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Road Trip Ends Up All Right For Nats
Ryan Zimmerman arrives safely at home for the Nationals, scoring from second on a single by Austin Kearns.
(By Dave Einsel -- Associated Press)
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There were some other encouraging signs. When the Nationals host the first-place Florida Marlins this weekend -- a brief stop at Nationals Park before they head out for a seven-game road trip -- they will do so with a revived Zimmerman. The third baseman took his first game off in more than a year on Sunday. Coincidental or not, he came to Houston revived.
On Thursday night, Zimmerman struck out in his first two at-bats, but followed with three hard singles, scoring twice. That made him 8 for 14 with two homers and a double for the series, lifting his average from .217 to .252 in three days.
"I think that was huge for me," Zimmerman said.
Finally, there were the contributions from Mackowiak, who spelled Wily Mo Peña in left, and Harris, who subbed for Lastings Milledge in center. Harris hit his homer off Houston starter Brandon Backe, a solo shot in the third that put the Nationals up 2-0. After Kearns opened it up a bit with a two-run single in the sixth that made it 4-1, Mackowiak opened things up in the eighth with a two-run shot to the opposite field, his first RBI of the year.
"That's what we envisioned when we signed him," Acta said.
It's what Mackowiak -- who went 2 for 4 and added a stellar sliding catch to rob pinch hitter Darin Erstad of extra bases in the seventh -- envisioned as well. He admitted that he has had trouble adapting to playing infrequently. Thursday was just his fifth start, but his fourth since April 25.
"It's crucial to be in there once every couple days," Mackowiak said. "Sitting for two weeks, you're not going to get the job done when you get out there. Nobody can do that."
So what might have been a miserable trip turned out to be tolerable, and it would take much more to turn back toward the abyss. In one night, two sloppy losses were in the past, and nearly every member of the team could have a comfortable sleep on the flight home.
