While you were enjoying a beautiful early summer day, the Boston Red Sox were busy falling back under the .500 mark.
Daisuke Matsuzaka made his 2012 debut after last appearing in May 2011 but he wasn't able to help the Red Sox (29-30, 14-18 home) enough as they fell 4-2 to the Washington Nationals (34-23, 16-13 away) this afternoon at Fenway Park.
Dice-K was limited to five innings (80 pitches) as he was eased back into action. He allowed four earned runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.
Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez (8-2) looks like an All-Star and he continued his excellent season with 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
Former Red Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche (10th of the season) hit a solo homer to right center in the second inning for a 1-0 Washington lead. The Nationals scored their other three runs in the fourth thanks to Michael Morse's RBI ground rule double and Ian Desmond's two-run single.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia provided Boston's only runs with a pinch-hit two-run single in the seventh.
The Red Sox only had five hits, they were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Sean Burnett got a 1-2-3 eighth for his 10th hold of the season and Tyler Clippard recorded his seventh save of the season (second in two games) with a scoreless ninth.
Jordan Zimmermann (3-5) faces Jon Lester (3-4) tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as the Nationals go for the sweep of the Red Sox in this three-game series.
UPDATE 6/10: Rich Hill was put on the DL with elbow soreness and Mark Melancon's exile in Pawtucket is over, he's back with the Red Sox.
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