Matt Garza found himself uncharacteristically hurt by the long ball as the Cubs fell for their second loss in a row to the Washington Nationals Tuesday night at Wrigley.
Garza turned in a decent start overall, throwing 6.0 innings and giving up three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out nine. All three runs came on home runs, one to Michael Morse in the 6th inning, and another to Johnny Gomes later in that same frame.
It would be enough damage, however, to put the Cubs in the loss column again this season. The Cubs were barely able to get to National’s starter Chien Ming-Wang, who threw 6.0 innings of one hit baseball, walking two and striking out one. The only Cubs run managed to come off of Tyler Clippard in the bottom of the eighth inning as Starlin Castro drilled a solo shot, his 6th of the year.
The two teams will play the second game of the series on Wednesday night at Wrigley. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 P.M., CDT.