Instant analysis: Nats 4, Giants 2

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Game in a nutshell: Why have the Nationals and Giants been such big underachievers this season? Look no further than each club's continued struggles to score runs and produce hits in big situations. We saw it on display tonight, with the Nationals going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and the Giants going 1-for-9 in those situations. A strange and very slow-paced game saw both starting pitchers perform well for four innings before an intense thunderstorm struck and produced a 1-hour, 17-minute delay. That knocked both Gio Gonzalez and Madison Bumgarner out and put the game in the hands of the bullpens. Adam LaRoche delivered the biggest hit, a two-run homer in the sixth that gave the Nationals the lead for good. That put Tanner Roark in line to earn his second win in four days, though this one still didn't come easily for the Nationals. Fernando Abad and Ryan Mattheus combined to allow a run in the seventh, trimming the lead to one. Kurt Suzuki provided a key RBI in the eighth on a sac fly. That allowed Rafael Soriano to close it out in the ninth and give the Nationals their fourth straight win.

Hitting highlight: Is LaRoche snapping out of his midseason funk? It's probably too early to declare that, but the results over the last week-plus certainly have been encouraging. With a 2-for-4 performance tonight, LaRoche is now hitting .323 (10-for-31) over his last nine games. He also has clubbed three homers, including a towering blast tonight that proved the difference for the Nationals. LaRoche crushed a fastball down the pipe from Guillermo Moscoso and sent the ball ricocheting off the facade of the second deck in right field. That was his 17th homer of the season, tying Werth and Bryce Harper for the club lead.

Pitching highlight: This was kind of a strange night for Gonzalez. The end result — zero runs allowed in four innings — wasn't bad, but he didn't exactly wow everyone with his stuff, either. The left-hander put six men on base in those four innings, forcing himself to pitch out of trouble all night. He also appeared to be dealing with a stiff back or something along those lines that left him stretching and having a tough time running at full-speed. That may have contributed to the most intriguing moment of the game: Gonzalez and Jayson Werth arguing with each other in the dugout in the middle of the first inning. Was Werth upset at Gio for not hustling to cover first base? Or was Gonzalez upset at Werth for not hustling on Joaquin Arias' bloop double to right? Either way, we got a rare chance to see two teammates in heated argument in plain sight.

Key stat: Roark has yet to allow an earned run (or issue a walk) in six big-league innings.

Up next: The series resumes at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday when Jordan Zimmermann once again seeks his 14th win, going up against one-time Giants ace Tim Lincecum.