--RHP Jordan Zimmermann struggled through one of his worst innings as a professional Thursday night but managed to battle past that and emerge with a strong outing for the Nationals. After allowing six runs in the first inning against the Dodgers, the rookie tossed five scoreless innings, allowing his teammates to rally to an 11-9 victory. Afterward, the Washington clubhouse praised the 22-year-old pitcher for his gutty effort. "It was special what he did today," manager Manny Acta said. "The fact that he went out there after that and gave us five shutout innings, it just says a lot about this kid."
--LHP Joe Beimel needed 40 pitches to get out of the eighth inning Thursday night against the Dodgers, but the left-hander was all smiles afterward. Desperate for some quality relief work, the Nationals allowed the veteran reliever to stay on the mound and work his way out of a jam against the Dodgers. Beimel, who just came off the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, wound up preserving Washington's lead en route to an 11-9 win. "I'm exhausted," he said. "I earned my money tonight." --RHP Daniel Cabrera has not pitched especially well for the Nationals six times around the rotation, but he hasn't been helped much by his defense, either. Opponents have scored eight unearned runs on Cabrera already this season, tops in the National League. SS Cristian Guzman committed two errors Wednesday night with the right-hander on the mound, one of them leading to a run. "It's just part of the game," he said.
BY THE NUMBERS: 0 -- Nine-inning starts by Nationals pitchers in 2007 and 2008. Rookie Shairon Martis finally ended the streak May 2 when he went the distance in a 6-1 win over the Cardinals.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Moments like this, games like this, they're worth five of those losses that we had before. This is what we're working for here, to develop these types of kids." -- Nationals manager Manny Acta, after rookie right-hander Shairon Martis threw a complete-game, five-hitter Saturday to beat the Cardinals, 6-1.
