. Just before the Gomez at-bat, pitching coach Steve McCatty came out to talk to Storen. He had a few words with his reliever, who didn't once look McCatty in the eyes during the conversation. Storen was able to get ahead of Gomez, but he wasn't able to put him away. The right-hander's ERA is now up to 5.40 on the season. He's allowed a run in 10 games, and in four of those games, opponents have plated at least three runs. Boos rained down as Storen and the Nats came off the field after the top of the seventh. When Storen is good, he's locked in. When he's off, crooked numbers tend to end up on the scoreboard. We've got a brand new ballgame. Update: Have a day, Wilson Ramos. Ramos crushed a three-run homer over the bullpen in left with two outs in the seventh, giving the Nats an 8-5 lead and putting Storen in line for the win. Weird, wild stuff. Ramos is now 3-for-4 with five RBIs today, his first game back after missing the Nats' last 44 contests with a strained left hamstring. What a special day it must be for Ramos, who always seems to have a smile on his face, even through all the tough times he's been through in the last two years. Update II: That'll do it. Ramos' five RBIs led the Nats to an 8-5 win over the Brewers, getting the Nats back above .500 at 43-42 and giving them a split of this four-game series. Storen gets his third win, Rafael Soriano his 22nd save and Ramos notches his first career five-RBI performance. Quite a way to return from more than six weeks on the disabled list.