Washington Nationals pound St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 as Gio Gonzalez throws complete game-MLB
Starter Gio Gonzalez throws a complete game to help the Washington Nationals blank the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 at Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. on August 31, 2012 in the second game of the four match series.
It was a comprehensive victory by the Nationals. After showing signs of decline in the last few weeks, they have now returned to their best. Their offence which was off-colour a few games ago unleashed the power on Friday as it struck 12 hits in the match.
Their hitters are gradually moving toward top-notch form. Centre fielder Bryce Harper is now regular in connecting hits. Continuing from his performances in the last two matches, Harper hammered two hits in four at-bats in the game.
Similarly, the Nationals’ right fielder Jayson Werth was prolific on the plate as he slammed three hits in three at-bats. Other than him, the first baseman Adam LaRoche made the major contribution offensively.
While Washington’s offence was incredible on Friday, it was their starter Gio Gonzalez who restricted the Cardinals from the other end and did not allow them to counter-attack. In the nine innings that he finished he yielded five hits and did not give up
any run. He struck-out eight.
The Nationals had the advantage of early momentum gained in the game. Due to this, they were able to keep the Cardinals from bouncing back throughout the innings.
Harper realises the importance of the runs scored in the initial few innings and how they helped the starter Gonzalez in keeping their dominance afloat all through the game.
"We got things going pretty early," Harper said. "That was the biggest thing; we scored runs early and let Gio go out there and pitch."
Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson is extremely happy with the impeccable show by Gonzalez. He has also discussed the pitch count on him.
"He took me right to the edge," Johnson said. "I might have let him go over my predetermined number otherwise I'd have had Gio hassling me all week. What a great effort."
The way the Nationals have won the last two matches, it is not entirely wrong to claim that they are going to clinch a series victory against the Cardinals. It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals bounce-back from their disappointing performance.
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