Suzuki, Nats strike early (Nats lose 8-5)

The Nationals are seeking their first series sweep on the road since September of 2012. Kurt Suzuki has done his part in making sure this happens. Suzuki drove in two with a single to right in the second inning to give the Nats a 2-0 lead. The inning started after Jayson Werth and Ian Desmond were hit by pitches, and Steve Lombardozzi picked up a single to load the bases. Taylor Jordan then reached on a fielding error from Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy to score Lombardozzi, pushing the Nats' lead to 3-0. Update: After being shut out last night, the Brewers scored a run. Left fielder Caleb Grindl hit a one-out triple off Jordan in the bottom of the second. First baseman Juan Francisco then drove in Grindl with an RBI groundout. Update II: Jordan is cruising through five innings. He has thrown 71 pitches, 47 of which have been strikes. Things might have gotten easier for the Nats as Brewers manager Ron Roenicke chose to pinch-hit for starter Kyle Lohse in the bottom of the fifth. John Axford is on to start the sixth. Update III: Adam LaRoche did it again. LaRoche hit a leadoff homer to start the sixth inning, increasing the Nats' lead to 4-1. There's no word yet if he used Werth's bat. Update IV: Jordan's afternoon is finished after pitching 5 1/3 innings. He loaded the bases with no outs, which led to a sac fly from Carlos Gomez, scoring Logan Schafer and cutting the Nats' lead to 4-2. Fernando Abad is on to finish the inning, while Anthony Rendon takes Lombardozzi's place at second as manager Davey Johnson made a double switch. Update V: Well, that escalated quickly. Abad allowed an RBI single to Khris Davis and a game-tying RBI double to Juan Francisco. Jeff Bianchi singled up the middle, scoring two to give the Brewers their first lead of the game. Jordan was responsible for the first four runs. Meanwhile, Abad will be charged with the loss if the score holds up. Update VI: Well, this is getting interesting. Rendon hit a solo home run to start the seventh inning to cut the Brewers' lead to 6-5. Update VII: The Brewers regained their two-run lead when Jonathan Lurcroy hit an RBI groundout to score Schafer. Update IX: After a promising start to the game, this one got ugly quickly. After winning the first two games of the series, the Nats could not escape a nightmarish sixth inning. The Brewers tacked on their final run in the bottom of the eighth, thanks in part to a Desmond error. The final score was 8-5. The Nats must shake off this loss quickly as they head home to take on the Braves on Monday night.