Gonzalez, Hellickson locked in pitchers' duel (Nats lose 3-0)

The good news: Gio Gonzalez continues to pitch like a new man. The bad news: His Nationals teammates are making Jeremy Hellickson look just as good so far tonight.

Both Gonzalez and Hellickson have posted dueling zeroes for four innings, turning a chilly Wednesday night at Nationals Park into a bit of a surprising pitchers' duel between the Nats and Phillies.

Gonzalez set the tone right from the outset, getting through a scoreless top of the first on 14 pitches. He then retired nine consecutive batters and completed the third with his pitch count at a mere 36. (Max Scherzer needed 55 pitches to navigate his way through his first three innings last night.)

The top of the fourth did require more work out of the left-hander, who, after striking out Freddy Galvis and Maikel Franco in succession, gave up a two-out single to Darin Ruf, walked Carlos Ruiz and then let both runners advance on a curveball in the dirt.

But Gonzalez battled back to get Cesar Hernandez to fly out lazily to right, leaving his pitch count at 60 after four scoreless innings that lowered his season ERA to 1.17.

Hellickson, meanwhile, has allowed only one hit through four innings: Daniel Murphy's leadoff double in the bottom of the second. He also has issued a pair of walks (to Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa).

The Nationals, though, haven't been able to take advantage of the few opportunities they've had. Ryan Zimmerman has struck out twice on six total pitches and Jose Lobaton grounded into an inning-ending double play with two men on base.

Update: The Phillies finally broke through in the sixth, with Ruf's sacrifice fly bringing home the night's first run. That situation was made possible, though, by Gonzalez's earlier wild pitch that allowed Odubel Herrera to advance to third base. Lobaton might've had a shot at throwing Herrera out, but his quick toss to third was off-line, so that put Herrera in position to score on the later sac fly and put the Nats in a 1-0 hole.

The Nationals continue not to produce against Hellickson. Through six innings, they've managed two hits (one of them a bunt single by Espinosa) and three walks (two of them to Harper).

Update II: Make it 2-0 after seven innings. The Phillies added their second run via some sloppy defense (Espinosa couldn't handle a line drive right at him, Rendon airmailed a tough throw to the plate) in the top of the seventh. The Nats, meanwhile, can't muster anything against Hellickson, who has been brilliant, still allowing only the two hits.

Update III: Make it 3-0 after Carlos Ruiz hammered a 3-2 pitch from Sammy Solis to left field in the top of the eighth. The Phillies are going to their bullpen now. The way Hellickson mowed through them, the Nats might not be too upset by this development.

Update IV: That'll do it. Nats lose 3-0, the first time they've been shut out this season. Gonzalez pitched pretty well, but it didn't matter tonight with the lineup producing a total of two hits off Hellickson and not putting a man in scoring position after the second inning.

So the Nationals have ensured their first series loss of the season, and now they'll need to win tomorrow afternoon's finale to avoid their first series sweep of 2016.