Nationals vs. Padres: Jordan Zimmermann gets rare run support as Washington cruises to win If the Nationals (14-4) wanted to add another nip-and-tuck win, Zimmermann made it possible. He allowed one run in six innings on four hits and no walks, which actually raised his ERA to 1.33, which actually ranks third among Nationals starters. Before he allowed a home run in the fifth, Zimmermann extended the Nationals" starting rotation's scoreless streak to 26 innings, their longest such stretch since baseball returned to Washington. In 14 of 18 games this season, their starters have allowed two or fewer earned runs. The difference Wednesday was, even without Ryan Zimmerman but against a rancid Padres team, the Nationals didn't need a great start. Adam LaRoche went 3 for 3 with a walk, raising his on-base percentage to over .400 while producing his team-leading 14th RBI. The Nationals turned a one-run game into a blowout with a four-run seventh, paced by Wilson Ramos's two-run, bases-loaded single. The Nationals afforded Zimmermann early run support, an unknown luxury for him. In their first three games, the Nationals scored one run while Zimmerman was still in the game. In the second inning, LaRoche and Rick Ankiel both doubled down the right field line for the game's first run. With two outs and Ankiel on third, Padres starter Joe Wieland intentionally walked Roger Bernadina to pitch to Zimmermann. A career .176 hitter, Zimmermann ripped a single up the middle to score Ankiel. Zimmermann had made seven starts without pitching with a two-run lead, but now he had one. Staked with a lead to protect, Zimmermann dispatched Padres like chaff through a threshing machine. He retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced, mixing 93-mph fastballs with power sliders and snapping curveballs. Yonder Alonso's double in the third was his only blemish. He threw two strikes for every one ball, and his efficient dominance made his first career complete game a vivid possibility. Then Zimmermann hung a 1-1 curveball to Orlando Hudson, a 34-year-old hitting .196 with no homers. Hudson clobbered the pitch to the right field seats. The starters" streak of scoreless innings had been snapped, and the Nationals had allowed only their fourth homer of the season. More urgently, a lead that seemed comfortable turned into one-run nail-biter. Zimmermann took the mound for the sixth having lost a touch of the command that allowed him to cleave through the first four innings. Pinch-hitter Jesus Guzman led off with a bloop single. With two outs, Chase Headley singled up the middle, giving the Padres (5-14) two runners on base for the first time. Zimmermann's pitch count had climbed to 78. Left-hander Jeremy Hermida stood at the plate while Gorzelanny warmed up in the bullpen. Pitching coach Steve McCatty visited Zimmermann on the mound. Zimmermann threw two fastballs and then a change-up, the pitch he developed this spring, and Hermida fouled it away. Zimmermann followed with a 94-mph fastball. Hermida swung through it, and Zimmermann walked off the mound for the final time of the afternoon. As Zimmermann watched the Nationals pile on, he could relax, for once. The Nationals have more victories than any NL team, and now they finally have one easy one.