Another tight one, another Nationals win

By Dan Kolko

Nationals

April 17, 2012, 5:20pm

Comments

It's a good thing the Nationals' starters keep turning in gems, because they're not getting a ton of offensive support. Tonight, Gio Gonzalez got just enough help, and the Nationals rode their left-handed starter and bullpen to a tight 1-0 win over the Astros. Gonzalez has his second straight fantastic outing, going seven innings of scoreless ball, allowing just two hits and two walks. He struck out eight Astros hitters and, at one point, retired 13 straight hitters without allowing a ball out of the infield. The Nats' lone run came in the fourth, when Jayson Werth hit a bloop double to left-center, and Adam LaRoche brought him in with a bloop single to left. Both of those hits came with two outs. Brad Lidge made things interesting in the ninth, putting runners at first and second with none out, but he retired the next three Astros in order to close it out. The Nationals and Astros combined for just nine hits tonight overall, but Washington comes out on top - yet again - thanks to its superior pitching.