Gio Gonzalez settled down nicely after surrendering three in the first, but Washington couldn’t get the bats going in a 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox Thursday night.
The loss ends the Nats’ road trip at 6-3. Washington (36-24) returns home Friday for the first game of a weekend series with Philadelphia.
Gonzalez (3-5. 3.93 ERA) struck out a season-high 10 in seven innings, allowing five hits and walking two
The Nationals got their first hit of the game off Chicago starter Miguel Gonzalez (1-1, 3.57 ERA) on a fifth-inning solo homer by Daniel Murphy (.374/.413/.617), his 11th homer of the season.
The Nats got a two-out rally going in the ninth with back-to-back singles by Jayson Werth (.236/.290/.437) and Bryce Harper (.257/.408/.519), but Murphy lined out to deep left off White Sox closer David Robertson (14 saves, 4.18 ERA) to end it.