Hot start: Zimmerman treating April like it's August

Ryan Zimmerman is doing it again. This time he reached down and drove a ball to the deepest part of the park - vintage of his walk-off home run against the Braves to win the inaugural game at Nats Park. Another line drive laser that went 402 feet, bounced off the grass on the berm in center field and was finally reviewed as a homer.

Remember when he hit that home run in Game 2 against the Marlins to right-center? That's an indication he has his swing back to where it was. But this center field homer reminds one of 2012. Or 2009. Or even 2013.

To realize further how far Zimmerman has come back from the struggles of last season, consider that this is the first time he has hit homers in back-to-back games since 2015.

Despite Thursday's extra-inning loss, the Nationals won the series 2-1 over the Marlins.

"It's always better to get going," Zimmerman said. "Get out of the gates strong. It's not really what I've done in the past, so I just got to keep it going, stay where I'm at and keep having good at-bats."

That's right. The talk has always been wait for the warmer months and that's when Zimmerman clicks. In three games, he is hitting .417 (5-for-12) with a double, two homers and two RBIs. His OPS is 1.462.

That's a solid start.

"Yeah. Good game," Zimmerman said after the 4-3 10-inning setback. His homer had given the Nationals a 3-2 lead heading into the ninth. "More importantly, good series. If we can win two out of three in every series, we'll be doing alright. But yeah, we battled back a couple times. Gio (Gonzalez) threw the ball great. But yeah, good series. Like you said, tough loss. But two out of three, we'll take it."

The bullpen faltered for the first time this season. Shawn Kelley and Blake Treinen allowed big hits. But Zimmerman said they still are a strong suit on this club. And manager Dusty Baker wanted to get Koda Glover and Kelley in a game after they didn't pitch in the first two contests. Zimmerman believes the bullpen will fall into a nice rhythm of usage as the season gets rolling.

"We got a bunch of good arms," Zimmerman said. "I think as the season goes along, those roles will be defined. Who knows? It might stay exactly the same the whole year. They might change. I think the important thing is we got a bunch of guys down there that can throw the ball and get people out. whether they're closing or pitching in the eighth or getting left-handed guys out, it doesn't matter. But I think everybody in this room has confidence in all those guys down there in whatever they're asked to do."

And what about all that rain? The extra-inning game took three hours and 26 minutes. The cumulative rain delays amounted to two hours and 23 minutes.

"It's never good," Zimmerman said. "But both teams have to do it. I'd much rather play. It's no fun to sit here all day and then cancel the game. And doubleheaders are terrible. I mean, nobody likes rain delays on either side. It's better to go ahead and play the game."