Fister gearing up for round two in a Nats uniform

PHOENIX - As Doug Fister's Nationals debut approached last week, manager Matt Williams cautioned that fans shouldn't expect too much in the big right-hander's first start of the season.

After all, not only was it the first time Fister was taking the mound in a regular season game this season, but he was coming off six weeks on the disabled list with a strained right lat.

Add in that Fister was likely going to be a little fired up for his first start in a Nationals uniform, and we all knew that it would be wise not to presume eight shutout innings were on the way.

Fister ended up getting hit around a bit in Oakland last Friday, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings.

The right-hander's sinker was often up in the zone, resulting in solid contact and far more fly balls than Fister wants. It wasn't the type of debut he hoped for, for sure, and led to a loss in the first game of that three-game set against the A's.

This afternoon, Fister goes back to the mound, this time here in Arizona to face the Diamondbacks.

He started the first game of the road trip, and now he'll close it out. And the Nats sure would love for Fister to lead them to a victory and a series win.

It's been a rough road trip for Nats starters.

Gio Gonzalez had a rough outing in his return to Oakland, leading to a loss and an animated dugout discussion.

Jordan Zimmermann was unable to hold an early lead on Monday, and allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Stephen Strasburg didn't pitch poorly yesterday, but he left a couple of pitches up and gave up a few runs in the middle innings, leading to a 3-1 loss.

Now, after what's been a disappointing road trip to this point, Fister gets the ball with a chance to send the Nats back to D.C. on a positive note.

It's not all on him, of course. And like his first time out, we still shouldn't expect Fister to be in peak form this outing, given that he's still easing into his season after a lengthy stretch on the DL.

Just like it takes healthy starters some time to get into the regular season rhythm, it'll likely take Fister a few outings to settle in.

But boy, would the Nats love to see Fister go out there, locate his sinker down in the zone and deal today.

A 2-4 road trip would feel a lot better than a one-win trip. We'll see what the 30-year-old righty has in store for us today.