Nats' skipper Davey Johnson told reporters last night that Washington Nationals' third baseman Ryan Zimmermann just had a "little bit of soreness" in his right shoulder yesterday, so the manager made the decision to have him sit for the second game of two with Philadelphia in Citizens Bank so he could come back for the series finale and then take advantage of the schedule to get two days of rest since Washington's off on Thursday. "'We've got a chance here,'" the 69-year-old skipper said he told the 27-year-old Face of the Nats franchise, "'I can give you off a day, play tomorrow and then you've got another day off. We want to nip that thing in the bud. You're too valuable to me. I know you want in there and believe me I want you in there.' But it bothered him a little [Monday] and it was bothering him a little bit [on Tuesday], and I said to him, 'No way.' I'll lose this battle but I don't want to lose the war." Zimmerman is back in the lineup tonight, as expected, as the Nats and right-hander Edwin Jackson take on the Phillies and left-hander Cole Hamels.

• Here's tonight's lineup:

#Nats Lineup: @DannyEspinosa18 2B, Harper RF, Zimmerman 3B, LaRoche 1B, @IanDesmond20 SS, Ankiel CF, Nady LF, @JesusFloresN26 C, @EJ36 RHP

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 23, 2012

• 7:05 pm EDT start time tonight. While you're waiting, you can listen to the latest edition of 106.7 the FAN in DC's The Mike Rizzo Show with Holden Kushner and Danny Rouhier. The Nats' GM is at the ACC Tournament, watching prospects and preparing for the 2012 MLB Draft which takes place June 4th. Listen to the entire show and hear what Rizzo says about Henry Rodriguez, Ian Desmond and Triple-A Chiefs' outfielder Corey Brown:

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Told this afternoon in an interview with ESPN980's The Sports Fix's Thom Loverro and Kevin Sheehan that the Washington Nationals' 19-year-old outfielder Bryce Harper had been preparing to face him for three years, watching tape and noting the tendencies of the future Hall of Fame pitcher (as Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore reported this Spring and last night), 35-year-old Phillies' starter Roy Halladay joked with the hosts, "I wish I had three years to watch him." Harper went 2 for 5 with a two-run triple last night, with both hits off the 15-year-veteran starter, and Halladay said he was impressed with what he's seen so far from the Nats' 2010 no.1 overall pick. "I think that says a lot about young players. I think that's such an important part of the game, is being able to watch guys and try and find tendencies and come up with an approach based on that. A lot of times you don't see young players doing that. They go out and really try and let their talent do everything. So I think that says a lot that he's going and looking at the stuff and trying to come up with a plan and an approach. It's not something you see a lot of young players do, so I think that's pretty advanced on his part, and it's something that if he continues to do it is going to be a huge advantage. And to go with the talent, if you can put a game plan in there, it goes a long ways."

Asked if he thought there might be a replay of the Cole Hamels/Harper HBP incident from the first series of the season between the teams in D.C. a few weeks back, Halladay laughed and said, "I doubt it."

"That's all kind of taken care of itself," Halladay said, "It's one of those unfortunate things that I think everybody kind of wishes wouldn't have happened, or would have been handled differently. But it did, and you move on and that's the game, it's a competitive game." The veteran right-hander said some of his teammates in the dugout saw Harper taking a big lead off third before he stole home later inning in which he was intentionally hit, and kind of saw it coming though Hamels didn't. "[Harper] was playing the game the right way," Halladay said, "I don't think it was so much of a 'I got you back,' type of thing as he was playing the game the right way and scored a run for them through effort, and I think that says a lot."

• Listen to the full interview with ESPN980's The Sports Fix's Kevin Sheehan, Thom Loverro and Roy Halladay HERE.

SYRACUSE | Josh Johnson claps his hands together when he speaks.

"I bring a lot of energy," Johnson said rubbing his palms.

He is baseball's version of Alka Seltzer at 26.

He is also trying to catch a big league dream with the same organization his father did in the 1970s.

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• April 8, 2012: The Chicago Cubs salvage the third game of the season-opening series in Wrigley. April 15, 2012: The Cincinnati Reds take the fourth of four in Nationals Park after losing the first three. April 19, 2012: The Houston Astros pound out an 11-4 victory for their only win over the Nats in the fourth game of a four-game series in D.C. April 22, 2012: Game three of three with Miami is rained out after the Nats win the first two. April 26, 2012: The San Diego Padres win a close 2-1 game to avoid losing three-straight to the Nationals. May 6, 2012: The Philadelphia Phillies lose two in a row on the road in the nation's capital, but win game three with Cole Hamels outdueling Jordan Zimmermann. May 13, 2012: The Cincinnati Reds lose two, but take game three in Great American Ballpark to avoid losing three-straight. May 15, 2012: The Nats win the first, but lose the second game of a two-game set with San Diego. May 22, 2012... The Washington Nationals take on the Philadelphia Phillies in Citizens Bank Park, looking to win every game of a series. Having failed to do so seven times this season with weather taking away another opportunity, the Nationals try to keep their six-game winning streak in Citizens Bank Park Nationals Park North going when they send Edwin Jackson to the mound tonight against Harper-hitting lefty Cole Hamels... Can they do it? Find out tonight... Til then it's the links and lots of them... RIGHT NOW!!!:

• THE BIG STORY!!!: (And you'll love this one.):

• "It’s hard seeing the cocky Washington Nationals take 4 of 5 games from the Phillies thus far, but there is still over four months of baseball to go." - "These Phillies have been hard on the eyes" - Neil Hartman, Comcast Sportsnet

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Nats' right-hander Jordan Zimmermann singled on the first pitch of the third, taking a 90 mph two-seamer through the left side of the infield in front of Steve Lombardozzi, who sent an 83 mph 0-2 splitter back up the middle for the second-straight single, bringing Bryce Harper up to the plate in his second career at bat against the Philadelphia Phillies' 35-year-old right-hander Roy Halladay. The first time up to the plate, Harper hit a 1-1 splitter through the right side of the infield. The second time up, he took a first pitch curve for a ride, tripling on a fly that bounced, one hop, and off the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center to put the Washington Nationals up 2-1 in the second game of three for the Nats in Citizens Bank Park. After going 2 for 5 tonight, the Nats' 19-year-old 2010 no.1 overall pick is four for nine in Philly in this series, and 6 for 19 with a double, triple, two stolen bases, four walks and two K's in five games against the Nats' divisional rivals so far this season...

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Before tonight, the Washington Nationals had never beaten Roy Halladay. If you include the complete franchise history, they've beaten him once. But since 2005, nothing. The Expos beat Halladay back on June 28, 2002 when Fernando Tatis hit a seventh inning HR off the then-Toronto Blue Jays' starter to give Montreal a 2-1 lead that would hold up through nine. Halladay was (3-0) against the Nats in four starts last season, with a 3.21 ERA, two walks and 29 K's in 28.0 IP. In his career, the Blue Jays' 1995 1st Round pick is (11-1) against the Expos/Nationals with a 2.28 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 95 hits, 30 runs, 28 earned, 9 home runs and 15 BB (1.22 BB/9) allowed and 93 K's (7.56 K/9) collected in 16 games, 15 starts and 110.2 IP with two complete games, 1 shutout and a .233 BAA in 110.2 IP. Dominant. Opposing Halladay on the mound tonight, Nats' right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, who entered tonight's game (0-3) in five career starts against Philadelphia...

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• For A Philadelphia Phillies Fan's Perspective, Check Out The SB Nation's Phillies Site: The Good Phight.

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The Washington Nationals announced within the last 1/2 hour that 27-year-old third baseman Ryan Zimmerman had been scratched from the lineup for tonight's game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Citizens Bank Park. Zimmerman is being replaced at third base by Chad Tracy, who will also hit third in Zim's place. The Nationals offered no details in making the announcement, saying only that it was a "manager's decision." The announcement cause immediate concern, of course, since the Nats' '05 1st Round pick has already missed significant time this season while recovering from inflammation in the AC Joint of his right shoulder. In 29 games and 131 plate appearances so far this year, the 8-year MLB veteran infielder has a .248/.344/.354 line with six doubles, two home runs, 16 walks and 24 K's.

The Nationals face Phillies' right-hander Roy Halladay tonight, after beating righty Kyle Kendrick in the series opener last night in CBP. Here's the updated lineup that will take the field at 7:05 pm EDT:

REVISED #Nats Lineup: Lombardozzi LF, Harper RF, Tracy 3B, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Espinosa 2B, Ankiel CF, Flores C, Zimmermann RHP

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 22, 2012

As others have been quick to note, Nats' skipper Davey Johnson made what was called a "manager's decision" to scratch Jayson Werth a few weeks back when the now-injured outfielder was suffering from a migraine headache. No info is available on what caused the manager to scratch Zimmerman tonight. We'll update with more info later....