CSN: Cubs rally to beat Soriano, Nats in ninth

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Gio Gonzalez pitched seven scoreless innings but didn't get the win.

Game in a nutshell: Gio Gonzalez was absolutely brilliant, carrying a perfect game into the sixth and completing seven scoreless innings on 86 pitches. The Nationals, though, only led 1-0 at the time, so Davey Johnson elected to pinch-hit for his starter in the bottom of the seventh and entrust the game to his bullpen. Drew Storen immediately surrendered the tying run in the top of the eighth on a pair of singles, a sac bunt and a foul pop-up that advanced a runner. Rafael Soriano then gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth after a pair of singles and then a surprise double steal on which catcher Kurt Suzuki's throw was spiked into the ground and bounced down the left-field line. The Nationals couldn't mount one last-ditch rally and wound up suffering a very disappointing series loss to the last-place Cubs.

Hitting lowlight: There was a highlight, one of them: Ryan Zimmerman's RBI double off the right-field wall to score Denard Span in the bottom of the first. After that, the Nationals did almost nothing at the plate. They had their chances against starter Scott Feldman and the Cubs bullpen, but they kept squandering opportunities, going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Pitching highlight: Like Stephen Strasburg on Saturday, Gonzalez was unhittable early on, in this case retiring the first 15 batters he faced. Unlike Strasburg, Gonzalez was able to pitch his way out of a jam, this time in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Gonzalez got Anthony Rizzo to ground out to first, ending the inning, and skipped off the mound fired up. That was the left-hander's only hiccup the entire afternoon. He cruised through a 1-2-3 seventh inning and certainly looked capable of going all the way. But Johnson made the surprising decision to pinch-hit for Gonzalez at that point, with his pitch count only at 86. And that move backfired, leaving Gio with no-decision despite a fabulous performance.

Key stat: Ian Desmond entered the day with three walks all season. He drew two in his first three plate appearances today.

Up next: The Nationals are headed west for a long, 11-game trip through the entire state of California. They open Monday at 10:10 p.m. EDT in Los Angeles, with Jordan Zimmermann seeking his league-leading seventh win against the Dodgers' Josh Beckett (still seeking his first win).

Source: http://www.natsinsider.com/2013/05/instant-analysis-cubs-2-nats-1.html

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