The Washington Nationals have lost eight of their last nine games.  That's a tough thing to read for Nats fans, and a tough thing for manager Davey Johnson and the team to go through.  In fact, it's the third time this season the Nats have lost eight times over a nine game period, joining July 19-29 and May 21-30 as periods of almost absolute futility this season.

It's now an established, common refrain around Nats Park, limping home in the latter stages of the season.  Last season, the Nats went 12-17 in September and October, a .413 winning percentage (67-win pace).  That managed to qualify as the Nats third worst month of the season, a year they won 69 games. 

In 2009 over the same period, the record was 11-17, and that was boosted by a season-ending seven-game win streak.  In 2008, the Nats finished 7-17, a .292 win percentage (47-win pace).  We'd have to go all the way back to the final season in R.F.K. to find a winning last month of the season.

Even taking into consideration the Nats latest slide, they're still on a 75-win pace.  That's would be another dramatic leap forward from last season's 69 win team.  They have the benefit of playing 16 of their final 27 games at home, including the 10 game homestand that begins tonight against the New York Mets (66-69), Los Angeles Dodgers (66-70) and the Houston Astros (47-90).  You couldn't script a much better triumvirate of losers to have a late-season homestand with, unless you could get the hapless Orioles back in for a series. 

Yet against three of the worst teams in the N.L., the Nats are a combined 7-10 this season.

The Nats are fortunate to have Stephen Strasburg return next Tuesday (and who hasn't had chills seeing his dominating performances in his last two rehab starts?), and several other players make their Major League debuts as the season winds down, which should bring good energy to the team and the grandstands.  Tom Milone is scheduled to make his debut Saturday.  Brad Peacock will soon follow.  And we should get a look at Steve Lombardozzi before too long as well.

All along, this season was about making progress.  No one expected the Nats to contend. No one seriously thought they'd compete for the .500 mark.  But they have a chance, if they can shake the trend and finish strong, to gain another 6-10 games in the standings over last season, and perhaps finish third in the division.  They're three games behind the Mets heading into tonight's game and a series win will go a long way in that effort.

In the grand scheme of things, finishing third place in the division doesn't really mean anything.  But getting Strasburg healthy and finishing strong would be good for the psyche of everyone in NatsTown.

In my piece for MASNSports.com this morning, I rained on everyone's parade that now expects the Washington Nationals to continue to win at a 13 out of 15 pace the rest of the season.  I kinda kept my mouth shut once the winning streak really got rolling, but now that the Nats have lost three of four and folks are actually starting to complain about the fact that Davey Johnson hasn't won a game as manager yet (in two games!), I thought a dose of reality might help keep things in perspective.

NatsTown, there are a lot of good things to look forward to with this team.  It's young and talented up the middle in the infield, has some really good arms in the bullpen, has a potential No. 2 type starter recovering from Tommy John surgery, several high-ceiling prospects not too far away from the Major Leagues, and the game's best third baseman when healthy.  That is certainly a lot to like.

But the roster, as it's constructed right now, is not of competing quality.  There's exactly one starting pitcher on this roster that will be part of the Nats first legitimate contending team.  They have one-third of a competitive starting outfield (that is, if the right fielder can find himself), and they are depending too much on a rookie second baseman and 29-year old slugger that is getting his first opportunity to play full-time.

The Nats were on a hot streak, one so pronounced that folks got a little too excited about what was going on.  So let's keep things in perspective.  It's good that there are things to be optimistic about, but let's keep that optimism grounded in reality.

Nats celebrate their tenth win in their last 11 games. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Considering the way the Washington Nationals won Tuesday night with two outs in the ninth inning -- capping a five-run comeback -- no one at Nationals Park last night could have been confident until the final out was recorded. 

But when Drew Storen punched out Chone Figgins looking for the last out of the game -- recording his 18th save in 20 chances -- the crowd erupted as they did Tuesday, secure in the knowledge that with a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners, the home team would have an even .500 record at the latest point in a season since they finished the inaugural 2005 season at 81-81.

As recently as 10 days ago this scenario could only be seen in a dream.  At that point, after a 7-3 loss to the San Diego Padres, the Nats record sat at 27-36, nine game under the break-even mark, staring at three more games in baseball's version of Death Valley, Petco Park.  But the Nats found a way to win three consecutive games there, scoring just two runs in each of the three games.

Since then, all they've done is win another seven out of eight games, vaulting their place in the standings from last in the N.L. East to outright possession of third place in the division.  The 11-game run is nothing short of remarkable.

With all these wins coming at home, the Nationals now have the third-best home record in the entire N.L. at 21-13.

In last night's win, they borrowed the script from those three wins against the Padres.  The Nats got terrific starting pitching from John Lannan -- who went 5 2/3 innings and gave up one run on three hits and no walks, shut-down relief pitching from four different relievers, and just enough offense, benefiting from two unearned runs off Mariners hard-luck starter Erik Bedard, who was excellent in his own right, allowing just three hits and striking out 10 in his six innings of work.

Danny Espinosa and Jerry Hariston drove in the Nats runs, but the how really doesn't matter much anymore.  Because just every night save one for the last 11 games the Nats have found a way to win.  It's been a different method with different heroes on each occasion, but the result is the same:  Another Curly W in the books.

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THE GOOD:  Lannan was sublime, and the four relievers were just as good, allowing just two hits and no walks with five strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.  Just five guys doing their jobs.

THE BAD:  Desmond went 0-for-3 in the two-slot, lowering his average to .231.

THE UGLY:  Desmond's throwing error was a serious lack of judgment and one I'm sure he'd like to have back.  There was a long fly to the track in left with a runner on first, and Ichiro went more than half-way to see if the ball would be caught.  Hairston got the ball in quickly, making Ichiro bid a hasty retreat.  Desmond inexplicably wheeled and fired to first, with no chance of a play.  Morse could not field the bad throw and the ball ended up in the camera well, allowing Ichiro to take third on the play. 

Fortunately, the next batter sent a shot to third that Zimmerman scooped up expertly and ran down Ichiro near home plate to avoid another run.

THE STATS:  Five hits, two walks, 10 strikeouts. 2-for-5 with RISP, six LOB, no GIDP.  E: Zimmerman (3), Desmond (9).

NEXT GAME:  Thursday at 1:05 pm against the Mariners at Nationals Park.  Jason Marquis (7-2, 3.86) faces Michael Pineda (7-4, 2.64).



Jerry Hairston beats out infield hit in Nats 2-1 win over Seattle. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

The Washington Nationals are officially the hottest team in baseball.

Behind another strong outing from emerging top-of-the-rotation starter Jordan Zimmermann, the Nats found just enough offense today to defeat their neighbors 45 miles to the north, the Baltimore Orioles, for the second straight game, extending their season-high winning streak to eight games, and pull within one game of the elusive .500 mark at 35-36.

This is the longest winning streak for the Nationals since August 2009 and has them residing alone in third place in the N.L. East, just five games out of the wild card spot depending on the results of later games.

Zimmermann, 25, gave up a solo home run to the Orioles emerging star center fielder Adam Jones in the top of the first, but would not be scored upon again until the seventh, when he finally ran out of gas on the hot, humid day in the Nation's Capital.  Zimmermann suffered from the same microscopic strike zone that all the pitchers did today from home plate umpire David Rackey, a Triple-A umpire called up to cover for Major League umpire vacations.

The final line for Zimmermann reads as many have since the first of May: 6 1/3 innings, two earned runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  The win raises his personal record to 5-6, and lowers his ERA to 3.08 for the season.  Zimmermann has given up more than two earned runs in a start just once since May 1, and on that occasion he gave up three.

The offense came from the Nats No. 3 and 4 hitters: Ryan Zimmermann and Michael Morse.  Zim hit his first homer since returning from the disabled list, his second of the season, in the bottom of the first, while Morse hit a two-run shot -- his team leading 13th of the year -- in the sixth.  Ivan Rodriguez drove in the Nats fourth run with a double later in the inning after Morse's homer.

Both homers came off Baltimore starter Brian Matusz (L, 1-2), who went 5 1/3 innings and gave up four earned runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  Matusz left the game in the sixth with an apparent injury.  He's only recently returned from the D.L. with a strained ribcage muscle.

Henry Rodriguez pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief of Zimmermann to earn his second hold and Drew Storen threw a perfect ninth for his 17th save of the campaign.

In this eight-game streak, the Nats are finding different ways to win.  They've gotten dominant pitching performances, offensive fireworks, and terrific defensive plays.  Today, they got a good -- but not dominant -- start from Zimmermann and found just enough pop to hold off the pesky Orioles.  They've crept within one game of .500 and should the Nats win tomorrow, it will mark the latest in the season this organization has had an even record since ending the 2005 season at 81-81.

You gotta start someplace.

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THE GOOD:  Ryan Zimmerman.  It's good to see him crush a ball.  He went 2-for-4 with two runs today, and has driven in a run in four of the five games he's played since his return.  Michael Morse.  He just continues to prove all the doubters wrong for now.  Another two hits, homer and two RBIs, and his average is up to .310.

THE BAD:  The two guys at the top of the lineup, Jayson Werth and Ian Desmond, combined to go 0-for-7 with a walk and two strikeouts.

THE UGLY:  Matusz' exit.  He was pitching fine, but all of the sudden 1B Derrik Lee stopped play and called for the Baltimore trainers.  They immediately pulled Matusz and he left the game, barely able to walk down the dugout steps under his own power. The O's announced he suffered from left hamstring cramps, but considering he's only been off the D.L. for three starts, it has to put a shiver down the backs of all in Birdland.

THE STATS:  Eight hits, three walks, six strikeouts.  1-for-6 with RISP, five LOB, one GIDP. No errors.

NEXT GAME:  Sunday at 1:35 against the Orioles at Nats Park.  Tom Gorzelanny (2-4, 4.25) comes off the D.L. to face Chris Jakubauskas (1-0, 5.09).

By Anthony Amobi, Special to Nats News Network

WASHINGTON - The Washington Nationals are on quite the roll. After a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals this week, they played hosts to the struggling Baltimore Orioles on Friday night to start another interleague match-up of the "Battle of the Beltway."

They won their seventh straight game, an remarkable feat considering their struggles since the beginning of the season as they defeated the Orioles, 8-4.

Once again, Washington's offense came through as came through with hits when they needed and got some help from the bullpen.

The second largest home game of season attendance after Opening Day with a crowd of 35,562 - with a healthy mix of orange and black, sprinkled in with red - sat through a rain delay of under an hour before the game on Friday night. When things got started, it was one wacky game.

The Nationals (34-36), who have been getting very strong outings from their starting pitching, saw Jason Marquis push through his five-innings plus on the mound. He gave up 12 hits on the night; however, despite that note, he only gave up four runs. Marquis was constantly on a tight rope, but he managed to avoid allowing his team in go into a hole. He would not factor in the decision.

On the night, it seemed that the Orioles (31-36) - despite pounding 18 hits - handed the game to the Nationals. In a sense, they buried themselves with errors, an alarming pitching performance in the bottom of the sixth inning, and a confounding inability to push runners across home plate. The Nationals would take advantage of it.

With the score tied at four in the sixth inning, Baltimore reliever, Jeremy Accardo, walked Wilson Ramos to start the frame. He would then give up an RBI-double to Wilson Ramos that gave Washington a 5-4 lead.

Accardo would help the Nationals again as he walked reliever Sean Burnett - who was trying square up for a clear sacrifice bunt - on four pitches. The Nationals would take a 6-4 lead, as Jayson Werth plated in Hairston with a single. They would add another run in the frame as Ian Desmond's sacrifice drove in Werth.

Accardo (3-3) would take the loss.

Washington would sail to an easy victory from there as Burnett returned to the mound and did not allow Baltimore to do any damage. He would earn the win and the trio of Henry Rodriguez, Tyler Clippard and Ryan Mattheus, kept the Orioles off the scoreboard.

The Nationals took an 8-4 lead as Roger Bernadina hit his third homer of the season - a solo shot - off Oriole reliever Michael Gonzalez in the eighth inning.

Although the record shows that Washington won, they did not have a strong start to the game. Baltimore plated two runs in the fourth inning as Robert Andino had an RBI-single, and pitcher Zach Britton followed up with an RBI-double.

However, Baltimore's lead would be short lived as Washington scored four runs in the fifth inning. Wilson Ramos singled to start the frame, and then Marquis squared up for a bunt. Marquis' offering was fielded by Oriole third baseman Mark Reynolds; however, he threw the ball past first base. Ramos motored around the bases and scored; thereafter, Marquis would come home after a Bernadina groundout.

The Nationals added two more runs in the frame after back-to-back RBI-singles from Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman.

Washington allowed Baltimore to tie the game at four as Vladimir Guerrero plated in a run with an RBI-single and J.J. Hardy followed up with a sacrifice fly.

Reliever Todd Coffey - who came in for Marquis in the sixth inning - gave up the hits that allowed the Orioles to score their third and fourth runs of the game; however, Burnett (3-3) was brought in after that and closed out the frame.

Meanwhile, Baltimore starting starter, rookie Zach Britton, pitched well, as he went five innings and gave up four runs - only one earned. He got killed thanks to a huge error in the fifth inning.

For Washington, Jerry Hairston had a huge night, going 3-for-3, and Ian Desmond had two hits, plus drove in two runs.

Danny Espinosa celebrates walk-off three-run homer. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

A week ago, after the Washington Nationals lost to the San Diego Padres 7-3 to fall to 27-36, the Nats were on a pace to win 69 games.

Man, what a difference a week makes.

Despite normally-reliable relievers Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen giving up single runs apiece in the eighth and ninth innings to force extra innings, the Nationals walked-off with a 7-4 win over the reeling St. Louis Cardinals after Danny Espinosa deposited his 12th home run of the season into the Nats bullpen in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Ryan Zimmerman got the rally started with a single up the middle, and after Laynce Nix struck out swinging, reliever Fernando Salas hit Michael Morse with his next pitch.  Espinosa worked the count to two balls and one strike, and Salas laid one in to Espinosa, who made no doubt about it.  It capped a three-hit night for the rookie second baseman, and the homer was his eighth hitting left-handed this season.

The Nationals have now won six games in a row since dropping the first game of the four-game set with San Diego, raising their record to 33-36, a 77-win pace.  What's more, they finish the night in fourth place in the N.L. East as the Florida Marlins continue to spiral out of control, and are a mere 5 1/2 games out in the National League Wildcard race.

It's the first time Washington has won six in a row since they closed the season in 2009 with seven consecutive victories.

The Nats took a 4-2 lead into the late innings and turned things over, as they have in many wins this season, to Clippard and Storen.  But both gave up solo home runs -- Clippard to Albert Pujols and Storen to Yadier Molina -- to blow the lead and reduce John Lannan to a no-decision. 

Lannan was excellent once again.  He induced 14 ground ball outs and was the beneficiary of two double plays.  Lannan went seven innings, allowing two earned runs -- including Matt Holliday's seventh of the season in his first game back off the D.L. -- on six hits and two walks, striking out two.

Manager Jim Riggleman called on Sean Burnett to pitch the tenth, with Todd Coffey warming behind  him.  Burnett got lefty Colby Rasmus on a grounder to second, and Riggleman decided to leave the lefty in to face Pujols, Holliday and Lance Berkman.  Burnett got Pujols to pop up to right field for the second out, walked Holliday, and struck out Berkman looking to end the frame.

Last Thursday, the Nats were 3-5 on their 11-game road trip and staring at three more game in San Diego's Petco Park, a place where hitters go to die.  They won those three games by a combined score of 6-2, and after their best player re-joined the team on Tuesday, the offense has been popping and they swept the best hitting team in baseball.

Yup, it's been a remarkable winning streak.  Folks have gone from talking about another last-place finish to making a run at the wild card.  It's a long season, and we're not even at the All-Star break yet.  But it's fun to entertain the notion, even for just a little bit.

A week can make a lot of difference. 

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THE GOOD:  Espinosa.  He's had five hits the last two games, and balls are starting to fall in for him a little bit.  He has 12 homers and 41 RBIs this season and with his stellar defense, has to start earning some consideration for rookie of the year.

THE BAD:  Clippard and Storen.  Hard to fault these two guys, they've been doing their job all season long.  I guess when your set-up and closer fail, it's best they fail in a game you come back and end up winning.

THE UGLY:  Matt Stairs.  Grounded to first in his only at bat,.  Hitting .122 (5-for-40) this season.

THE STATS:  10 hits, two walks, six strikeouts.  2-for-6 with RISP, seven LOB, zero GIDP.  E: Espinosa (5)

NEXT GAME:  Friday at 7:05 against the Baltimore Orioles at Nats Park.  Jason Marquis (7-2, 3.67) faces Zach Britton (6-4, 3.18).

NATS NOTES:  1B Adam LaRoche had successful surgery earlier in the day.  It was reported the doctors found and repaired a SLAP tear, a sizable tear of the labrum inside his left shoulder.  The Nationals maintain that LaRoche will be ready for spring training.  Several Nationals players have undergone the same procedure, including Cristian Guzman and Jesus Flores.

The Nationals franchise-best errorless streak came to an end.  Espinosa drew Michael Morse off first base trying to make a play on a slow roller.  The streak stopped at 13-plus games and 131 1/3 innings.

Jayson Werth and Roger Bernadina led off the game with back-to-back homers off Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse.  It's the first time two players started  the game with back-to-back homers since Brad Wilkerson and Jose Vidro did it for the Expos in June 2002.

The Washington Nationals have won their last five games to crawl within four games of the ever-elusive .500 mark at 32-36.  That, naturally, has lots of folks, including some of the players, thinking this team could contend for the wildcard in the National League this season, citing the strong starting pitching, much improved defense, and over the last two games, a newly-found offensive game, spurred by the return of the Face of the Franchise.

Is that thinking realistic?

Even taking the last two day's stats into consideration, the Nats are second to last in batting average, second-to-last in on-base percentage, and third-to-last in slugging over the course of the entire season.  What do you want to believe: the first 66 games of this season, where the Nats couldn't hit their way out of a wet paper bag; or the last two days, where the Nats have banged out 28 hits and 18 runs?

Michael Morse is enjoying his career year.  It's not shocking, as this is the first time he's had a chance to play everyday and he's still in the prime of his athletic career.  And he's really pounding the ball.  Since taking over as the primary first baseman, he's hitting .370/.426/.783 in 101 plate appearances.  These aren't mortal numbers though, they're Barry Bonds in 2002 numbers.  This is the very definition of "hot streak".

He's also hitting about 70 points higher than his career BABiP.  Morse has walked just six times in that stretch and is 4.9 percent for the season, well below league average.  When the BABiP normalizes, so will his OBP.  But there's no doubt the power is impressive while he's on this streak.

Adam Kilgore at Nats Journal today took a look at the Nats run differential and theorized that the Nats "might be good enough to at least fool you for a little" that they could contend.  According to their projected record based on that differential, the Nats could be playing .500 baseball.  What Kilgore didn't mention in the piece -- and what the differential can't explain -- is that the Nats are +22 in just two games, the 17-5 game against the Orioles and last night's 10-0 romp over the Cardinals.  Take out that +22, and we get right back to thinking the Nats are a 70-72 win team, instead of the illusion that they could contend.

It's human nature to cling to the positive and hope for the best.  But as Harper over at Nationals Baseball stated in his post today, the Nats have allowed just 18 runs in their last 11 wins, an average of just 1.63 runs per game against.  That's not just good pitching, it's unsustainably good pitching.

Over his last four starts, John Lannan has given up a total of two earned runs.  Batters are hitting .172/.260/.258 against him.  His BABiP against is a ridiculous .179.  Do we really think Lannan can continue to make the rest of the National League hitters look like pitchers hitting against him?  Not a knock against Lannan, but that's the very definition of unsustainable. 

Same with Marquis.  His last three starts, all wins, he's given up a total of three earned runs in 17 2/3 innings with a slash line of .222/.310/.365 and BABiP of .250.  But I've stopped trying to figure Livo out.  How can he give up six earned to the Padres and throw a three-hit shut out against the league's best-hitting team?  Defies logic and statistics. 

Jordan Zimmermann, however, looks like he's for real.  He hasn't been lucky, just good.  He's getting batters out pitching in the strike zone, which is the measure of an elite pitcher.  If he can continue this and get just a few more swing-and-misses, NatsTown may very well have a pair of aces to play against the rest of the league next year.

Defensively, the Nats are on a very impressive run, 13-plus games without an error.  But there's a reason why this period is now the franchise's record: Streaks like this (and it is a streak) just don't happen very often.  The Nationals are much improved defensively across the board, and especially up the middle, where Desmond and Espinosa continue to impress on a nightly basis.  But they aren't going to go the whole season without making another error.

I have to admit, the Nats surprised me on their west coast swing.  In year's past, those long west coast trips have killed this team.  Keeping with their "pitching and defense" mantra, they managed a winning multi-city road trip for the first time since 2008.  It took them winning three in a row in the last three games of the trip by a combined score of 6-2 to get there, but they did all the same. 

Then they come home and get the boost of their leader returning from a two-month stint on the disabled list and win two more games against a reeling Cardinals team that has now lost five in a row.  It's great to see the Nats taking advantage in places where they used to crumble.  But can we get to the all-star break before we start printing playoff tickets?

In 2010, the Nats had a stretch where they won seven out of ten and another where they took five out of seven.  In 2009, they went 12-4 in late July-early August.  They won seven in a row in a stretch in August 2008.  And we all know how those seasons finished up.  All I'm saying is that it's a long season.  Be enthusiastic, cheer on the good baseball, hope for the future.  Just try to be realistic when doing so.

VETERAN HURLER TOSSES NINTH CAREER COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT

For much of this season, the Washington Nationals offense has lied dormant, languishing at the bottom of the National League in most categories.  But Tuesday their leader returned and seemed to flip a switch in this team, as an eight-run outburst Tuesday night gave way to a 15-hit, four homer, 10-0 shellacking of the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, before 27,130 at jubilant Nationals Park.

The Nats winning streak reaches five games, the longest since August 2009, and inches them one step closer to the elusive .500 mark at 32-36.  The Cardinals, who came into the game tied for the lead in the N.L. Central, have lost five straight.

Not to be forgotten in the offensive fireworks, veteran starter Livan Hernandez pitched his finest game of the season: a complete game, three-hit shutout of the N.L.'s leading hitting team.  Livo did not walk a batter and struck out six.  In fact, Hernandez lowered his ERA to 3.77, earning his fourth win against eight losses.  He allowed just one batter to reach as far as second all night.

Often the hard luck loser this year, Livo had all the runs he needed last night.  The complete game was his 50th of his career and ninth complete game shutout.

Washington got to Cardinals starter Kyle McClellan in the second, when Michael Morse hit his 11th home run of the season.  That was just the beginning, though, as Ryan Zimmerman drove in his second run since rejoining the team Tuesday with a single up the middle that plated Jayson Werth in the third.

Things turned ugly for McClellan (L, 6-3), making his first start since being activated from the D.L., in the fourth inning.  Morse and Danny Espinosa both doubled to start off the inning, and Ivan Rodriguez singled to right, scoring Morse.  After a Livo sacrifice -- from the No. 8 spot in manager Jim Riggleman's order -- Ian Desmond bounced a ball to third that Albert Pujols could not handle, and Espinosa scored.

A batter later, Roger Bernadina continued his hot stretch, dumping a ball into left that Jon Jay couldn't get to, and Pudge came around to cap the three-run frame.

Deposed closer Ryan Franklin relieved McClellan, though Cards manager Tony LaRussa will think twice before calling his name again.  The Nats got one off Franklin in the sixth, as Desmond singled in Pudge from third, once again after Livo had sacrificed the runner up a base.

But that wasn't the end.  In the seventh, Michael Morse hit a colossal two-run shot over the visitor's bullpen and into Section 101, and Espinosa followed on the next at bat, clubbing one off the facing of the upper deck in right field above the Nats bullpen.  It was the first time Nats have gone back-to-back since August 2010 when Morse did the deed with the departed Jason Maxwell.

Jayson Werth, who was the only National position player to go hitless into the eighth inning, corrected that by adding a solo home run to left center as icing on the cake.

All that was left was for Livo to complete the game, and in the ninth he had no trouble at all.  He struck out Tyler Greene and Mark Hamilton, and coaxed a pop-up from Colby Rasmus to Zimmerman to end the game.  Livo needed just 105 pitches to dispatch St. Louis, and after the last was mobbed by his teammates and even received a pie in the face from Thursday's starter and clubhouse prankster John Lannan for his accomplishment.

The Nats have banged out 18 runs and 28 hits in the last two games, an almost inconceivable thought when they were slogging up and down the west coast last week, playing 2-1 games like that was the objective.  Is it mere coincidence this outbreak has happened with the return of the Face of the Franchise?  Entirely possible.  Zimmerman has contributed but one hit a night to the attack. 

But perhaps the entire team -- maybe the whole organization, fans included -- has taken a proverbial sigh of relief just seeing No. 11 back at his customary third base spot, hitting third in the order.

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THE GOOD:  Four players had multi-hit nights, but the star was Michael Morse.  He went 3-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs, upping his batting average to .312.  Hot streaks don't get much hotter than the one Morse is riding right now.

THE BAD:  The Cardinals defense.  They made three errors, including two by out-of-position Albert Pujols at third base.  LaRussa assumes he's the smartest man in whatever room he's in, but he's out-thinking himself putting Prince Albert in a can over at third.

THE UGLY:  Ryan Franklin.  He was throwing meatballs up there.  Charlie and Dave on the radio remarked how everything Franklin was throwing was right over the heart of the plate, like he wasn't even trying to get guys out.  Guess what?  He didn't get guys out, and he now has an 8.17 ERA this season.

THE STATS:  15 hits, zero walks, three strikeouts.  5-for-10 with RISP, six LOB, two GIDP. No errors, making

NEXT GAME:  Thursday against St. Louis at 7:05 pm from Nats Park.  John Lannan (4-5, 3.60) faces Kyle Lohse (7-3, 2.67).

NATS NOTES:  Before the game, the Nats sent ineffective starting pitcher Yunesky Maya back to Syracuse, and recalled frequent flyer reliever Collin Balester back for the pen.  The team is expected to activate LHP Tom Gorzelanny from the D.L. to start Sunday against Baltimore.

The Nats extended their errorless streak to 122 2/3 innings across 13-plus games, extending their franchise record streak.