WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A few hours before his start here Friday veteran left-hander Gio Gonzalez was in shorts and a T-shirt as he watched a good-natured golf competition between his teammates that was the idea of new manager Dave Martinez.
A team led by pitching ace Max Scherzer won the closest-to-the-flag event. Gonzalez did not take part due to his start, which came a few hours later against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals at the spring training complex FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
He did not give up a run in the first three innings, then allowed a leadoff homer in the fourth on a 3-2 pitch to Jedd Gyorko, a former standout at West Virginia University.
Gonzalez finished the day by allowing one run and four hits in five innings with one walk and three strikeouts. He was the second Nats pitchers to go five innings this spring; Scherzer did the same here earlier this week.
It was the third outing this spring for the veteran lefty. In his last appearance on March 3 he gave up six hits and two runs in three innings against the Detroit Tigers. Gonzalez won 15 games last year and has won more games than any lefty in Washington history.
Gonzalez has won 79 games in his first six seasons with Washington. He was replaced Friday by right-hander Erick Fedde, who made his big league debut last year and is considered a candidate for the No. 5 spot in the rotation this season.
The Cardinals spring training roster includes pitcher Matt Bowman, a native of Chevy Chase, Maryland; lefty pitcher Brett Cecil, a native of Annapolis who pitched at DeMatha High and the University of Maryland; and catcher Andrew Knizner, who is from Richmond. Bowman and Cecil were not on the travel roster for the Cardinals on Friday, while Knizer made the trip.
Minor league players on the roster for the Nationals in the game included Jake Lowery, a left-handed hitting catcher who played college ball at James Madison University in Virginia. He was drafted by Cleveland in the fourth round in 2011 out of JMU but has been in the Nats system since 2016, advancing to Double-A Harrisburg last year.
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