It’s the beauty of Spring Training: games can be called in a civilized manner when the weather goes nuts.  That’s what happened after 4 innings between the Nats and the Cardinals this afternoon, but not before new starter Gio Gonzalez continued to blow away Nats fans’ expectations.

Gonzalez allowed just two hits in the 4 innings while striking out two.  These four innings extended his scoreless streak this spring to 7 innings.  He has yet to surrender a run this spring.

When the Nats gave away several blue-chip prospects to acquire Gonzalez, it came with a lot of scrutiny.  While he has had 15 and 16 wins in his last two seasons, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not Gonzalez was actually worth as much as was paid for him.

So far in spring, he has pitched as well as anyone could have expected.  He is still young, and with some luck, he could be a staple in the Nats rotation for years to come.

The outlook is more murky for some other pitchers this spring.  Gorzelanny has not impressed, and Detwiler has played well.  While there likely won’t be an open spot to be earned in the rotation, there will be competition.

Between the long relievers/spot starters, there will be a battle between Gorzelanny, Lannan, and Detwiler.  It is still unclear what the Nationals could do to clear one of them out, but it might not be crazy to try to get some draft picks back to make up for all of the prospects they traded away in the off season.

Either way, it is a good problem to have.  Of anything to be worried about this season, it appears pitching won’t be on that list.

The Nats will play the Cardinals again tomorrow at 1 pm.