WASHINGTON -- Ryan Zimmerman came forward to make a head-high running catch on a slicing line drive off the bat of Chase Utley, a routine play that drew a disproportionately grand ovation from the home fans. "Thats almost the awkward part of it," Zimmerman said. "Yeah, I caught the ball. Yeah, like, I can catch a fly ball." He might have been embarrassed by all the fuss, but it was nevertheless a landmark moment in career of the player long considered the face of the Washington Nationals franchise. It was his first putout as an outfielder after more than 1,100 games as a third baseman, part of a good night all around for him and his club Tuesday in a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Jordan Zimmermann rebounded from a mini-slump to throw eight scoreless innings, Zimmerman hit a pair of doubles and handled his two chances with aplomb in left field, and the Nationals moved back to .500 by taking the opener of the three-game series. "Theres nothing like getting into the first game and getting a couple of balls," Zimmerman said. "And getting a couple of hits helped, too." Zimmermann (4-2) allowed five hits and struck out four, recovering well from four middling starts that had raised his usually impeccable ERA to 4.07. He got all the support he needed when the Nationals scored three in the third inning off David Buchanan (1-2), making his third career start. "May was a pretty rough month for me, and hopefully June has better things to come," Zimmermann said. "I wanted to go nine, but eightll be good enough." Zimmerman went 2 for 4 with one RBI after being reinstated before the game following 44 games on the disabled list with a broken right thumb. Of greater interest was his move to the outfield, a switch necessitated by his throwing problems and the need for a strong hitter to play left field while Bryce Harper recovers from thumb surgery. Zimmerman said he was initially hesitant to try the outfield, but he realized his chronic shoulder problems mean his days as a regular third baseman are numbered. Ever the team player, he said he just wanted to help the club win -- even if theres likely not a Gold Glove in it for him, like the one he won playing third in 2009. "I feel like Im athletic enough to at least blend in," he said. "And not cause problems." Like many infielders-turned-outfielders before him, he learned the action isnt as fast and furious when stationed 300 feet from home plate. Playing deeper than a usual left fielder and using a glove borrowed from teammate Jayson Werth, he fielded only the liner from Utley and a shallow flyout by Marlon Byrd in the sixth before being removed for defensive replacement Nate McLouth after seven innings. There was no complaint about the lack of work. "That means our pitchers are doing a good job," Zimmerman said. "I just catch what comes to me." Its Zimmermans bat thats really needed by the Nationals, who slumped at the plate for most of last month and have been hovering around .500 in the NL East. They started hitting better in a weekend series against the Texas Rangers, however, and have scored 26 runs in their last four games. Zimmerman doubled to left in the second and to right in the fifth, and each time a black padded glove was brought to him to wear to protect his thumb as he ran the bases. Werth added a two-run double in the third, Denard Span had three hits, and Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon homered for the Nationals. The Phillies lost their fourth straight and were shut out for the eighth time this season, failing to get any impetus from a pregame team meeting called by manager Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg addressed focus and fundamentals, but theres only so much the manager could do about Zimmermanns mid-90s fastball and debilitating slider. Philadelphia is 9-18 since May 4. "We werent able to get anything going offensively, got shut down by a good pitcher," Sandberg said. "He kind of set the tone for the game." NOTES: The Phillies optioned RHP Phillippe Aumont to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled RHP Ethan Martin from Lehigh Valley. ... Philadelphia signed RHP Jason Marquis to a minor league contract. He will report to Class-A Clearwater for extended spring training. ... Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez, on the 15-day disabled list with an inflamed pitching shoulder, will make a rehab start with Single-A Potomac on Friday. Nike Air Max Belgie . Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 21 and the New York Knicks won their eighth straight game, 93-92 over Philadelphia on Friday night, sending the Sixers to their 23rd straight loss. Nike Air Max Outlet Belgie . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. http://www.airmaxbelgie.be/ . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Nike Air Max Belgie Online .com) - Stanley Johnson had 18 points and No. Nike Air Max Belgie Kopen . Gorges is believed to have suffered the injury while blocking a shot with a hand during Montreals win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Canadiens added to their defensive depth this week by acquiring veteran Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers.TORONTO – Nineteen innings. Six hours and 37 minutes. Eight pitchers and fourteen position players used, some making as many as 10 plate appearances, to secure a 6-5 victory and a series win over the Detroit Tigers. It seemed appropriate, at least to some in the groggy media horde that ambled down to the victorious clubhouse on Sunday afternoon (oops, evening), that a fog machine had been used in whatever celebration had just occurred. "I cant give out all the secrets," said Colby Rasmus, who made two sparkling defensive plays, robbing Miguel Cabrera of extra bases with a catch up against the centrefield wall in the 18th and making a head-long, diving catch of a Bryan Holaday sinking line drive in the 19th. "I cant give out all the secrets. Hopefully itll keep working for us." The Blue Jays franchise is engaged in its 38th season of Major League Baseball. Never had it played in a game longer than 18 innings. Never had it played in a game that exceeded six hours. There were many heroes on this day. Jose Bautista delivered the walk off, bases loaded single, which must have felt particularly satisfying considering it was Bautistas first hit in 10 plate appearances. He did walk twice. The bullpen deserves the most credit. Mark Buehrle struggled badly, again, and was lifted after allowing five runs (two earned) with one out in the fourth. The Jays trailed 5-0 at the time and all seemed lost with 2012 Cy Young award winner David Price on the mound for Detroit. Nobody could have predicted that the offence would chip away, tagging Price for four runs before tying the game in the ninth off pseudo closer Joba Chamberlain. What it meant was seven Toronto relievers would be required to combine for 15 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. They were up to the task. Todd Redmond went 2 2/3; rookie Aaron Sanchez tossed three innings; Brett Cecil and Dustin McGowan 1 1/3 each; Aaron Loup went a third of an inning; Casey Janssen a full inning and then Chad Jenkins drove the bus the rest of the way. He went six scoreless, his longest outing of the season, to secure his first big league win of the year. "That was a long one," said an exhausted Jenkins afterwards. "For all the fans who sat through all of it, thank you. That was awesome. I mean, its really exciting to look up and see its 7:30 and there are still people here cheering, going crazy, going nuts and it made it so much better." The Jays sold out both Saturdays and Sundays games. The Jays took the series two-out-of-three from the Tigers and did so winning the final two games started by the last two American League Cy Young award winners (Max Scherzer and Price). The series win gave Toronto five of six against the Tigers on the season. The victory gained the Blue Jays a game on Baltimore, which lost to St. Louis and allowed Toronto to hold serve with red-hot Kansas City, which leads the race for the second wild card spot by a game and a half on the Jays and Seattle Mariners. Oh, and the Blue Jays open a series in Seattle Monday night (against another former Cy Young award winner, Felix Hernandez, to boot). Oh, and the Tigers shouldnt sleep on the playoffs. Those Royalss are but a half-game back of Detroit for the AL Central lead.dddddddddddd Maybe these wins over the Tigers will matter to the Blue Jays in that wild card race. As the games and days pass by, the stakes become higher. The Blue Jays, as R.A. Dickey put so simply on Friday night, are "in it." If youre too young to remember the good old days of the mid-1980s and early 1990s, enjoy this. This is what it was like back then. And if youre old enough to remember those times, welcome back to feeling like a kid. SANCHEZ THRIVING Aaron Sanchez is blessed with the physical gifts needed to have a long, successful career as a big league pitcher. Hes tall, 64", and most of it is core and lower body. He laughed as he points to his hips. "I get heat from the guys, they always tell me Ive got a grandpas waistline," he said. "Theyre always on me about why I wear my pants so high." The legs are Sanchezs key; any pitchers key, really. From there he generates the power to effortlessly unleash fastballs which register 98 miles per hour on the radar gun. He doesnt know where he gets his height. Sanchez has two older brothers and an older sister and said hes at least four inches taller than each of them. Hes taller than both his parents. "There are some cousins on my moms side who are like seven-feet tall," said Sanchez. "So maybe thats where I get it from." With three scoreless innings in Sundays 6-5, 19-inning win over the Tigers, Sanchez has held the opposition without a run in five of his seven big league appearances. All have come out of the bullpen and its likely the rest will, too, as he gets further and further away from his last start, a six-inning performance for Triple-A Buffalo on July 10. Just because hes a reliever doesnt mean Sanchez has changed his daily routine. "I tried to stay running as a starter just because I dont know any different," said Sanchez. "I think thats kind of helped me bounce back better (after relief appearances) than I would have if I did minimal running, I guess to say. I dont know if that makes any difference or not but Ive just tried to continue with the same running that Ive done as a starter, you know the long distance, the sprint intervals, the stadiums, whatever it is just to get the lactic acid out of the arm." The Blue Jays toyed with Sanchez working in relief in spring training, culminating with an appearance against the Mets at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. He learned then the difference between taking all the time needed to prepare for a start and pitching in relief. Youve got to "get hot" quickly, as pitchers will say. Then, once in the game, theres little time to find a groove. "As a starter youve got six innings, two innings to get a curveball and figure some things out," said Sanchez. "As a reliever youve got to come in and just pound the zone and youre stuffs just got to be there." ROSTER MOVE The Blue Jays need help in the bullpen after seven relievers combined for 15 2/3 scoreless innings on Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Brad Mills has been added to the roster for Mondays series opener in Seattle. Infielder Ryan Goins was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. 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