Zimmermann blanks Reds on 1 hit in Nats' 1-0 win

Published Apr. 26, 2013 9:39 p.m. ET

foxsports

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Jordan Zimmermann was terrific in his second complete game of the season and the Washington Nationals limited the Cincinnati Reds to one hit for the second straight game in a 1-0 victory on Friday night.
Zimmermann (4-1) struck out four and walked one while improving to 3-0 with a 1.36 ERA in five career games against Cincinnati. The right-hander needed only 91 pitches to record his third career complete game.
It was the first time the Reds managed just one hit in consecutive games since July 5-6, 1900, against Brooklyn, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau that the team provided. The Houston Astros from Sept. 14-15, 2008, were the last team with such a streak.
Xavier Paul led off the third with a single to center for Cincinnati's only hit off Zimmermann. The other baserunners came when Todd Frazier reached on an error by first baseman Adam LaRoche in the fifth and Corky Miller walked in the eighth.
Washington won the first game of the series when Gio Gonzalez pitched eight innings of one-hit ball in an 8-1 victory on Thursday night. Joey Votto homered for Cincinnati's only hit in this one.
Homer Bailey (1-2) was nearly as good as Zimmermann, pitching seven crisp innings for the Reds. He allowed one run and six hits, struck out six and walked none.
The Nationals' only run came in the third. Bryce Harper tripled to right and scored on Jayson Werth's single to right.
That was enough for Zimmermann, who is 8-0 with a 3.02 ERA in his last 14 regular-season home starts.
NOTES: LaRoche was hitless in three at-bats. He's mired in an 0-for-19 slump. ... Reds manager Dusty Baker said RHP Johnny Cueto, on the disabled list with a pulled muscle in his back, is not close to returning. ... Washington manager Davey Johnson said he hopes 3B Ryan Zimmerman, on the DL with a hamstring strain, will soon be able to go on a rehab assignment. He could be reactivated next weekend. Rookie Anthony Rendon, who was called up to play third while Zimmerman was out, was on the bench for the second straight games. He's just 2 for 15.