WASHINGTON -- Ryan Zimmerman came forward to make a head-high running catch on a slicing line drive off the bat of Chase Utley, a routine play that drew a disproportionately grand ovation from the home fans. "Thats almost the awkward part of it," Zimmerman said. "Yeah, I caught the ball. Yeah, like, I can catch a fly ball." He might have been embarrassed by all the fuss, but it was nevertheless a landmark moment in career of the player long considered the face of the Washington Nationals franchise. It was his first putout as an outfielder after more than 1,100 games as a third baseman, part of a good night all around for him and his club Tuesday in a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Jordan Zimmermann rebounded from a mini-slump to throw eight scoreless innings, Zimmerman hit a pair of doubles and handled his two chances with aplomb in left field, and the Nationals moved back to .500 by taking the opener of the three-game series. "Theres nothing like getting into the first game and getting a couple of balls," Zimmerman said. "And getting a couple of hits helped, too." Zimmermann (4-2) allowed five hits and struck out four, recovering well from four middling starts that had raised his usually impeccable ERA to 4.07. He got all the support he needed when the Nationals scored three in the third inning off David Buchanan (1-2), making his third career start. "May was a pretty rough month for me, and hopefully June has better things to come," Zimmermann said. "I wanted to go nine, but eightll be good enough." Zimmerman went 2 for 4 with one RBI after being reinstated before the game following 44 games on the disabled list with a broken right thumb. Of greater interest was his move to the outfield, a switch necessitated by his throwing problems and the need for a strong hitter to play left field while Bryce Harper recovers from thumb surgery. Zimmerman said he was initially hesitant to try the outfield, but he realized his chronic shoulder problems mean his days as a regular third baseman are numbered. Ever the team player, he said he just wanted to help the club win -- even if theres likely not a Gold Glove in it for him, like the one he won playing third in 2009. "I feel like Im athletic enough to at least blend in," he said. "And not cause problems." Like many infielders-turned-outfielders before him, he learned the action isnt as fast and furious when stationed 300 feet from home plate. Playing deeper than a usual left fielder and using a glove borrowed from teammate Jayson Werth, he fielded only the liner from Utley and a shallow flyout by Marlon Byrd in the sixth before being removed for defensive replacement Nate McLouth after seven innings. There was no complaint about the lack of work. "That means our pitchers are doing a good job," Zimmerman said. "I just catch what comes to me." Its Zimmermans bat thats really needed by the Nationals, who slumped at the plate for most of last month and have been hovering around .500 in the NL East. They started hitting better in a weekend series against the Texas Rangers, however, and have scored 26 runs in their last four games. Zimmerman doubled to left in the second and to right in the fifth, and each time a black padded glove was brought to him to wear to protect his thumb as he ran the bases. Werth added a two-run double in the third, Denard Span had three hits, and Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon homered for the Nationals. The Phillies lost their fourth straight and were shut out for the eighth time this season, failing to get any impetus from a pregame team meeting called by manager Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg addressed focus and fundamentals, but theres only so much the manager could do about Zimmermanns mid-90s fastball and debilitating slider. Philadelphia is 9-18 since May 4. "We werent able to get anything going offensively, got shut down by a good pitcher," Sandberg said. "He kind of set the tone for the game." NOTES: The Phillies optioned RHP Phillippe Aumont to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled RHP Ethan Martin from Lehigh Valley. ... Philadelphia signed RHP Jason Marquis to a minor league contract. He will report to Class-A Clearwater for extended spring training. ... Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez, on the 15-day disabled list with an inflamed pitching shoulder, will make a rehab start with Single-A Potomac on Friday. Cubs Jerseys 2019 . As if the individual strands of grey hair or the increasing amount of joint pain werent reminders enough, the impending end of Jeters career is a slap-in-the-face indicator of a generations fleeting youth. James Norwood Cubs Jersey . Toronto ended an 0-4-0 skid with Sundays shootout win over visiting New Jersey, but the club could have a difficult time making it two victories in a row tonight. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight and 11 of the last 12 regular- season meetings against Boston overall and the Bruins have claimed six straight in Beantown. https://www.cheapcubs.com/530t-benito-sa...ersey-cubs.html. - Pierre-Maxime Poudrier scored twice and added an assist, and Antoine Bibeau made 43 saves as the Val-dOr Foreur downed the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 6-3 on Sunday to force Game 7 in their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final series. Ferguson Jenkins Jersey . Napoli hit two home runs, Jonny Gomes and prized rookie Xander Bogaerts also connected, and the Red Sox kept up their dizzying scoring spree at Yankee Stadium by bashing New York 13-9 Saturday for a fifth straight win. James Norwood Jersey . - The situation looked bleak at best for the coach Doc Rivers Clippers — down by four points with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter.EDMONTON - The Edmonton Oilers are no longer the only team in the Western Conference without a win.Taylor Hall had a penalty-shot goal and added an assist and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the game winner in the final minutes as the Oilers finally found their way into the win column, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday.Justin Schultz also scored for the Oilers (1-4-1), who had tied a franchise record for their worst start to the season before gaining the victory.Edmonton allowed the Lightning to tie the game with six minutes remaining in the third, but remained composed and captured the win.I thought tonight we really battled hard, said Nugent-Hopkins. They tied it late and we had a really good pushback, so it was really good to see.We all stayed pretty positive on the bench when they tied it. We know what we can do, we know that we could beat this team if we played our best. We stuck to it and it worked out for us.Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens made 22 saves in the Edmonton net.Tonight was one game, another step in the right direction, but those winning habits dont come overnight, he said. It takes a lot of repetition for them to be second nature and we have a long way to go, but this was a good step.Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle were often pitted against the Steven Stamkos line and were pleased to be able to hold one of the leagues best off of the scoresheet.Stamkos is a world class player, he showed that the other night in Vancouver, he took that game over, Hall said. Guys like that, Nuge, myself and Ebs, we really take pride in going up against stars like that and trying to play well against them. Tonight was a good show of that, so hopefully we can keep going head to head against these great players and doing well.Brian Boyle and Brett Connolly scored in response for the Lightning , who dropped to 3-2-1 on the season.We have to be better, said Lightning goalie Ben Bishop. We cant come out and play like this on the road and expect to win. We had too many breakdowns all over the ice. We showed some fight in the third, but it still wasnt even close enough to win in this league.Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said it was hard to see which was the team that has struggled all season.Id say we looked like a winless club tonight, he said. In the third I thought we played desperate. If we had played that way in the first two periods, who knows how the game turns out.dddddddddddd In the end, we were playing a desperate team. They have had some breaks go against them this year and tonight they all went for them.The Oilers came close to starting the scoring seven minutes in as a Jeff Petry point blast eluded Bishop, but clanged off the post.It was Tampas turn to come close four minutes later as it appeared that Connolly had scored on Scrivens, however the goal was waved off after it was determined that Boyle had interfered with Scrivens in front of the net.The Lightning took a 1-0 lead on a fluke goal 1:22 into the second period when Boyle hooked a shot out front from behind the goal line and it hit Schultzs knee before rolling in past a surprised Scrivens.Schultz got the goal back three minutes later, however, as he took a give-and-go from the point before swooping in and beating Bishop on the backhand.Edmonton took a 2-1 lead with five minutes left in the second period after Hall was hauled down by Matthew Carle after being sprung for a breakaway on a long pass from defender Mark Fayne. Hall was awarded a penalty shot and made no mistake, putting it between Bishops legs for his fourth goal of the season.The Lightning had a solid chance to tie the game early in the third, but Scrivens came up with a quick glove save on a bullet from Vladislav Namestnikov. Eight minutes in Tampa Bay also had a shot that was heading into the net carom to safety off the leg of Valtteri Filppula.Tampa Bay finally drew even with six minutes left in the third period as Tyler Johnson found Connolly in the slot and he blew a shot past Scrivens to make it 2-2.However, Edmonton came back with 3:25 left on the clock as Eberle picked off a pass in the Tampa zone and fed it to Nugent-Hopkins, who beat a screened Bishop with a perfect shot to the top corner to give the Oilers the badly-needed win.I think if I can, thats one of my favourite spots to shoot, especially quickly, because the goalie cant set too much, said Nugent-Hopkins. Ebs made a really good play to knock the puck out of the air and he fed me in a high-scoring area.The Lightning play the third game of a five-game road trip in Calgary on Tuesday. Edmonton plays the third game of a season-high seven-game homestand on Wednesday as they welcome the Washington Capitals to town. ' ' '