There was no no-hitter this time. It wasn’t even a complete game effort. But what Gio Gonzalez turned in Sunday as a follow-up to Max Scherzer’s gem may very well have been his most efficient and effective start of the season.
Buoyed by a nine run first inning — one he helped contribute to with an RBI double — the lefty starter hurled seven shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on just 85 pitches to help lead the Nationals to a 9-2 victory.
On a normal day, that’d be considered a really solid outing.