After long travel delay, Nats lose 5-3 to Brewers

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A long night and day of travel for the Washington Nationals got even worse when they wasted a pair of leads, made four errors and lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 Monday night.

The Nationals’ charter flight was delayed eight hours as the plane sat on the tarmac at Philadelphia because of mechanical problems Sunday night after a 7-1 defeat to the Phillies. They finally got off the plane about 3 a.m. and returned to their hotel, then headed to Milwaukee on Monday and arrived after noon.

Washington led 2-0 in the first and 3-2 in the seventh, but Milwaukee rallied to extend its winning streak to four. Catcher Kurt Suzuki made two errors, and shortstop Carter Kieboom and pitcher Tony Sipp made one each.

Ben Gamel, Christian Yelich and Yasmani Grandal hit consecutive singles off Dan Jennings (0-2) starting the seventh, with Grandal driving in the tying run. Jesús Aguilar hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly off Wander Suero. Gamel, who had three hits, added a run-scoring single against Sipp in the eighth.

Álex Claudio (1-1) won despite allowing a home run by Adam Eaton that put Washington ahead 3-2 in the seventh.

Junior Guerra struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save.

Washington’s Max Scherzer reached double digits in strikeouts for the third time this season and increased his total to 72 in eight starts. He allowed two runs — one earned — and six hits in six innings, striking out 10 and walking one. Scherzer threw a season-high 112 pitches, escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in his final inning when he struck out Orlando Arcia on a foul tip, then got pinch-hitter Ryan Braun to ground out

Milwaukee starter Jhoulys Chacín allowed two runs and three hits in five innings, including Howie Kendrick’s two-run homer in the first for the Nationals.

Mike Moustakas hit an RBI single in the bottom half on a line drive off the glove of leaping Kieboom, and Milwaukee tied the score in the second when Kieboom allowed Gamel’s two-out grounder to bounce off him for an error that let Aguilar score from third.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: 1B Matt Adams, placed on the 10-day IL Sunday, had an MRI that revealed a slightly sprained ledt shoulder. … C Yan Gomes was hit on a left arm by a Chacín pitch in the first inning, then left for a pinch hitter in the third. … LF Andrew Stevenson left in the fourth due to back spasms. … 3B Anthony Rendon (bruised left elbow) is expected to be activated Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (3-1) is 2-0 with a 1.25 ERA in his last three starts with 29 strikeouts while holding the opposition to a .162 batting average.

Brewers: RHP Freddy Peralta (1-1, 8.13 ERA) gave up nine runs, six earned, in an 11-6 loss to Colorado on May 2.