Ryan Zimmerman

Sean Burroughs hit a two-run home run and Ian Kennedy pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 2-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. Kennedy (16-4) allowed six hits, struck out eight batters, and also had a single and a double at the plate. It was Kennedy's eighth win in his last nine starts, and ended a six-game Arizona losing streak. Burroughs' homer to right field with one out in the seventh inning was his first since April 30, 2005.

Martin Prado had two hits, including a homer, in his return from five weeks on the disabled list and the Braves beat the error-prone Washington Nationals 11-1 on Friday night for the 10,000th win in franchise history. The Braves reached the milestone, having played in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta. Tim Hudson (9-6) gave up one run on seven hits in seven innings and had two hits. He has won four straight decisions. Freddie Freeman drove in three runs with two hits, including a two-run double in the seventh.

Hagerstown Suns fans will get a preview of the Washington Nationals’ future lineup on Sunday. They won’t have to dream about Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman in the same lineup. They will see it first hand. The Suns announced that Zimmerman will be making a rehab appearance in Sunday’s game against Greensboro at 4:05 p.m. at Municipal Stadium. It will be Zimmerman’s first stop en route to returning to Nationals’ active roster. Washington’s third baseman has been on the disabled list since mid-April with a torn abdominal muscle.

Edwin Jackson pitched seven effective innings, Adam LaRoche hit a three-run homer and the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 5-3 on Wednesday night. Jackson (2-3) allowed three runs, two earned, and three hits to earn his first win since April 14 against Cincinnati. The right-hander was 0-3 with a 3.33 ERA in his previous eight starts. Sean Burnett pitched a perfect eighth and Tyler Clippard worked the ninth for his fifth save in six chances, completing a three-hitter.

Officially, Rick Ankiel and Michael Morse started the 2012 season on the Washington Nationals' disabled list. Ankiel looks at it a little differently. He's getting a little more spring training than the rest of the guys. Ankiel and Morse continued their rehab/training routine on Monday when both Nationals outfielders were in the starting lineup for the Hagerstown Suns and took the field against Lexington at Municipal Stadium. Ankiel went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, two walks and three RBIs on Monday.

HOUSTON (AP) -- Carlos Lee hit a two-run home run, Wandy Rodriguez snapped his three-game losing streak and the Houston Astros beat the Washington Nationals 5-1 on Wednesday night. Rodriguez (3-7) pitched out of bases loaded jams in the fourth and fifth innings to secure his first victory since May 12. He struck out a season high eight over five innings. Lee hit his sixth homer of the season off John Lannan (2-3) in the third inning. He allowed eight hits and two earned runs in 6 1-3 innings.

At his dominant best until a shaky ninth inning, Roy Halladay held on to throw his first complete game of 2011, leading the Philadelphia Phillies past the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Wednesday night. Through eight shutout innings, Halladay (2-0) allowed only a pair of singles by Adam LaRoche, who talked his way back into Washington’s lineup despite a hurt groin. In the ninth, Halladay allowed four hits, including RBI singles by Laynce Nix and Danny Espinosa. But with two on, the two-time Cy Young Award winner ended the game by throwing six straight strikes to fan pinch-hitter Matt Stairs and Ivan Rodriguez, who argued the game-ending call at length.

Chien-Ming Wang won back-to-back starts for the first time in three years and Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman homered to lift the Washington Nationals to a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night. Wang (2-2) allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, his longest outing since a stint of 7 1-3 innings on June 10, 2008, that began his previous consecutive wins run. Morse homered into the right-field seats in the third inning for his 21st shot this season. He also hit a run-scoring double in the first.

Roy Oswalt pitched eight-hit ball for eight innings, Wilson Valdez and Jimmy Rollins each drove in two runs and Hunter Pence homered to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night. The Phillies, winners for the 81st time this year, scored twice in the fourth and three times in the sixth as Oswalt (6-7) struck out nine - the most since joining Philadelphia last July. He walked one and had runners on in every inning but the second and third.

Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer, Carlos Lee drove in two runs, and the Miami Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Monday night to split the teams' four-game series. Carlos Zambrano (5-7) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings, and snapped a four-game losing streak. Heath Bell pitched a scoreless eighth, and Mike Dunn pitched the ninth to record his first career save. Dunn allowed a two-out single to Bryce Harper and walked Ryan Zimmerman before striking out Adam LaRoche to end the game.

The Washington Nationals' pitching staff is getting healthy, and with the way Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond are hitting, the defending NL East champions are hitting their stride just as summer heats up. Zimmerman homered, doubled and drove in three runs, Desmond got four hits and the Nationals beat the depleted Colorado Rockies 5-4 on Thursday. Washington has been beset by injuries to its rotation, but with the return of starter Ross Detwiler on Thursday and Stephen Strasburg expected back Sunday, the Nationals feel confident heading into the last 97 games of the season.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson got what he wanted, a second consecutive rainout to give his battered team an extra day to heal. Maybe the mental break will turn out to be the catalyst the Nationals have been seeking. Certainly, nothing else has worked so far. The preseason NL East favorite remained one game below .500 Friday, when a series opener against the  Minnesota Twins was postponed as rain from Tropical Storm Andrea moved north. The game will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Sunday.

We writers fancy ourselves to be artists. We witness an event and then try to create a masterpiece by finding the right words to paint a picture to capture our readers' imaginations.  It's kind of like having one of those color-by-number sets when you are a kid. And because of that, there are times we come out looking as focused as Rembrandt and as abstract as Picasso. Then, other times, we come off as confused as a 3-year-old using a crayon on a wall. Sometimes, events defy description.

B.J. Upton returned to the lineup and had two hits, including a game-ending single in the 10th inning that lifted the Atlanta Braves to a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night. Upton, hitting only .145 at the start of the game, had been held out of two straight starts by manager Fredi Gonzalez, who hoped the rest would jumpstart the center fielder. And Upton came through with a single to right field off Henry Rodriguez (0-1) to drive in Jordan Schafer from second base.

It took a rare team meeting for the Washington Nationals to get what lately has been a rare victory when Stephen Strasburg starts. Strasburg struck out eight in seven innings and the Nationals won one of his outings for the first time since opening day by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 Saturday. “I was absolutely happy about getting through the seventh inning,” Strasburg said. “The biggest thing is to give your team a chance to win the ballgame. Not every game are you going to be lights out and hitting every spot.” Strasburg remained winless since his first start, though.

Jordan Zimmermann pitched a six-hitter for his third victory of the season, and the Washington Nationals bounced back from a humbling weekend to beat the Miami Marlins 10-3 Monday night. Ryan Zimmerman hit his first home run and had four RBIs to lead a 16-hit outburst. Zimmermann (3-0) struck out six, walked one and threw 102 pitches in his second career complete game. The Nationals were outscored 18-5 while being swept in a three-game series at home against Atlanta. They took out any lingering frustration on the Marlins (2-11)

There aren't going to be many times when Stephen Strasburg doesn't give up an earned run and the Washington Nationals lose the game. Unfortunately for Washington and its ace right-hander, that is precisely what happened Saturday in an NL East duel against the Atlanta Braves. Strasburg threw six innings of five-hit ball, but a throwing error by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman paved the way for Atlanta to extend its winning streak to eight games with a 3-1 victory. Coming off a flawed outing in Cincinnati (6 runs in 5 1/3 innings)

Ramiro Pena hit a two-run homer off Craig Stammen with two outs in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves came back to beat the Washington Nationals 6-4 Friday night, stretching their winning streak to seven games. Pena, who reached on a bunt as a pinch hitter in the eighth, helped Atlanta finish off a rally in a game it trailed 4-0 after two innings and 4-2 entering the ninth. Eric O'Flaherty (2-0) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the win, while Craig Kimbrel retired the heart of Washington's order for his fifth save in five chances.

A familiar cast of characters helped the Washington Nationals complete a lopsided, season-opening three-game sweep of the payroll-slashing, talent-trading Miami Marlins. Now should come more of a test: A visit to the reigning NL Central champion Cincinnati Reds starting Friday. In Washington's 6-1 victory over Miami in the finale Thursday - the combined series score was 11-1 - Jayson Werth tacked on a three-run homer, Ryan Zimmerman's three hits included a two-run double, Bryce Harper had two more hits, and right-hander Jordan Zimmermann went six innings.