The streak is over

By Dan Kolko

Nationals

April 13, 2012, 4:21pm

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The Nationals entered tonight's game with their starting pitchers having thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings. That streak reached 23 before coming to an end tonight in the fifth inning. The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the fifth after Jordan Zimmermann allowed a double to Willie Harris (remember him?) leading off the inning, and then Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo drove Harris home with a sac fly. Gio Gonzalez (seven innings), Stephen Strasburg (six innings) and Ross Detwiler (five innings) had all turned in scoreless outings in succession, and Edwin Jackson started the streak by going the last frame of his start against the Mets without allowing a run. Zimmermann has given up just the one run in his five innings of work tonight, allowing three hits with a walk and two strikeouts. He's at 70 pitches, 50 strikes so far. The Nats have managed just two hits off Arroyo through five innings, and have stranded two more in scoring position. The offense has been really, really hard to come by at times through the first eight games of the season.