Sometimes in baseball, teams have the misfortune of going against a pitcher who’s just too good and has it all together in that game. The Reds had to endure that when they ran into the buzzsaw named Gio Gonzalez on Thursday night.
The Reds came into this series opener as one of the best offensive teams in the National League. But Gonzalez completely shut them down, allowing just one hit and three baserunners in eight innings as Washington rolled to an 8-1 victory over the Reds before 24,748 at Nationals Park
Cincinnati (13-9) just couldn’t do much of anything against Gonzalez (2-1). The left-hander retired the first 11 Reds before Joey Votto homered in the fourth. Devin Mesoraco walked twice, and those were the only baserunners the Reds came up with against Gonzalez in his eight-inning stint. Gonzalez struck out seven.
“Gio had his control,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “He had his fastball working. He had his curveball. Gio can pitch. I’ve been watching Gio for a few years, and when he’s on, he’s on.”
Gonzalez had struggled at times in the first part of 2013, entering the game with a 5.85 ERA. But he used his pitches well, had his control and proved too much for the Reds on a night where he threw 78 strikes out of 112 pitches.
“Gio’s a guy with an All-Star track record, and a guy who could have won the Cy Young [Award] last year, so it’s not surprising,” Votto said. “I’m not making an excuse for our team. It’s a credit to him, how he pitched tonight.”
Votto was the only Red to do anything against Gonzalez. He clubbed a solo homer to left with two outs in the fourth. The first baseman became the first Cincinnati player to reach base, and no one else made it into scoring position.
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