Nats bats go silent after explosive start to the week

CHICAGO - No, they weren't going to score 10 runs every night the rest of the season. But after reaching double digits in three straight games, the notion of the Nationals being held to one run and five total baserunners (two of them coming with two outs in the ninth inning) sounded pretty implausible entering tonight's series finale against the White Sox.

By the time they trudged off the field following a 3-1 loss that was completed in a scant 2 hours, 21 minutes, that's exactly what the Nationals had achieved at the plate. There was no offensive explosion this time, only a whole lot of quick outs against right-hander Miguel Gonzalez and three Chicago relievers.

"He threw the ball really well," second baseman Daniel Murphy said of Gonzalez, and that's about all that could be said about the former Orioles pitcher, who the White Sox intended to drop from their rotation but then brought him right back after lefty Carlos Rodon had to be scratched with neck and shoulder stiffness.

Gonzalez retired the first 12 batters he faced in this one, with perhaps only one ball hit hard off him. Murphy finally broke through with a leadoff homer in the top of the fifth, but Gonzalez immediately retired the side after that.

The Nationals did give themselves a golden opportunity in the sixth, when back-to-back hits by Jose Lobaton and Michael A. Taylor put runners on second and third with nobody out and the top of the lineup due to hit. But then came perhaps the critical moment of the game.

Chris Heisey sent a sharp one-hopper to short. Tyler Saladino went down to a knee to snag the ball. Lobaton, leading off third base, hesitated for a moment, then took off for the plate, only to be cut down by Saladino's throw and catcher Dioner Navarro's tag.

"The first thing that I saw, I saw the ball in the air," Lobaton said. "So my first instinct was to stop. And then ... I'm not really fast. When I saw the guy see me, that I got a slow jump, I knew that he was going to go home. It was bad. It was so bad because I ran a lot and then I didn't make it."

Manager Dusty Baker was less critical of his backup catcher.

"The guy just made a heck of a play," Baker said of Saladino. "If you hit that same ball, nine times out of 10 you score."

Little did the Nationals realize that would be their best scoring opportunity of the game. White Sox manager Robin Ventura pulled Gonzalez after that sixth inning, entrusting the rest of the game to his bullpen, which proceeded to retire the next eight batters, leaving the Nats down to their final out in the ninth.

They did have one last potential rally in them, though. Jayson Werth beat out a grounder to short to extend the game, then advanced to third base on Bryce Harper's single up the middle off Chicago closer David Robertson.

That brought Murphy, baseball's leading hitter, to the plate with a chance to tie the game with a double to the gap. Which he very nearly did. Only Melky Cabrera's running catch in left-center preserved the win for the White Sox and sent the Nationals home disappointed.

Did Murphy think his drive was going to fall in for a hit?

"I hoped it did," he said. "And then when I saw Melky go after it, I wanted him to fall. He made a really nice play on that. What a great at-bat by J-Dub, and then by Bryce to even get it to me. I kind of caught that ball not as good as I wanted to. But I think having Bryce up as the tying run, we'll take that situation every day this year."