Cody Ross and Hanley Ramirez both had two hits and two RBI Wednesday, boosting Florida to a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals, capping a three-game sweep. Ross hit a solo homer, his 14th, creating a 3-3 tie leading off the bottom of the seventh after a 19-minute rain delay. Wes Helms had an RBI

Anderson Hernandez finished off a four-run first with a two-run single Thursday and the Washington Nationals went on to defeat Boston 9-3. The outcome spoiled the Boston debut of John Smoltz (0-1), who for the first time in his 20 professional seasons played for a major league team other than the Atlanta Braves. Smoltz, 42, was released by the Braves last year after shoulder surgery and signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox.

Jordan Zimmermann yielded a run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings Sunday to lead the Washington Nationals to an easy 8-1 win over the New York Mets. The rookie right-hander rose to 2-0 while walking two batters, fanning five and keeping New York from building its coveted big inning outburst. At the plate,

Jordan Zimmermann went six strong innings Monday to lead the Washington Nationals to a 3-2 victory over Atlanta. In his first major league start, Zimmerman (1-0) held the Braves to two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and one walk. After a two-hour rain delay the Nationals came up with just enough offense to post their second win of the year, to go with 11 losses.