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May 7, 2016 - 12:05 AM The Washington Nationals added Daniel Murphy after missing out on Ben Zobrist, a move that's paid off thus far.

Zobrist's decision to join the Chicago Cubs is working out just fine as well.

Zobrist looks to continue his recent power surge when the soaring Cubs aim for a season-high sixth straight win in Saturday's matchup with the Nationals.

The offseason signing of Zobrist didn't garner quite the attention - or the financial commitment - as that of new teammate Jason Heyward, but it's proving to be a very astute pickup. The five home runs and 24 RBIs of one of Joe Maddon's favorites rank only behind Anthony Rizzo in a loaded Cubs lineup and are a big reason why Chicago is the first team to win 22 of its first 28 games since the 2003 New York Yankees.

Zobrist drove in four more runs while homering twice off Max Scherzer in Friday's 8-6 win, giving him four home runs and 11 RBIs over his last three games. He's amassed 14 RBIs while going 7 for 18 over a five-game hitting streak.

"Probably a week ago both of those balls I hit would have been caught," he said. "Just feeling good right now and I think we're playing great baseball."

Rizzo and Tommy La Stella also homered off Scherzer as the Cubs rocked Washington's ace for seven runs in five innings in their second straight win to begin this four-game series of division leaders.

"I felt like I was predictable, and they were just able to kind of key on that," Scherzer said. "It's almost like they had a better understanding of me than me."

Murphy, the MVP of the New York Mets' NLCS win over the Cubs in October, finished 4 for 4 with two runs scored to raise his MLB-leading average to .406. He's 15 for 29 with seven RBIs and eight runs scored over a seven-game tear.

While Murphy continues to rake with his new team, Bryce Harper's recent slump lingered with Friday's 0-for-3 effort. The reigning NL MVP is hitting .147 with two RBIs over his last 10 games.

Washington (19-10) has lost three of four on a 10-game trip against 2015 playoff teams it started with four consecutive wins.

After both teams combined for six home runs on Friday, Saturday's contest pits two of the NL's current top four in ERA in the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez and Chicago's Jason Hammel, a longtime Washington nemesis.

Hammel (4-0, 1.24 ERA) has won eight consecutive starts against the Nationals and is 9-0 with a 3.01 ERA in 11 career meetings with Washington. The righty extended his impressive streak with eight strong innings in a 4-2 win at Nationals Park in June.

He enters this matchup on a roll as well, winning a fourth straight start by holding Pittsburgh to two runs over five-plus innings in Monday's 7-2 victory.

Harper is 2 for 14 with five strikeouts against Hammel but Murphy is 6 for 11 off him.

Gonzalez (2-1, 1.15) trails only Chicago's Jake Arrieta for the NL ERA lead and has yielded one earned run or fewer in four of his five starts. He limited Kansas City to four hits through six sharp innings in Monday's 2-0 win.

The left-hander owns a 5.74 ERA in three Wrigley Field starts but was outstanding in the most recent one, allowing two hits and striking out seven in seven innings of a 3-0 win on June 28, 2014.

Rizzo is hitting .346 with seven homers and 17 RBIs over his last 14 games but is 1 for 14 lifetime against Gonzalez.