• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Zimmerman, middle of lineup produced Nationals third straight win

Aug 3, 2007 - 3:33 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Ryan Zimmerman helped the Washington Nationals accomplish something not done since the franchise's days in Montreal.

Zimmerman had three hits and drove in three runs and Mike Bacsik threw seven sharp innings as the Nationals completed a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 7-3 victory on Thursday.

Dmitri Young drove in two runs, Ronnie Belliard scored three times and the 2-3-4 hitters combined to go 7-for-12 with six RBI as the Nationals won their sixth straight over the Reds for the first time since 1996.

Zimmerman helped Washington take the lead with a RBI double in the third and knocked in two more with a single in the fourth.

"We got some runners one and I got some big hits," Zimmerman said. "I just try and do what the situation dictates."

Zimmerman and his teammates banged out nine hits in the first four innings as Washington posted its third straight win and has won six of the seven meetings between the clubs this season.

"We go out there and work hard and eventually things will work out," Young said. "We just hope it continues."

Meanwhile Bacsik (5-6) did not need much run support. The lefthander retired 16 of the last 17 hitters after allowing a two-run homer to Alex Gonzalez in the second inning that put Cincinnati up 3-1.

Bacsik was efficient, needing just 81 pitches to get through seven innings. The 29-year-old allowed just three runs and three hits in seven innings with a season-high six strikeouts.

"With my stuff, I have to keep the ball down," Bacsik said. "If I focus at the start I'm OK. In the second inning I made three bad pitches in a row. After that I stayed ahead of the hitters and threw good first pitches."

After Gonzalez's homer put Cincinnati up 3-1, Washington answered quickly in the next frame. With Belliard on second after a leadoff double, Zimmerman blasted a ball to the left-center field gap for an RBI double to cut the lead to 3-2.

Young then knotted the game at 3-3 with an RBI single that plated Zimmerman as the Nationals recorded four straight hits to start the inning.

Washington continued its onslaught, taking the lead in a three-run fourth and chasing rookie Phil Dumatrait in his major league debut. Bacsik led off the frame with his first double of the season and scored on Belliard's second double of the night which gave the Nationals a 4-3 lead.

Dumatrait, who was starting because Kyle Lohse was traded to Philadelphia, allowed six runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.

"He didn't have his control," Reds manager Pete Mackanin said. "It was his debut and he was nervous."

Even with Dumatrait (0-1) out of the game, Zimmerman continued his impressive night by padding the lead with a two-run single in the fourth off Todd Coffey to extend the lead to 6-3.

The Nationals then turned to their biggest strength, the bullpen, to protect the lead. Jon Rauch threw a scoreless eighth and Saul Rivera worked around two hits in the ninth to close it out.

"I can't say enough about how well the bullpen has done for us, Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "They been huge for us."

Adam Dunn hit his 28th homer of the season, a solo shot in the second for the Reds, who have lost five straight.

"The whole series nothing went right for us and everything went right for them," Mackanin said.