He will visit Dr. James Andrews on Friday to see what might be causing the newest elbow injury. Hill has had multiple examinations of his arm but has not been able to shake the persistent pain that robbed him of his breaking pitches this season and caused him to skip almost all of his work between starts.

Given the number of young starters the Nationals expect to audition next spring, it's worth asking how much longer Hill, who had a 3.42 ERA in 16 starts last season, will even factor into their plans.

"I have felt bad for him for four years, because even since we were in Montreal, this guy has been battling injuries," manager Manny Acta said. "I hope he overcomes all this. You're always going to wonder what he could have done if he would have stayed healthy. Some of us that saw Hill when he was on his game, he looked like a really solid No. 3 guy on a winning ballclub."

NATIONALS 11, DODGERS 2: Washington starter John Lannan gave up two runs in the first inning on a Manny Ramirez home run, but the Nationals countered with five in the bottom of the first, including home runs from Elijah Dukes and Cristian Guzman.

Lannan only gave up two more hits after the first, and Washington blew the game open with four runs off the Dodgers bullpen after chasing Clayton Kershaw from the game in the third inning.

Guzman completed the cycle with a triple in the eighth inning, driving in three runs, and Ryan Zimmerman added three hits, two runs and an RBI.