Washington Nationals Pregame Notes and Nuggets

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- Good afternoon from Nationals Park. Can you fathom that the Nats (7-2) are going for their sixth straight win on Sunday?

It's Jackie Robinson Day at the ball park. Here are some other things you need to know before

Team Notes

*On Saturday Edwin Jackson became just the second Nationals pitcher to throw a two-hitter, joining Pedro Astacio, who blanked the Braves back on August 15, 2006 at RFK. In that complete game start, Astacio used only 89 pitches, struck out five and didn't yield a walk.

*Washington is the only MLB team to feature sub 2.00 ERA's from both units. Going into Sunday, the rotation is at 1.75 and the bullpen is at 1.98.

*The last team in franchise history to get off to a 7-2 start were the 1979 Montreal Expos.

*With a win over Cincinnati on Sunday, the Nationals will have completed their first ever four-game home sweep since moving to D.C. The last home sweep in franchise history was conducted by the Expos against the Phillies back in August of 2003.

Player Nuggets

*In two starts against the Reds last season, Ross Detwiler pitched decently, but not on par with the 2012 rotation expectations. He combined for 12 innings pitched, allowed four earned runs, struck out 11 and walked three. He was also dealt two losses thanks to the Nationals impotent 2011 offense.

*The last time it's taken Ryan Zimmerman this long to hit his first home run was back in 2007. It took the franchise cornerstone 19 games to club his first dinger. Zimmerman still finished with 24 that season.

*Why has Jayson Werth been so successful thus far? He's been clutch. The Nats right fielder is 4-for-7 with four RBI's when runners are in scoring position.

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Also I briefly caught up with Steve Lombardozzi prior to the start of batting practice. Here's what the Nationals utility man had to say.

On his start of the season so far

SL: "I was called up last September and that was very helpful to me now. I already knew what to expect. I feel comfortable here. I'm ready to contribute whenever my name is called."

On the 'Goon Squad' a phrase the team is using to describe the bench

SL: "You know we're just having fun with it. It's a way for us to rally together. It originally came up in spring training. We would be together a lot during the road games, we were the traveling squad [within the split squad games]. We're a little bit out there, but it's fun."

On how scouts would describe him as a player

SL: "I'd say I like to get things started early in the game at the plate. I'm a table setter. And I take a lot of pride in my defense."