Gonzalez allows four in first in return to Oakland (Nats lose 9-1)

Gio Gonzalez didn't have a dream start to his first game in Oakland since being traded to the Nationals. The left-hander was torched in the first, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk - all after retiring the first two batters of the game. Josh Donaldson drew a base on balls to start the rally. Yoenis Cespedes then reached on an infield single. Catcher Derek Norris, who was a part of the package Washington sent to the A's for Gonzalez, provided the big blow - a three-run homer to left field, his third blast of the season. Alberto Callaspo, Brandon Moss and Nick Punto followed with consecutive singles, with Punto's driving in the final run of the inning, which ended with the Athletics ahead 4-0. Gonzalez finally ended the frame by striking out Josh Reddick looking. In all, Gonzalez threw 33 pitches, 17 for strikes, in the first as the A's sent all nine men to the plate. Gonzalez's season ERA jumped significantly, from 2.91 to 3.65 in that one inning alone. Update: Norris, who, again, was one of four players traded by Washington in the Gonzalez trade, victimized the Nats left-hander for the second time in as many innings. Again, it was a three-run homer, and again, it came on a 3-0 count. Norris' two-out longball increased the A's lead to 7-0 and gave the catcher his first career multi-homer game. Update II: After an awful first two innings, Gonzalez at least got the Nats into the fifth, finishing with seven earned runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 frames. He struck out three, walked four and was removed after 88 pitches. Craig Stammen entered in relief and retired the last two batters of the inning, stranding two men on. Update III: The A's sure seem to enjoy feasting on their former teammates. Ex-A's and current Nats left-hander Jerry Blevins relieved Stammen to start the seventh, and proceeded to allow two more runs. Callaspo led off the inning with a walk and Moss doubled to put two in scoring position. Punto drove in both runners with a two-run double that increased the Oakland advantage to 9-0. Punto now has three RBIs while Norris has the other six this afternoon. Blevins allowed two runs in the inning to see his ERA inflate from 2.93 to 3.86. A's left-hander Scott Kazmir has been cruising, however, holding the Nats to four hits over seven scoreless innings. He has struck out four, walked none and thrown just 88 pitches. The A's appear in line for the sweep with such a hefty lead in the eighth, and the Nats' fuses appear thin. Gonzalez was caught on camera yelling back and forth with an unknown teammate who was off-camera before he was removed from the game. Update IV: Zach Walters had an RBI single in the ninth off reliever Jim Johnson, but that was far from enough to get the Nats back in the game. They took a 9-1 loss as the A's completed the weekend sweep. As for a positive from the defeat - the Nats didn't commit an error for the first time in the series. But Washington heads to Arizona having lost three in a row and six of eight to slip to 19-18.