With another gem, Gonzalez's season of dominance continues

He's done this twice in 16 days now, flirted with something special late in a game he's started, so it wasn't unfair to ask Gio Gonzalez when tonight he thought about the fact he had a no-hitter going against the Angels.

"Oh god, I'm over that already," the Nationals left-hander insisted. "No more of that. If I can just manage to keep going into the fifth, sixth, seventh inning, I'm just happy to see that."

Gonzalez has managed to keep going into the sixth and seventh innings this season, but he's doing much more than that. He has consistently dominated for those six or seven innings every five nights, and because of it he's enjoying what has turned into the best season of his career.

Add tonight's performance - six scoreless innings of two-hit ball in a 3-1 victory over the Angels - to the list. But you might need to flip over to the opposite side of the page to fit every one of them in.

Of all the impressive - and, let's be honest, surprising - things Gonzalez has done in 2017, nothing stands out more than a remarkable level of consistency from a pitcher who has been anything but consistent in his career.

Gonzalez has made 24 starts this season. Nineteen of them have been quality starts. (Only Chris Sale has more, with 20.)

Gonzalez has surrendered more than four runs only once in 24 starts all season. His 2.49 ERA ranks third in the majors, trailing only Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer.

"The main thing is he's throwing strikes," manager Dusty Baker said. "He's getting his curveball. He can throw it on command, and it kind of sets up everything else. He can throw the fastball in, throw the fastball out, throw the changeup, throw the sinker. He has some weapons that he really feels very comfortable."

In short, everything Gonzalez is throwing right now is working. And that makes him quite a danger for opposing hitters who have yet to figure out how to consistently find success against him this year.

"We didn't get too many good looks at him," Angels manager Mike Scioscia told reporters. "He had good movement, moved the ball around. He definitely put those guys in a good spot."

Gonzalez has been giving the Nationals a chance to win all year long, and he's gotten better as the summer progresses. After a slight hiccup last month - four runs in 5 2/3 innings - against this same interleague opponent in Anaheim, he has turned thing up a notch. In his last four starts, he's 3-0 with an 0.96 ERA, putting only 22 men on base in 28 innings.

Included in that stretch are two no-hit bids. He nearly pulled it off July 31 in Miami when he posted nothing but zeroes until the bottom of the ninth. Tonight he made it to the top of the sixth, finally surrendering an infield single to Cameron Maybin with two outs.

Things started to get a little hairy after that, with Mike Trout singling to center and then Albert Pujols intentionally walked, leaving the bases loaded for Jefry Marte. The Angels' young cleanup hitter smoked a liner up the middle, but Daniel Murphy made a lunging catch to end the inning and earn Gonzalez another ovation from the crowd of 32,355 as he walked back to the dugout.

"If it wasn't for his play, it's a different ballgame," Gonzalez said. "We wouldn't be talking with so much smiling. We'd be talking with more: 'Gotta make a better pitch.'"

Gonzalez has always gone out of his way to praise the guys playing behind him and the guy catching him whenever he has success. But it's time for some of that praise to be thrown back at the guy on the mound making all these pitches.

The season is just about three-quarters complete, and the veteran lefty coming off a career-worst year ranks third in the majors in ERA, second in quality starts, first in home ERA (1.79).

"It's been fun," said Howie Kendrick, who faced Gonzalez for years and just became his teammate last month. "Seeing him go out ... I think it's two times since I've been here, no-hitters going into the (sixth) inning. So he's been doing his thing all year, and I am happy for him. And hopefully he continues to throw well."

At this point, what evidence has Gonzalez offered to suggest he won't?