WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- One of the biggest issues for Giovany Gonzalez during his rough 2016 season was his trouble once runners got on base -- and especially once they reached scoring position. The left-hander gave up a .706 OPS to opposing hitters with the bases empty, but that rose to .764 with men on base and leaped to .913 with runners in scoring position. Once he got into trouble, he was usually unable to get out of it.
So the first inning of the Nationals' 3-1 victory over the Braves on Tuesday was an encouraging sign for Gonzalez, who walked the leadoff man, hit a batter and gave up single over the shortstop's head to load the bases with just one out. But he escaped without allowing a run by forcing Jace Peterson to pop out and Chase d'Arnaud to ground out to third.
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"I had to work through certain situations, which is good," Gonzalez said. "It's a good sign, I'll continue to stay positive and stay confident and believe in your stuff."
From there, Gonzalez cruised through another strong outing -- minus a solo homer from Tyler Flowers -- to toss 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Gonzalez has now allowed just two runs in 16 1/3 innings for a 1.10 ERA in what has become an impressive Grapefruit League showing this spring.
Gonzalez arrived at Nationals camp wanting to prove he can be a dependable member of the Nationals' rotation, along with a goal of making this year's All-Star Game, which will be played near his hometown of Miami.
The Nationals hope the southpaw's strong spring can carry over to the regular season.
"You don't know, but it sure helps to start the season after coming off a good spring," manager Dusty Baker said. "It helps a lot, confidence-wise, concentration-wise."