WASHINGTON – Kyle Gibson completed spring training looking like he was ready to take the next step in his development. Right now, he looks like someone else.
The righthander was unable to control the strike zone or finish off hitters Friday, and it cost him and the Twins in an 8-4 loss to the Nationals.
A four-run first inning and a three-run third were enough to hook Gibson. Putting on 10 baserunners in three innings will lead to such a consequence. Gibson gave up seven runs on seven hits, two walks and one hit batter while striking out just one, dropping his record to 0-3 and raising his ERA to 6.10.
Gibson hasn't been crisp this season, but he had managed to post a 2.13 ERA over his previous two starts despite five walks. Bases on balls have been a constant problem: He has 12, one off the American League lead, in only 20⅔ innings.
The extra men on base aren't giving him a chance to compete.
"Some of the starts he's been able to hang in there, but the concerning part is the amount of pitches he's thrown," manager Paul Molitor said. " Every start he's just burning through pitches and long counts and walks.
"Not sure what it is, but I know we are going to try to figure some things out."
Anthony Rendon delivered a one-out single in the first. Bryce Harper reached on a fielder's choice for the second out, but Gibson then walked Ryan Zimmerman on five pitches, then gave up an RBI single to Daniel Murphy to open the scoring.
Gibson lost Jayson Werth, also on five pitches, to load the bases. Gibson then got ahead 0-2 on Danny Espinosa and seemed on the verge of escape. Gibson tried to pitch inside to the plate-crowding Espinosa but plunked him near his right elbow to force in a run. Espinosa didn't appear to try very hard to get out of the way.
Backup catcher Jose Lobaton then hit a two-run single to left, and Washington led 4-0.
"It was only five or six pitches in with two outs and a man on first," Molitor said. "All of sudden they turn it into a four-run first. And it didn't set a very good tone on a couple walks and a couple of hits."
Against National League East-leading Washington, a four-run deficit seemed like 10, as the Nationals entered the game with the second-lowest starters' ERA in baseball (2.31) as well as the second-lowest opponents' batting average (.214). Their four errors were tied for the fewest in the league. And they have Bryce Harper.
Washington added three runs in the third to go up 7-0 on an RBI single by Espinosa, an RBI triple by Lobaton and a sacrifice fly by Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez, the pitcher, got an 0-2 slider down the middle of the plate and was able to drive in a run.
And Harper didn't even hurt the Twins. He combined with cleanup hitter Zimmerman to go 0-for-7, though each drew a walk and scored.
The Twins scored their runs on an RBI single by Joe Mauer in the fourth, a two-run single by Eduardo Nunez in the seventh and a solo home run by Miguel Sano in the eighth. Sano's was a blast that hit the wall behind the 402 sign in center.
But the Twins were well out of the game by the time they got their bats going. And Gibson's winless start to the season continued.
"I think other than today I've felt fairly decent about the way I've thrown the ball," Gibson said. "Maybe a couple bad innings here and there. I don't know if it is too much of a head-scratcher. I think today is a little bit. I felt really good going into today and felt I was going in the right direction, so I try not to read too much into one outing."
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