DeMarco: Nats' shocking start isn't shocking

The Nationals' Strasburg-Gonzalez-Zimmerman is one of the best pitching threesomes in MLB

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Stephen Strasburg is Strasburg again, dominating as he did before Tommy John surgery, NBCSports.com contributor Tony DeMarco writes.

OPINION

updated 2:32 a.m. ET April 28, 2012

Tony DeMarco

Should we be surprised the Washington Nationals will take the National League's best record into an intriguing weekend series in Dodger Stadium?

The 'not really' side of the argument goes like this:

• This is an emerging young team that just missed the .500 mark (80-81) last season, and through trade and returns to full health, has assembled an emerging elite rotation threesome in Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann.

Sure enough, those three have led the way to the Nationals' NL-low runs-allowed total (48 through Wednesday), and Nationals starters ran off a streak of 26 consecutive scoreless innings ? the game's longest by a rotation since 1989.

Strasburg is Strasburg again, dominating as he did before Tommy John surgery. Through four starts (2-0), his ERA barely is above 1.00, his WHIP is below 1.0, and he's striking out a batter per inning.

Gonzalez's move out of the extremely pitcher-friendly Coliseum in Oakland has had no detrimental effect. In fact, he's been better than ever through four starts, facing lineups who haven't seen much of him.

And Zimmermann is a quality-strike-throwing machine (two walks in his 27 innings) who didn't allowed more than one earned run in any of his first four starts.

• Although the Nationals' run production has been marginal at best, it has come at the most opportune times. Of their 68 runs, just under half came from the seventh inning on ? when they outscored opponents 33-17. No wonder they keep winning so many close games, including three of four in extra innings.
• The early schedule also has been favorable, including series against expected to be sub-.500 teams in the Cubs, Mets, Astros and Padres.

But here's what is surprising about the Nationals' 14-5 start ? who they're doing it without:

• Closer Drew Storen, who converted 43 of 48 save opportunities in his breakout 2011 season, is out until July after undergoing surgery to remove a bone fragment in his right elbow.

No problem so far, as Henry Rodriguez and his nasty fastball-curveball combination converted his first five save opportunities in dominating fashion ? one hit, six walks and 10 strikeouts in his eight innings.

Brad Lidge has chipped in with two saves despite some shaky peripheral statistics, and long man Tom Gorzelanny got into the act with a three-inning save Wednesday.

• Cleanup hitter Michael Morse, whose breakout 2011 included a .303/.356/.499 slash line along with 31 homers and 95 RBI, hasn't played a regular-season inning due to a lat muscle injury. Morse is expected to remain in shutdown mode for most of May, so we're looking at a mid-June return at the earliest, barring any further complications.

And now third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the Nats' unquestioned top position player, has been placed on the disabled list after being out for a week because of shoulder inflammation.

Fortunately, first baseman Adam LaRoche has returned from a miserable, injury-interrupted 2011 season, bucked his usual slow-starter trend with four homers and leads the team in RBI.

And Jayson Werth is looking much more like the player the Nationals spent $126 million to sign, rather than the one who could manage only a .232 average, .389 slugging percentage and 58 RBI last season.

• And ready or not, Bryce Harper will make his major-league debut Saturday in Los Angeles, taking Zimmerman's spot on the roster. The 19-year-old phenom's big-league stay could be a short one, however, as he was hitting only .250 with one homer at Triple-A, and Zimmerman will be eligible to come off the DL next weekend. But Harper is expected to immediately take over in left field, and a fast start could extend his first big-league experience.

We'll find out more about the Nationals' staying power much sooner than that, because after the Dodgers' series, they will return home to face the Phillies and Diamondbacks. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been watching the Nationals from afar, and already is impressed.

"They're tough,'' Manuel said. "They're legit. They're going to be there. They're not going anywhere. We've got a good division. You definitely don't want to get too far behind. You don't want to get behind two-three teams ? that's for sure."

Tony DeMarco is a contributor to NBCSports.com and a freelance writer based in Denver.

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