Zimmerman sore, gets day off; updates on Strasburg, Difo, Soto

Fresh off his dramatic two-out, walk-off two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning last night, Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is not in the starting lineup for the series finale against the Phillies.

Manager Davey Martinez said he spoke with Zimmerman late last night and made the decision to give him the day off. But the manager advised him to be ready for a late-game pinch-hitting opportunity.

"It's part of our communication," Martinez said. "At the end of the game, I talk to him, knowing that we have a quick turnaround. He's got to do a lot to get going. So we spoke last night. He's pretty sore.

"I give him credit. Yesterday, he was kind of sore and he went out there and played. Obviously, he got a big hit for us. I told him, 'Today you'll get half a day off and then be ready to play, get another big hit.'

"I think it's best he doesn't start the game, so he's available later on."

Zimmerman is hitting .150 (3-for-20) with a double, two walks and six strikeouts career versus the Phillies' Aaron Nola. Bryce Harper is hitting .391 with nine hits, two of them homers, and five RBIs against the right-hander.

The Nats begin a six-game trek through New York and Philadelphia tomorrow night. They are hopeful that right-hander Stephen Strasburg recovers well from his first start in more than a month. He went four innings last night and allowed five runs on seven hits. Strasburg mentioned that his "endurance" was a concern after the game and that it would be a "work in progress."

Martinez had not yet sat down with Strasburg, but got the vibe before the game in the clubhouse that his big right-hander was doing well.

"I haven't talked to him, but I saw him. He looked pretty upbeat," Martinez said. "So hopefully he rebounds and throw his bullpen in couple days and we'll see how he's doing."

* Today's marquee matchup pits a pair of Cy Young candidates in Max Scherzer and Nola. Each has won at least 14 games and has an ERA below 2.25.

"They are both very competitive," Martinez said. "The matchup is going to be unbelievable. I told the boys that we got to be on top of our game today. Defensively, do all the little things right because he's going to attack the strike zone. He's going to be around the strike zone, so be ready to swing the bat. Going out there and watching these two guys pitch - two of the best right now - it'll be fun to watch."

* Second baseman Wilmer Difo again hit for power Wednesday night in the Nats' 8-7 win over the Phillies, rapping a double and a triple. He also drew an intentional walk.

After Difo hit a homer Tuesday night, Martinez said he wanted to make sure that his second baseman didn't fall in love with trying to hit every ball out of the park. But after seeing two more extra-base hits from Difo last night, Martinez is not concerned he will try to hard to hit for power.

"You know what? I think his swings were actually really good and he's hitting the ball, whether it hits the wall, goes over the wall, between the outfielders," Martinez said. "As long as he keeps hitting, we're good. But he's playing really well and that's good to see."

* Down one run, Juan Soto's two-strike double to right field with two outs off of Phillies hard-throwing closer Seranthony Domínguez last night in the bottom of the ninth started the game-winning rally for the Nats. Domínguez was firing in 100, 101 mph fastballs that Soto fought through before his double into the right field corner. He finished with two hits, two runs and an RBI in the game.

Martinez was again impressed with the 19-year-old's tenacity in the at-bat.

"For me, just try to put the ball in play and stay within himself," Martinez said. "He just wanted to get on base. You talk to him at the end of the game he said, "I just wanting to get on base.' And he did that. To stay in the at-bat and foul tough pitches off and hit a double there, that was awesome."

* Right-hander Joe Ross made it through his rehab start for Double-A Harrisburg at Altoona on Wednesday without issue. Ross, recovering from Tommy John surgery, finished five innings, allowing three runs on four hits with one hit batter, no walks and six strikeouts.