Zimmerman Gets a Day Off, Ending Streak

The last time Ryan Zimmerman didn't appear in a game for the Washington Nationals, Alfonso Soriano was the leadoff hitter and left fielder, José Vidro the second baseman, Tony Armas Jr. the starting pitcher. A utilityman named Melvin Dorta filled in for Zimmerman at third. That was Sept. 18, 2006.

Yesterday, though, Zimmerman relaxed in the Nationals' dugout during their entire 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, his first game off after playing 205 straight, including all 162 last season. The idea, Zimmerman and Manager Manny Acta said, is to keep the 23-year-old fresh later in the year, and his time off yesterday will be coupled with today's off day.

"I knew I wouldn't want to" play 162 again, he said. "It's tough. It takes a toll on your body. . . . Two days of relaxing and doing nothing, you can't really tell anybody how much that does for you in the course of a long season. It's better for me. It's better for the team. It's better for everybody."

His streak was the second-longest active one in the majors; Atlanta outfielder Jeff Francoeur yesterday played for the 356th consecutive time.

"We talked in spring training, and we decided," Acta said. "He told me he's not pursuing Cal Ripken Jr.'s record."

Zimmerman is off to a slow start, hitting .217 with just nine extra-base hits in 129 at-bats, all from the third spot in the Nationals' order. He approached Acta about taking the day off. Center fielder Lastings Milledge moved up to third yesterday, and Zimmerman's replacement at third, Aaron Boone, hit his first homer of the season.

Dukes Tossed in Columbus

Outfielder Elijah Dukes was ejected from yesterday's game with Class AAA Columbus after he was called out on strikes in the sixth inning. Dukes went 0 for 2 with a walk, and is 4 for 10 in three games for the Clippers, with whom he is rehabilitating a strained right hamstring.

"He's running well," General Manager Jim Bowden said. "We're really pleased with how hard he's playing and how well he's playing. We're monitoring him. It could be one day, two days, five days, a week."

Young Heads to Florida

First baseman Dmitri Young, on the disabled list with a sprained lower back, describes his last four weeks thusly: "It's been a pained vacation." Yesterday, he departed for the Nationals' complex in Viera, Fla., where he will begin working out following a massage Thursday that seemed to solve his problem.

He said his objective will be to work on his body, "Just getting it back in shape, getting back running, taking grounders." Young, though, would put no timetable on his return. He knows, though, that he wouldn't be close to working out without team masseuse Tatiana Tchamouroff.

"I'm going and seeing specialists and flying all over the place," Young said, "and the help was right in our own back yard."