Nationalsclub.com | Washington Nationals News, nationals Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary - <div> --3B Ryan Zimmerman missed his fifth straight game with a sore left shoulder, and though the third baseman expects to be back either Sunday or Tuesday, he admitted he may have to deal with the injury all season. "I don't know if it will be back to where I want it until the season's over and I have a chance to rest it for more than a week," Zimmerman said. "I want to play, and if I'm going to have to play through a little bit of pain, I don't really see any problem with that. It's just a matter of making sure I can't hurt anything further and being able to handle the pain without having to take pain medicine every day."</div>--OF Wily Mo Pena remains in a season-long rut at the plate. In 111 at-bats, Pena has just one homer and four doubles. He's also striking out at a high rate (30 to date) while batting just .207. Pena was out of the Nationals lineup against the Diamondbacks, but manager Manny Acta said he'll continue to get regular playing time. "If anybody tells you that they were expecting Wily to hit one home run to this point, they were lying to you," Acta said. "Maybe we were expecting more. But the season's still young, and there's over 100 games to go. He's going to have a chance to keep playing and see if he can bounce back." --INF/OF Willie Harris hasn't been given many opportunities to start this season, but the utility-man has made the most of his limited chances. Given a rare start Friday night against Arizona, Harris came through again. His three-run homer in the seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie and lifted the Nationals to a 7-4 victory. Harris is hitting just .172 this year, but he's now homered in two of his 10 starts. "I'm not an everyday player and I know that," he said. "But at the same time, when given an opportunity, you've got to make the most of the opportunities." --RHP Tim Redding has pitched effectively early in games for the Nationals, but he's run into trouble the deeper he goes into his starts. Opposing hitters are batting just .163 their first time up against Redding, but they're batting .237 the second time and .328 after that. "For whatever reason, the third time has been the problem for me," Redding said. "But I'm not consciously thinking about it out there. You can't go out there the sixth inning and all of a sudden change the way you're throwing. If you're having success, you've got to do the first five innings what you've been doing to have success." --RHP Jon Rauch earned his 12th save in 14 tries Friday night with a 1-2-3 ninth inning against the Diamondbacks. Rauch, who took over closing duties when RHP Chad Cordero suffered a right shoulder injury, has yet to allow an earned run in any save situation. BY THE NUMBERS: 721 -- Days since Ryan Zimmerman and Austin Kearns were both been out of the Nationals' lineup, which happened Monday with Zimmerman taking a day off and Kearns on the disabled list. The last time was June 5, 2006, before the Nationals traded for Kearns. QUOTE TO NOTE: "If they want to go ahead and test me and throw fastballs in there, that's fine." -- 3B Ryan Zimmerman, on whether he's worried opponents know he is fighting a sore shoulder.

--3B Ryan Zimmerman missed his fifth straight game with a sore left shoulder, and though the third baseman expects to be back either Sunday or Tuesday, he admitted he may have to deal with the injury all season. "I don't know if it will be back to where I want it until the season's over and I have a chance to rest it for more than a week," Zimmerman said. "I want to play, and if I'm going to have to play through a little bit of pain, I don't really see any problem with that. It's just a matter of making sure I can't hurt anything further and being able to handle the pain without having to take pain medicine every day."

--OF Wily Mo Pena remains in a season-long rut at the plate. In 111 at-bats, Pena has just one homer and four doubles. He's also striking out at a high rate (30 to date) while batting just .207. Pena was out of the Nationals lineup against the Diamondbacks, but manager Manny Acta said he'll continue to get regular playing time. "If anybody tells you that they were expecting Wily to hit one home run to this point, they were lying to you," Acta said. "Maybe we were expecting more. But the season's still young, and there's over 100 games to go. He's going to have a chance to keep playing and see if he can bounce back."

--INF/OF Willie Harris hasn't been given many opportunities to start this season, but the utility-man has made the most of his limited chances. Given a rare start Friday night against Arizona, Harris came through again. His three-run homer in the seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie and lifted the Nationals to a 7-4 victory. Harris is hitting just .172 this year, but he's now homered in two of his 10 starts. "I'm not an everyday player and I know that," he said. "But at the same time, when given an opportunity, you've got to make the most of the opportunities."

--RHP Tim Redding has pitched effectively early in games for the Nationals, but he's run into trouble the deeper he goes into his starts. Opposing hitters are batting just .163 their first time up against Redding, but they're batting .237 the second time and .328 after that. "For whatever reason, the third time has been the problem for me," Redding said. "But I'm not consciously thinking about it out there. You can't go out there the sixth inning and all of a sudden change the way you're throwing. If you're having success, you've got to do the first five innings what you've been doing to have success."

--RHP Jon Rauch earned his 12th save in 14 tries Friday night with a 1-2-3 ninth inning against the Diamondbacks. Rauch, who took over closing duties when RHP Chad Cordero suffered a right shoulder injury, has yet to allow an earned run in any save situation.

BY THE NUMBERS: 721 -- Days since Ryan Zimmerman and Austin Kearns were both been out of the Nationals' lineup, which happened Monday with Zimmerman taking a day off and Kearns on the disabled list. The last time was June 5, 2006, before the Nationals traded for Kearns.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "If they want to go ahead and test me and throw fastballs in there, that's fine." -- 3B Ryan Zimmerman, on whether he's worried opponents know he is fighting a sore shoulder.