Gonzalez smacked around in Jupiter (Nats lose 9-0)

JUPITER, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez retired two of the nine batters he faced in the fourth inning today against the Cardinals. He gave up a two-run homer, two doubles, two singles and two walks, all in that frame. Not exactly his finest outing. The Nationals lefty was pulled after 3 2/3 innings of work, having allowed eight earned runs overall, 10 hits and four walks. He struck out three and threw 83 pitches, 50 for strikes. Hey, at least he built that pitch count up. Ryan Mattheus came on to relieve Gonzalez in the fourth and got Rafael Furcal to ground out, mercifully ending the fourth. Gonzalez faced 24 batters in less than four innings and left behind a scorecard filled with plenty of crooked numbers. He had looked great through his first three outings, but today was a different story. He didn't get a ton of help from his defense, as left fielder Roger Bernadina misplayed a line drive off the bat of Carlos Beltran, turning it into a double, and a run scored when the Nats' middle infielders misplayed a delayed double steal. The Nats trail 8-0 here in the fifth with Rick Ankiel, Bernadina and Steve Lombardozzi collecting the only Washington hits to this point. Update: The Nats lost to the Cards 9-0. Not pretty. Back from the clubhouse in a bit.