ARLINGTON -- Another solid outing on the mound put the Nationals in a position to win. But this time around, even a career effort from
Gray really only gave up one big hit: a two-run homer to Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe in the second inning. From then on, Texas could only string together a few base hits. The right-hander is now 2-0 over his last five starts with a 1.24 ERA. He finished the day having surrendered four hits and one walk while striking out nine.\n\n“I just stayed confident in my stuff \\[after giving up the home run\\], just tried to continue to execute better; kind of telling myself, 'That’s all they get,' \\[and\\] keep the team in a position to win,” Gray said.\n\nGray knows how to separate the outcome of his outing and the outcome of the game, but still, he wants to win. The Nationals have lost each of his last three starts by one run.\n\n“When you lose a game, they’re all tough,” manager Dave Martinez said. “But Josiah did really well. He got 21 outs for us and pitched superb. … We had our chances. I mean, we had our chances early, we had our chances late. We’re struggling to drive in some runs right now.”
It was a tough day for the offense, Martinez said. It’s not that the Nationals couldn’t get on base. They had six hits and drew five walks. One of those hits was a two-run homer from Nelson Cruz to tie the game in the 6th inning.\n\nBut, like Martinez said, they just couldn’t drive in most of those runners. The team was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and grounded into three double plays.\n\n“Hitting comes and goes, you know, it’s part of the game,” Cruz said. “We have to focus on things we can control: play defense, run the bases, you know, stuff like that.”