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Knowing the rain was coming, the Nats and Brewers completed their game in a little less than 3 hours today. Things started oddly, with the Brewers hitting out of order in the top of the first. Every lineup in the universe had Braun third and Lucroy fourth, except for the one given to Dusty Baker and the Nats. Braun’s first inning single was erased and Jonathon Lucroy was charged with an out. Ouch.
The only run of the game came when Martin Maldonado led off the top of the fifth with a long shot over the Brewers’ pen into the left centerfield seats. Nats starter Max Scherzer has given up bombs all season, and Maldy’s was number 21 of the year. Scooter Gennett just missed one about a foot foul into the seats in right, but Scoot did end up with two hits, one more of them off of a lefty. Scherzer pitched well, going six innings and allowing just the one run. But he suffered his sixth loss of the year, BECAUSE...
Junior Guerra was (again) dominant. Absolutely, totally dominant. The Nats just completed a series where they won 3 of 4 from the Reds, scoring 32 runs, and a four game sweep of the Mets before that. But Juni G held them to 2 hits over 7.1 innings, walking 3 (one intentional) and fanning 7. Will Smith relieved with one down in the eighth, retiring the two he faced, and Jeremy Jeffress earned his 22nd save by pitching around a walk with three ground outs.
Jonathan Villar had a great catch on a pop down the third base line to end the eighth, when lefty Ben Revere lofted one that neither Hernan Perez or Ryan Braun could get to. Villar, playing near second base, ran full speed and caught the ball sliding over the foul line. Would have been at least a double for Revere, and maybe more if the ball skipped off of Villar and into foul ground.
The two teams meet tomorrow night, with game time at 6:05 CDT, before concluding the series Wednesday afternoon. The Brewers (36-46) will send Zach Davies (5-4, 4.22) against the Nats’ (50-34) Gio Gonzlez (4-7, 4.81). The Brewers are now 4-2 this year against the East-leading Washington nine.