WASHINGTON -- The day began with manager Davey Johnson calling a team meeting in which he appealed for more aggression at the plate and mistook his starting pitchers heat pad for a neck brace. It ended with the Washington Nationals accomplishing something they hadnt done all season -- coming from three runs down to win a ballgame. The Nationals swept a day-night doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, climbing back to .500 and showing signs of an offensive breakthrough by pounding out a combined 24 hits in the 7-0 opener and 5-4 nightcap. "I dont know if Ive ever played a doubleheader," said shortstop Ian Desmond, "where you pretty much had to win both." That sums up the angst that was spreading among the preseason NL East favourite Nationals, even though there are still 100 games to go before the finish line of the regular season. "Its good to get back to .500 -- and get on with it," Johnson said. Desmond doubled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of the second game after Jordan Zimmermann dominated the opener, allowing two hits over seven innings. Zimmermann (9-3) struck out eight with a season-high 111 pitches while dropping his ERA to 2.00. He moved into a tie with Bostons Clay Buchholz, Arizonas Patrick Corbin and St. Louis Adam Wainwright for most wins in the majors. Zimmermann had Johnson worried before the game when the pitcher showed up for the team meeting with something on his neck. The right-hander has had a stiff neck off-and-on for a couple of weeks. "Im hoping he wears that neck brace every time he goes out," Johnson said. "That was a heck of a game." Zimmermann later clarified that it was actually a heating pad, a precautionary measure after feeling some tightness a few days ago. "I didnt want to take any chances," Zimmermann said. "So I figure heat it up and itll be good to go." Johnson also joked that he might have to hold more team meetings after watching his offence score five runs in the fifth inning of the first game. The Nationals had totalled just 14 runs in their previous seven games. "Ill have it every day if we get 14 hits and seven runs, but it wasnt much of a meeting," Johnson said. "It was about three minutes or something like that. I was just cheering em up." Asked what he got from the meeting, second baseman Anthony Rendon said: "Swing." "Just be aggressive," Rendon said. "Thats basically what he was trying to say. Just go out there and try to hit." And thats what they did. The Nationals scored a pair in the fourth and five in the fifth to chase starter Scott Diamond (4-5), using a lineup that had a pair of natural second basemen in the outfield -- Jeff Kobernus in centre, Steve Lombardozzi in left -- and a converted third baseman, Rendon, at second. Regular centre fielder Denard Span missed the first game after fouling a pitch off his right foot in Saturdays 11-inning loss, but played in the nightcap. Usual left fielder Bryce Harper is on the disabled list with a sore knee and was en route for his Monday appointment with renowned specialist Dr. James Andrews. The Nationals, who have come from two runs down to win only twice this season, climbed their way back from a 4-1 hole in the second game. They scored single runs in the first, third, fifth, sixth and seventh, with Desmond extending his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games with his double off reliever Anthony Swarzak (1-2). "Normally, early on in the season, when we would get behind, we would just kind of fold and give away at-bats," said Span, who had an RBI triple to tie the game in the sixth. "And (tonight) we just kept fighting and having good at-bats." Tyler Clippard (5-1) pitched the seventh to get the win, Drew Storen handled the eighth and Rafael Soriano the ninth for his 16th save. The nightcap was played before a small crowd -- it was the makeup from Fridays rainout -- and was mostly a tedious game of attrition between recent Triple-A call-ups. Minnesotas Samuel Deduno laboured through five innings in his fourth start since arriving from Rochester, and Washingtons Nathan Karns lasted only three innings in his third start since getting a promotion from Syracuse. Both teams wasted plenty of chances -- they combined to leave 18 runners on base -- and the Twins managed only two runs in the second and two in the third against Karns, who is expected to go back to Syracuse once Stephen Strasburg comes off the disabled list in a few days. Pedro Florimon hit a two-run homer in the third for Minnesota, but more typical was Eduardo Escobar getting stranded at third after a leadoff triple in the sixth. "Hit some balls right on the screws, seemed to go right at them," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They got a couple of big hits and ended up getting the win. Very frustrating game for us." The Twins helped out the Nationals cause in the first game with some flubs in the field. First baseman Justin Morneau allowed an extra run to score when he failed to come off the bag to field a late, off-target throw from Florimon, and Washingtons five-run barrage in the fifth was possible because of a grounder misplayed by second baseman Brian Dozier, who somehow wasnt charged with an error. "I know they gave it a hit, but this is the big leagues, folks," Gardenhire said. "Thats an error. Thats two steps to his right." NOTES: The second game included a 12-minute rain delay. ... Minnesota CF Aaron Hicks left the nightcap with a strained left hamstring after running to first on a groundout in the fifth inning. ... Twins RHP Ryan Pressley left the first game in the seventh inning with a sore right triceps. "He should be just fine," Gardenhire said. ... Kobernus made his first major league start in the opener and got his first career hit, an infield single in the third. Clinton McDonald Jersey . Watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. New Jersey has won back-to-back games since losing three straight and five of six games, and is coming off Saturdays 3-2 overtime win versus Winnipeg in the opener of a three-game homestand. Chris Clemons Jersey . The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager believes he missed out on a chance to land Brad Richards in free agency because of his aversion to front-loaded contracts designed to lower the salary cap hit. http://www.nikesuperbowlseahawks.com/seattle-seahawks_pink-anthony-mccoy-seahawks-jersey . -- The sizzling opening by the surprising Colorado Avalanche has been largely overlooked because of a quarterback down the street preparing for his first start of the season. Percy Harvin Jersey . Wilson appeared in 75 games for the Angels last season, batting .211 with five doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI. Richard Sherman Jersey . After four games in Texas, the Blue Jays will visit the Yankees and Rays for three games each. Torontos Kyle Drabek will be aiming for his first victory in a while as he has not factored into the decision of his last three starts since winning his season debut on April 2.The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning are going to have to substantially improve their puck management skills if theyre going to have any degree of success against the Vancouver Canucks. Both the Bruins and Lightning have had a real tough time handling the puck in the Eastern Conference Final series. They have been breaking down and breaking down often under pressure. The Canucks have an unbelievably fast and physical forecheck that makes it tough for good teams at the best of times. Ive talked to a lot of coaches in both conferences and they all tell me the exact same thing: if Tampa and Boston do not improve their puck management skills, they cannot match up against Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Final. Im not saying its going to be a blow-out and Im not saying its going to be easy or the East doesnt stand a chance because the West is too strong. I always go back to 1995 when the New Jersey Devils faced the Detroit Red Wings. Everyone said Detroit was going to blow New Jersey out because they were just too strong but the upstart Devils swept the Red Wings.dddddddddddd That can happen but Ive got to see more improvement from both Boston and Tampa in terms of the way they handle the puck. Rest or Rust Normally, I would say having a week off between the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Final is too much time; I think the optimum time is four or five days. Usually when a team goes seven games in one conference final, there is a bit of a penalty paid in coming back fairly quickly, two or three nights later with lots of travel, while the other team is resting. That wont happen this year because the Eastern Conference champs are going to get four days off before they face the Vancouver Canucks. However, with Ryan Kesler a little wonky and Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome having been out of the lineup for a while, I think the Canucks can use the couple of extra days off; it wont hurt them. cheap jerseys ' ' '
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