Williams has moved past last year's loss to Giants

The Nationals season ended in San Francisco last October as the Giants eliminated them in four games in the National League Division Series. The underdog Giants went on to win their third World Series title in five years while the Nationals were left with the disappointment of another premature exit in a postseason filled with championship expectations.

"I don't know if we've thought about it," Nationals manager Matt Williams said today. "Once you get back to the next season, it's about that grind of that particular season. We certainly want to get back there and give it another go. That's what we want."

Williams led the Nationals to the best record in the NL last season and was recognized as the league's Manager of the Year. But his decision to pull right-hander Jordan Zimmermann with two outs in the top of the ninth with the Nationals leading Game 2 proved costly. The Giants tied it up against closer Drew Storen and eventually won the pivotal game in 18 innings.

Williams was widely criticized for the move, but the lack of Nationals offense in the series was the main culprit for the loss. The Nats managed to score just nine runs and collect only 24 hits in the four games.

Williams intimated today that the Giants' return to Washington this weekend doesn't elicit any bad memories. He was asked how long it took him to get over the stinging defeat last fall.

"That happens almost immediately because the work is never done," Williams said. "When your season comes to the end, unless you're the last one standing, it comes to an end very abruptly. At that point, you start looking forward to the next. There's a lot of work to do at that point to get prepared for spring training and start it immediately. So you put it behind you just like we did last night. Just like we will do today regardless if we win or lose. And that work never stops."

The Giants come into Washington reeling after being swept by the Marlins the past three days. At 42-38, San Francisco is one game out of the wild card race and dealing with injuries to several key players.

Despite getting veteran right-hander Jake Peavy back for just his third start of the year tonight, the Giants will be without outfielders Nori Aoki and Hunter Pence and right-hander Tim Lincecum for this weekend's series as all are currently on the 15-day disabled list.

Williams, whose team is experiencing their own injury problems, knows the Nationals will still have their hands full.

"Of course it's a challenge," Williams said. "They're the world champions. They come with experience. They come into this series with some young players doing very well. They also come missing one of their key pieces in Hunter. We're gonna get Jake today. He's coming off the disabled list. Last time we saw him was the playoff game. We know what he brings to the table and hopefully we can get out there and do some things and beat him.

"They're a solid team all the way around. They pitch well. They don't make many mistakes. They do a good job of manufacturing offensively. That formula works. It's evident that the way they play and the success that they've had that formula works. For us, it's about taking advantage of any opportunity we get today and in this series as well."