Williams updates Gonzalez's injury and recaps Nats' 6-3 win

The Nationals won a ballgame today and then got some good news on starter Gio Gonzalez.

Gonzalez does not have any structural damage to his injured left shoulder, according to manager Matt Williams.

An MRI taken today revealed that Gonzalez merely has inflammation in the shoulder, which will lead to Gonzalez needing some time to rest. The left-hander was placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier today.

"He'll be shut down for four or five days," Williams said. "No throwing, no nothing. Then we'll start him back on the program, get him a bullpen when we can. But no structural damage. Good news on him. Just some inflammation."

This was essentially the best possible outcome for Gonzalez and the Nats after Gonzalez was placed on the DL and sent for the MRI.

"You look at it and say, it's bothering him and you have to send him for a test," Williams said. "Tests came back great. We'll build him back up and we'll love to have him when he's ready."

Williams said Blake Treinen and Taylor Jordan are the two candidates to slide into Gonzalez's spot in the rotation. Jordan started three days ago at Triple-A Syracuse, while Treinen pitched a day after that, on Friday. Gonzalez's next turn in the rotation would be Thursday at Pittsburgh. Treinen (on five days' rest) would be closest to normal rest on that day.

Here's more from Williams after the Nats' 6-3 win over the Mets:

On this being Wilson Ramos' third straight day behind the plate: "There was a conversation last night about how he felt. He was adamant about playing today because he felt it was coming along. He's been scoring from first and advanced on a ball in the dirt today. All indications are his legs are good. Don't want to push him too hard, though."

On how big it is having Ramos back in the middle of the order: "It's important for our team, as evidenced today. He gets there with guys in scoring position, he knows what to do."

On what makes Ramos effective with runners in scoring position: "His heart rate doesn't increase. And that's key for anybody in the middle of the lineup driving in runs. You see that with Jayson (Werth), you see it with him. You see it with Zim (Ryan Zimmerman). It's no different at bat just because there's guys out there. And he has a good idea on what the guy is going to try and do to him. The situation of the game, what that dictates. It's good."

On Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard: "The bullpen's been really good. Again, it's location with both of them and command with both of them. Drew displayed it today and so did Clip. Clip threw David (Wright) two straight curveballs for strikes, which is kind of his third pitch. But he's confident in all of them. That's good. We're confident in all of those guys at the back of the bullpen."

On Jordan Zimmermann, who got the win after allowing three runs in six innings: "He was good. He ran out of gas. Last inning, he felt a little winded, so we decided to get him out of there. Early on, he was down in the zone, real good."

On the Nats being near first place despite all the injuries they've had to deal with: "There's a lot of baseball left, I know that. We have a philosophy that good, bad or indifferent, today is over with. Now we have to look towards the Reds and try to beat them. And everybody in the clubhouse feels that we've got a chance every day and they prepared themselves, and they're ready to go, regardless of who's in the lineup. That's comforting."

On Ian Desmond's strong offensive play of late: "Desi looks a lot better at the plate. Had a couple bloop hits, which is good for him, and of course the homer. But the most impressive at-bat for me today was him working a count. He blooped it in there, but he sold out trying to get Wilson to third base. That's team baseball."