Jesus Flores homered and Jonny Gomes drove in two runs with a clutch single to left to lead the Washington Nationals over the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Nationals Park on Thursday. The Flores homer was his first since May of 2009, while the Gomes hit came against his former team. “Against the Reds or not against the Reds, it would bring a smile to my face,” Gomes said.

The Flores-Gomes tandem helped righty starter Jordan Zimmermann to his eighth win of the season. Zimmermann, who will apparently be shut down after his next start (or the one after), did not have his best stuff, but gutted out an impressive 5.2 innings while giving up six hits. Zimmermann’s ERA now stands at 3.11 — and his 2011 campaign has to be considered a success, which sets him up as a major contributor (and likely #2 starter) in 2012.

Gomes two run single in the sixth was the difference in the game, but Zimmermann’s outing was saved by a quartet of Nationals’ relievers. Ryan Mattheus, Henry Rodriguez, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen threw a combined 3.1 innings, while giving up just two hits. Clippard notched his 32nd hold, while Storen added his 33rd save. Storen continued to build on his steady reputation — if he wasn’t before, he must now be considered to be one of the best closers in the game.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: It seems like old news now, but it’s good to note, if just for the record. Former Nats’ veteran righty Jason Marquis was supposed to provide another needed starter to help the Diamondbacks overcome the Giants in the N.L. West, but he’s out for the season with a fractured leg . . . the Marquis injury (as we remember) came against the Mets, after the former Nats’ starter had two rocky outings with his new club . . .

Now it appears, that other semi-big name for the Nationals at the trade deadline, Denard Span, continues to suffer the effects of a concussion that has sidelined him for much of the 2011 campaign. Span had returned to the Twins’ line-up, but yesterday he was put back on the disabled list after suffering from migraines. Which is only to say — sometimes it’s the trades you don’t make that matter. If Mike Rizzo had pulled the trigger on a Span trade, the needed centerfielder would have been spending time on the D.L. in D.C. . . .  and the Nationals would have been without one of their key (Drew Storen or Tyler Clippard) bullpen arms . . .

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One day after playing one of their best games of the year, the Washington Nationals committed three errors and John Lannan walked five — and the Nationals went on to lose to the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-3. Lannan lasted only three innings, as Philadelphia starter Roy Oswalt scattered six hits in seven innings, holding Washington to just three earned runs. The Nationals were never in it.

The Phillies’ victory was sparked by a five run third inning in which an Ian Desmond error and walks to Hunter Pence, Carlos Ruiz (intentionally) and pitcher Oswalt (unintentionally) gave the Phillies a lead they would never relinquish. The Phillies tacked on three runs in the eighth (two singles and a sacrifice fly), while reliever Michael Stutes held the Nationals scoreless.

Lannan’s poor showing put him at 8-8, but his struggles were matched by a solid relief effort from Collin Balester, who pitched three innings of one hit ball, complemented by three strikes outs. Balester’s relief effort lowered his ERA to 4.12, and helped reinforce his role as a long option out of the bullpen. Balester’s solid outing was offset by that of Henry Rodriguez, who continued to struggle with his control.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: It hasn’t exactly been a free-fall, but the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants have got to be concerned. The McCoveys have struggled in August, going 4-8 (and 11-14 in their last 25) in trying to retain a hold on the lead in the N.L. West. They haven’t been able to do it, and now trail the Diamondbacks by two games on the left coast.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way: slugger Carlos Beltran was brought in from the New York Madoffs to give the Giants a needed shot of offense for their playoff run — but the only shot the Giants’ have been getting is the cortisone shot Beltran has needed to ease the pain in his strained right hand. The slugger was sidelined again last night as the Giants faced the Marlins in Florida.

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This is what the Nationals must have had in mind when the team came out of Florida after Spring Training: the lead-off hitter would get aboard and the big bats further down in the line-up would hit for power and average in providing the surge needed for a victory. That’s what the Nationals did, finally, in Colorado on Friday, banging out 15 hits to support the steady pitching of Jordan Zimmermann. The result was a much-needed 5-3 victory.

The Nationals’ barrage was led by a revived Rick Ankiel (who was 3-5, and seems to be settling in in the lead-off spot) and Ian Desmond, who was 4-4. The Nationals were able to chip away at the Rockies, scoring single runs in 4th, 5th and 9th innings. Zimmermann, meanwhile, produced another quality start (after two previous shaky outings), throwing 5.2, but giving up only four hits while registering eight strike outs.

The turning point in the game might well have come on a pick-off play engineered by reliever Tyler Clippard. With Chris Nelson aboard with nobody out in the bottom of the 8th and Ian Stewart at the plate, Clippard picked off Nelson for the first out. Moments later, Clippard struck out Stewart. The pick-off ended a potential late-inning rally from the Rockies. Jordan Zimmermann notched his seventh win of the season, Clippard got his 28th hold and Drew Storen his 28th save.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Ramon Ramirez had just about had it with Shane Victorino, so in the 6th inning of last night’s Phillies-Giants match-up, he decided to hit him. The resulting scrum was hardly the donnybrook of yesteryear, but it was sill well outside the bob-and-weave that characterizes these sorts of things. When it was over, Ramirez, Victorino and Giants’ catcher Eli Whiteside were tossed, with suspensions and fines sure to follow.

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John Lannan seems to be getting better and better. But for skeptical Nats’ fans (who have a right to be skeptical), Lannan’s outing against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, seemed the clearest evidence that the young lefty deserves a prominent role in the Nationals’ future — and might be moving into the top tier of major league baseball’s most effective and consistent lefty starters. Lannan is now 8-7 with a 3.65 ERA.

Backed by home runs from Ian Desmond, Michael Morse and Rick Ankiel (who powered a Derek Lowe offering into centerfield — for a grand slam), Lannan pitched 6.2 innings and struck out eight, in leading the Nationals to a 9-3 rout of the Braves at Nationals Park. Everything seemed to click: Lannan baffled Atlanta hitters, who could never put enough hits together to threaten the Nats, while Ankiel (who is suddenly hot), raised his batting average by ten points in ten games.

The win was Washington’s fourth in a row, a needed lift after a rough road trip and a morale sapping dive into last place. Washington is now three games under .500 and within striking distance of the middle of the pack in the N.L. East. The Braves, on the other hand, seem to be going the other way: Lowe was shaky and the Braves are now in danger of losing their grip on the Wild Card spot.

Not surprisingly, particularly the way the game is being played in “the post-steroid era,” the break-out play of the contest had nothing to do with either Lannan or Ankiel. It was Jonny Gomes’ take-out slide of Atlanta catcher David Ross on a fielder’s choice play with the bases loaded that provided the spark for Washington. The Gomes’ play upended Ross, who never touched home for the force out.

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It’s quite possible that finally — five months into the 2011 baseball season — the Nationals have finally found their leadoff hitter. Batting in the first slot in the line-up last night, centerfield veteran Rick Ankiel blasted two home runs in leading the Nationals to a 5-3 victory over the Braves at Nationals Park. Ankiel’s homers allowed Livan Hernandez (six innings, six hits and three strikeouts) to walk away with his sixth win of the season.

Ankiel’s homers were only his fourth and fifth of the year and came in the first and the fifth inning — both off of usually reliable Braves’ starter Jair Jurrjens, who registered his fourth loss. Ankiel, who has been in and out of the line-up all year (and has struggled at the plate) seems finally to be swinging with authority. “You just look for a pitch to drive. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you make it happen, sometimes you don’t,” Ankiel said after the victory. “Lately, I’ve been making good contact and good things are happening.”

It’s too soon to tell whether Ankiel’s Monday night performance means that he will be an every game feature at the leadoff position, but Nats’ skipper Davey Johnson liked what he saw: “Now he [Ankiel] is [playing] and he has cut down on his strikeouts, his swings are better,” Johnson said. “That comes with playing. In the last couple of years, I don’t think he has played much.”

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: If either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati are to have a chance in the N.L. Central, they’re going to have to beat the teams behind them. Last night they didn’t. Newest Ahoy Derrek Lee celebrated his arrival in Pittsburgh with two home runs, but the Pirates couldn’t beat the no-account Cubs, suffering their fourth loss in a row by a 5-3 score. Catch ‘em while you can; they’re fading, and fast . . .

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The Nationals mounted a furious rally against the visiting Florida Marlins during the ninth inning last night at Nationals Park — but it wasn’t furious enough to top the Hanleys, who snagged the Nats, 7-5. As in his previous most recent starts, Nats’ righty Livan Hernandez was inconsistent — as opposed to the normally shaky Javier Vazquez, who was able to hold down Nationals hitters through seven innings of competent, if not brilliant, work.

The Nationals’ bottom-of-the-ninth rally came on a triple from Ian Desmond, a Jerry Hairston single, an Alex Cora walk, a Ryan Zimmerman triple, a Michael Morse single — and a Laynce Nix fly ball to the warning track in right field that was just feet away from being a game-tying home run.

The Nationals have reached the dog days of the season in the doldrums: Livan Hernandez pitched only four complete innings, reliever Todd Coffey gave up three hits and a run in 1.1 innings, and Drew Storen gave up a two run home run in the ninth inning to newly arrived Marlin Mike Cameron. “The bats just woke up too late,” Nats’ manager Davey Johnson said after the loss.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Carlos Beltran is going to the Giants, in exchange for wunderkind-to-be Zach Wheeler. While everyone is talking about how Beltran is going to help the McCoveys (providing a big bat in the middle of their anemic hitting line-up), the Mets were able to get a young and formidable arm. This was a good trade for the Metropolitans.

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The Washington Nationals authored one of the great walk-off wins in the majors this season — coming from a four run deficit in the 9th inning to score five and beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-5. The rally was capped by a three run walk-off home run from Wilson Ramos on a change-up from Mariners’ relief pitcher David Pauley. “I was waiting on that pitch in that situation,” Ramos said following the victory. “I hit that ball pretty good. … I was very excited after I hit that ball for a home run. That was my first walk-off home run. So when I saw my teammates waiting for me at home plate, I was very excited.”

The victory came after a brilliant pitching performance from Mariners’ starter Doug Fister, who shut down the Anacostia Nine through eight innings. Fister was at the top of his form, allowing Washington just three hits through eight complete innings — with three strikeouts and just one walk. The Mariners, meanwhile, beat up on Washington starter Livan Hernandez, who couldn’t make it out of the 5th. But the Nationals’ bullpen did great work in keeping the Nats in the game, with Ryan Mattheus, Collin Balester and Todd Coffey holding the Mariners to no runs through five innings of work.

But the 9th inning will long be remembered by Nationals’ fans. The inning started with Jayson Werth reaching base on a Justin Smoak error, which was followed by a Roger Bernadina walk. With nobody out, Ryan Zimmerman grounded into a double play (his third of the game), putting Werth on third. With two outs, Jerry Hairston and Michael Morse singled, which put the Nats down 5-2.

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