San Diego @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 6, 2010 ) San Diego 5, Washington 6
Ryan Zimmerman is heating up at just the right time - for both himself and his team.
Zimmerman hopes to continue his power surge tonight when his Washington Nationals host the San Diego Padres in the middle game of their three-game set.
After going 19 games without a home run, Zimmerman ended the drought with his 14th of the season in a 9-5 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday. Two days later, the star third baseman launched a pair of solo shots, the second of which gave Washington a walk-off 6-5 victory over San Diego.
Snubbed from the National League roster for next week's All-Star Game, Zimmerman is one of five players eligible for the final roster spot that will be determined by Internet voting. With three homers and six RBIs in his last two games, he is proving himself worthy of the honor.
Zimmerman can strengthen his case when he faces Padres right-hander Jon Garland. In five career at-bats against the veteran, Zimmerman has three hits - all solo home runs.
Two of those blasts came on May 30 in the Nationals' 3-2 loss. It was Zimmerman's last two-homer game prior to Tuesday, when he belted an 0-1 pitch from Luke Gregerson over the center-field wall leading off the bottom of the ninth inning.
Thanks to Zimmerman's heroics, Washington improved to 3-2 on its 10-game homestand and 23-18 at Nationals Park this season. The club also extended its home winning streak when Livan Hernandez starts to eight in a row.
The Padres, whose three-run rally in the eighth inning forged a 5-5 tie, fell to 5-2 in their last seven road games. They also dropped to 25-9 overall and 12-4 on the road against the Nationals since the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington.
Garland attempts to win his third straight decision when he takes the mound tonight. However, the 30-year-old is 2-3 with a 5.30 ERA in his last six starts.
On Thursday, Garland yielded three runs, six hits and a season-high six walks in five innings but did not factor in the decision of San Diego's 6-3 loss to Houston.
Garland is 1-1 in five career outings against Washington. He settled for a no-decision in the Padres' 3-2 win on May 30 despite allowing just two runs over seven innings.
The Nationals counter with J.D. Martin, who will be making his seventh start of the year but still is searching for his first win. The 27-year-old right-hander was tagged with the loss last Wednesday, when he surrendered three runs in five innings of a 4-1 setback at Atlanta.
Martin is 0-2 in three career starts against the Padres, including a 4-2 loss on May 29 in which he gave up four runs - one earned - and four hits over six innings.