Stephen Strasburg

Zimmerman says he'll return to majors Friday Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said he will come off the disabled list Friday night in Pittsburgh after his left hamstring felt strong during a rehab assignment at Class A Potomac, giving the Nationals' struggling offense a boost. Zimmerman, who wore No. 33 in deference to Potomac's No. 11, shortstop Jason Martinson, played six innings, went 0 for 3 and reached on an error, running hard and without issue. In the field, Zimmerman fielded every ball within his reach and made two strong throws, even though he did not receive any chances on routine groundballs.

ATLANTA — The Washington Nationals ' season has begun with a rocky start of inconsistent play, a losing record in the first month and the team bending from the weight of lofty expectations. On Wednesday, they sent their best pitcher to the mound against their toughest division opponent, and Jordan Zimmermann delivered a 2-0 gem to beat Atlanta, a masterpiece that snapped a three-game losing streak but was still overshadowed by an injury scare to Bryce Harper that had the potential to be a devastating blow to an already listing offense.

Stephen Strasburg 's arm is " structurally perfect ," and he merely felt "irritation in his forearm" Monday night in Atlanta , possibly because of normal pregame use of a stimulation machine, according to Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo. Strasburg is scheduled to make his next start. "The irritation was on the other side of the elbow from his [Tommy John] surgery," Rizzo said. "There's no problem. He's strong as an ox. " Move along. There's nothing to see here.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified a player for the Nationals. He is Chad Tracy, not Paul Tracy. This version has been corrected. ATLANTA — Six times this season, Washington Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg has taken the mound to begin a game and only once has he met the sky-high expectations set for him. His first-inning struggles have continued, his command has wavered at times and his aggression has been lacking . After Monday night's 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves , Manager Davey Johnson said Strasburg was dealing with tightness in his right forearm, a possible reason for his uncharacteristic four-walk performance and wavering command.

I often talk to in-the-know baseball people, who for the purpose of this column will be called "John" and "Frank" (not their real names; their real names are Thomas Boswell and George Will ). Anyhow, John and Frank say to stop worrying, to remember a season is a biathlon or a biennial or a millennium, I forget. Whatever, the point is it's Ken Burns long; 162 games is not a jog on the towpath. Therefore, if any team appears to be having a cardiac event after 21 games, don't worry.

The biggest single reason Stephen Strasburg lost his fourth straight start on Wednesday as the Washington Nationals fell below .500 is because he won't throw "strike one. " He can. But he doesn't. He says he will. Then he backslides. He talks about pitching to contact, quick outs, efficiency and going deep in games, then does the one thing that negates all of it: "Ball one. " "I was trying to throw the perfect pitch. I tell myself, ‘Don't do that.' Then I go out there and do it," a disgusted Strasburg said of a three-run first inning in a 4-2 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals . Falling behind hitters and "trying to do too much" has been Strasburg's recurrent complaint against himself through the first four-game skid of his career.

The Washington Nationals ' offense may have reached its lowest depths of ineffectiveness in one telling moment of Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals . The lineup, which scratched out its first run in 20 innings on a pleasant afternoon at Nationals Park, had a prime opportunity late in the game to prevent a sweep at the hands of the team that ended its season last October. Instead, the Nationals lost their ninth of 12 games and left Manager Davey Johnson looking to make more changes to the lineup.

When good baseball teams get away from their core identities and inexplicably play as if they have been inhabited by alien beings, one clue often solves the mystery: They are focused on instant results rather than the process of playing properly. They constantly try to win the game rather than to simply make the next play or pitch that leads, eventually, to good results. Everybody in baseball knows this. Yet in any season, every team loses itself at least once, often for weeks at a time, and has to find its way back.

NEW YORK — Not long after the second New York Met trotted around bases in the sixth inning Friday night, a rallying cry circulated throughout Citi Field. During his career, Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg had been praised, anointed and cherished. He had not been openly mocked, not until Matt Harvey gave fans of a beleaguered franchise cause to puff their collective chest. They chanted: "Har-vey's bet-ter! Har-vey's bet-ter!" Both 24, rocket-armed and at the front of their respective National League East rotations, Harvey and Strasburg met for the first of what will likely be many duels Friday night.

The Nationals were 8-3 after 11 games last season. This year, after Saturday's 11th game, a 3-1 loss to Atlanta , they are 7-4 . So why does it feel like these Nats are playing nowhere near their 2012 level? Because their defense and bullpen are struggling? Because No. 1 starter Stephen Strasburg is now 1-2? Because they've lost two games in less than 24 hours to their division rivals? Essentially, yes. "That's why you play 162 games," said second baseman Danny Espinosa, who has struggled mightily at the plate but whose first homer of the season was also the Nats' only run on Saturday.