WASHINGTON (AP) Jordan Zimmermann became the National League's first eight-game winner, and the Washington Nationals followed a calamitous road trip with a winning start to a homestand, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 on Friday night.
Zimmermann (8-2) allowed two runs and six hits with no walks over seven innings - actually raising his ERA to 1.71 - on an unseasonably chilly and windy night in the nation's capital. There was at least a bit of heat from the Nationals' bats, which have been going through such a cold spell that manager Davey Johnson said before the game he wouldn't shave again until his lineup started hitting.
As it turned out, the Nationals scored their most runs in a week, and they got four or more in the same inning for the first time almost a month. Steve Lombardozzi, playing second while Danny Espinosa recovers from a broken wrist, had three hits, including a two-out, two-run double that capped the rally in the four-run fifth.
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