Zimmerman starts off May how he ended April

Ryan Zimmerman found out Wednesday afternoon he had been named National League Player of the Month for April. Then he took the field for his second game in May and picked up right where he left off.

Zimmerman went 2-for-3 and drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning double, helping lead the Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.

In doing so, he extended his hitting streak to 10 games, his multi-hit streak to six games and raised his batting average to a major league-best .427.

"Just keep doing the same thing," Zimmerman insisted afterward. "Get my work in. Stay with my routine. It's more our lineup and the depth of it. You've got to kind of pick who you're going to pitch to. (Bryce Harper) in front of me and (Daniel) Murphy behind me and Trea (Turner) at the top and (Anthony) Rendon's starting to swing the bat. It's by no means just me. Those guys put pressure on the other lineup and make those guys make decisions. And when you try not to make mistakes, it's tough."

That might well have been the case during the key at-bat of Wednesday's game. After Harper sent a two-out single to right-center, Zimmerman stepped to the plate to face Robbie Ray. The Diamondbacks left-hander (and former Nats prospect) had Murphy waiting in the on-deck circle, but he couldn't get past the hottest hitter in the sport.

Zimmerman lashed a changeup from Ray deep to center, over A.J. Pollack's head, and Harper came racing around to score the go-ahead run while Zimmerman coasted into second base with a double and his 30th RBI only 27 games into the season.

"We've got Murph on deck, and he pitched well against all of us, so it didn't really matter who he was going to pitch to," he said. "Kind of made a mistake there, and I put a good swing on it."

Zimmerman has been putting good swings on everything so far this season. And, as has been the case for more than a month now, he's turning hard-hit grounders from 2016 into doubles and homers in 2017.

"The main thing is that ... what did he lead the league in last year?" manager Dusty Baker asked, informed Zimmerman ranked among the best in baseball in exit velocity. "His exit velocity is unbelievable, and he's getting some exit hits. And at the right time. He's clutching up for us big-time. He's continuing the way he was in April."