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After the first road series of the year, the White Sox are still looking for their first road victory. The Nationals knocked around Dylan Axelrod on Thursday night to complete the sweep. Axelrod tossed 3 2/3 innings, and gave up seven hits, four walks and six runs against a team that can swing the bat.
The big hit for the Nationals was a two-out, two-run double to right field by Ryan Zimmerman. The double made it a 6-3 game after the Sox pulled even at three the half-inning before.
The Sox did their best to try to keep pace, but in the end they just don't have enough thunder to out-slug the Nationals. The Good Guys had 10 hits against Nationals starter Dan Haren in his five innings of work, but could only push across three runs.
Alex Rios and Connor Gillaspie continued their hot hitting. Rios smashed two more doubles on the night and Gillaspie added one of his own. Alejandro De Aza added in two hits and now has his batting average up to .270.
Unfortunately, Adam Dunn left five men on base as he went 1-5. Alexei Ramirez joined in on the struggles as he went 1-5 with five left on and Tyler Flowers was 0-4 with three left on base.
Hector Santiago was a bright spot for the Sox as he came in and threw 2 1/3 hitless innings in relief of Axelrod.
The Sox will try to right the ship tomorrow evening as they face the Indians in Cleveland. Jose Quintana will be on the bump for the Sox and Justin Masterson will throw for the Tribe.
* Gordon Beckham was placed on the Disabled List prior to the game and will undergo surgery on his wrist. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
* Dylan Axelrod struggled on the mound, but did record the first hit of his Major League career, when he pushed a bunt just out of the reach of a diving Adam LaRoche.
* Rafael Soriano worked the ninth and earned his fifth save. He earned the save in all three games of the series.
* Alex Rios now has a 15-game hitting streak dating back to last season.
* Denard Span, Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman were 7-13 with six runs scored and four RBI's at the top of the Nationals lineup.
Record: 4-5 | Box