Weary new father Gonzalez tries to get back to work (Nats win 5-3)

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

March 21, 2016, 11:58am

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NATIONALS QUICK WRAP

Score: Nationals 5, Astros 3

Recap: Gio Gonzalez returned to the mound four days after the birth of his son and admittedly struggled at times to find the strike zone. The left-hander needed 87 pitches to get through 4 1/3 innings, though he only allowed one run. Batterymate Wilson Ramos supplied offensive support, homering to left-center to continue his recent surge since having LASIK surgery. Ryan Zimmerman later added a two-out, two-run double to expand the Nationals' lead to 3-1. Reliever Rafael Martin gave up a two-run homer to Colin Moran that briefly left the game tied in the top of the seventh, but Jhonatan Solano's RBI double gave the Nats the lead back in the bottom of the inning. Cutter Dykstra, called up from minor league camp for the day, added some cushion with a solo homer in the eighth and helped send the Nationals to their 13th victory in 19 Grapefruit League games.

Need to know: The Nationals have high hopes for Trevor Gott, but they know the young reliever needs to develop better command of his secondary pitches to have success at this level. Gott took an important step in that direction today, retiring the side in a scoreless top of the sixth. The right-hander has an electric fastball. If he can add a consistent breaking ball and changeup to his arsenal, he could become quite a weapon in their bullpen.

On deck: Wednesday, vs. Yankees in Viera, 5:05 p.m. (game on MASN)
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VIERA, Fla. - Given what he has experienced in the last week, Gio Gonzalez could be forgiven for perhaps not devoting 100 percent attention to his Grapefruit League start this afternoon.

Only four days ago, Gonzalez ducked into Dusty Baker's office, told his manager: "I gotta go, skip!" and then raced back to Washington to be with his fiancee, Lea Moures, before she gave birth to the couple's first child. The Nationals left-hander made it just in time and was there when Enzo Louis Gonzalez entered the world shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, checking in at a healthy 8 pounds, 1 ounce.

Gonzalez returned to Viera on Saturday evening and physically was ready to take the mound today to face the Astros. Whether he mentally was ready for this is an open-ended question, though the manner in which he labored (excuse the pun) through 4 1/3 innings suggested he understandably wasn't as locked in to this as he normally would.

"Taking four days off, it does kind of wear you down," he said. "But I felt good. I kind of surprised myself by actually being more in the strike zone this outing."

Gonzalez did throw strikes - 50 of his 87 total pitches - but he also threw far more pitches than he would have preferred for not completing five innings as planned. He allowed five hits, walked four and uncorked a wild pitch. Yet thanks to some clutch pitches at the right moments and some nice defense behind him, he emerged having surrendered only one run.

"It definitely was a task," he said. "To (catcher Wilson) Ramos and the defense's credit, they helped me out."

Gonzalez said he played catch with teammate Jonathan Papelbon on Sunday, but was careful not to throw too much and leave his arm sore when he took the mound today.

And what message did Baker and pitching coach Mike Maddux have for Gonzalez when he returned to camp?

"Get back to work and go pound the strike zone," they told him, according to Gonzalez. "We get it. We understand. But we're not going to remind you that's what's happening."

"I love that," Gonzalez said. "I don't want to feel where I've got something soft to fall back on: 'Oh, I didn't feel good because I was gone for four days.' I didn't want that as an excuse. I love that he said: 'Go out there and pitch like you didn't leave.' That's the mentality I wanted."

Gonzalez said Lea and Enzo are both healthy, which is the most important thing on his mind right now. Though he's been back in Viera for two days, his mind admittedly remains split between his professional and personal life.

"It's a little tiring, because you want to be there and help out as much as possible," he said. "But you've got to get back to work. As far as the whole process, it was exciting to be a father and all of a sudden come back to work and play baseball."