Washington Nationals: Jim Riggleman On Adam Dunn And Jordan Zimmerman.

Asked in the post game press conference following the Washington Nationals' 8-3 win over the Atlanta Braves last night, what it was like to watch Adam Dunn's 2-HR, 5 RBI game, Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman responded simply, "That's what he does." While Dunn's HR's were impressive, more important in Mr. Riggleman's mind was Dunn's bases-loaded two-run single in the sixth, "...the big at bat against [Braves' lefty Mike Dunn who] was throwing real hard, that really gave us a little insurance there, and, you know, that's what Adam can do." 

On a night when some in the crowd started "Sign Adam Dunn" chants before and after each of the big middle-of-the-order bat's AB's, the Nationals' manager was asked if he considered the possibility of Dunn leaving while he watched the 31-year-old free agent to be's big game, but Mr. Riggleman said, "I don't get into that too much, I've always taken the approach that whatever 25 the general manager and ownership of the club hand you, you do the best you can with them, and you get attached to players and you appreciate what they do and all that, but that's just going to be something that will work itself out and we'll see which way it goes, but certainly he continues to make a statement two years in a row now approaching 40 HR's here as he's done it many times before and [the] 100 RBI mark again, it's what people are looking for." 

"Adam's one of the few guys that has had some success against [Tim Hudson]," Riggleman said of the Braves' starter the Nats were able to beat for the first time since 2006, "It's a great statement for these pitchers like Hudson and others, Livan Hernandez, these guys who have faced the opponent that many times, it gets harder and harder to get people out when you see them as much as you do and you play in the division so much in today's baseball that you're going to be approaching 50-60, some guys 70 AB's against some pitchers, so you get some history on them and it usually starts eventually leaning towards the hitter a little bit."

As for the Nats starter in last night's game, the Nationals' manager thinks Jordan Zimmermann's 5.0 inning, 5 K performance, "was the best he's thrown." "In Florida," where Zimmmermann K'd 9 in his second start after returning from Tommy John surgery, "he had a real good night down there, but I thought the ball was coming out of his hand better tonight. His breaking ball was better, I thought everything was real crisp, just really good velocity, I thought this was the best he's thrown." 

Zimmermann collected his first win of the season, Adam Dunn collected his 36th and 37th HR's and his 100th and 101st RBI's and the Nats, for the first time this season, were able to win four games in a row, after having won three-in-a-row eight other times. "It seems odd that we haven't won four in a row," Riggleman said, "I've read that a couple times where three is the most we've won, I hadn't really thought about it, but it's felt like we've had some better stretches where we won more than four in a row," but the goal is to just try to win ballgames, according to the Nats' Skipper. The Nationals have a chance to make it five-straight this afternoon when Derek Lowe and Yunesky Maya meet on the mound in Nats Park at 1:00 pm EDT.