(Sports Network) - Gio Gonzalez looks to become baseball's first 18-game
winner on Wednesday night when he takes the hill for the Washington Nationals
in the third contest of a four-game series versus the Chicago Cubs.
Gonzalez is 17-7 with a 3.10 earned run average in 27 starts this season and
is coming off his first career shutout and second complete game of his career,
a 10-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday. The left-hander scattered
five hits and three walks while striking out eight over his gem.
"I was just trying to do my best to try to minimize the damage as much as
possible, but our defense made some great plays," Gonzalez said. "The offense
came alive. Ten runs is a pretty good cushion."
Gonzalez is one of four hurlers tied for the MLB lead with 17 wins. One of
those starters -- New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey -- is also in action
on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old is just 0-1 with a 10.38 ERA in two previous encounters with
the Cubs, yielding 10 runs over 8 2/3 frames, but might not need to be at his
best tonight if Washington can carry over Tuesday's power surge.
Adam LaRoche went 4-for-4 and hit two of the Nationals' six home runs in the
game, powering an 11-5 victory.
Ian Desmond added a two-run homer and matched a career high with four RBI,
while Tyler Moore hit another two-run shot. Jesus Flores and Ryan Zimmerman
connected on solo homers as Washington won its third straight and for the
sixth time in seven games.
"What a great win," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "It was fun to
watch. We're in a pretty good place right now offensively."
The victory pushed Washington's lead over the Atlanta Braves for first place
in the NL East to 7 1/2 games.
Alfonso Soriano ripped a solo home run and drove in three for the Cubs, who
lost two of three at the Nats at home back in April and have now dropped four
in a row overall.
Chris Rusin, recalled from the minors earlier on Tuesday, took the loss after
allowing five runs on eight hits and two homers while recording just three
outs. He failed to retire any of the four batters he faced in the second
frame.
"I just couldn't keep the ball down," Rusin said. "When I missed my spots they
capitalized. You have to give them credit. This is the big leagues and you
can't miss your spots here."
Chris Volstad has been on point as of late for the Cubs and he seeks to follow
up his epic 24-start winless stretch with a third straight victory tonight.
The 25-year-old righty had gone 0-14 with a 5.54 ERA since a victory on July
10, 2011 before winning consecutive starts against the Colorado Rockies and
San Francisco Giants. Volstad has allowed two runs, eight hits and six walks
over 12 1/3 total innings in that span.
"Since he's been back, he's done a pretty good job," Cubs manager Dale Sveum
said about Volstad. "There haven't been no big blowups. He's been pitching
fairly deep into the games and shutting guys down pretty good."
Volstad now sits at 2-9 with a 6.06 ERA in 15 starts this season, and the
former Florida Marlin is 5-3 with a 4.77 ERA in 14 previous encounters with
the Nationals.
The Sports Network