Tampa Bay Rays vs. Washington Nationals Live Blog: Instant Reactions, Analysis

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Washington Nationals 5-0 at Nationals Park in the third game of this interleague series Wednesday. 

After taking a 16-4 beating Tuesday, the Rays turned to Steve Geltz (1-2) to get back to their winning ways. Wednesday's originally scheduled starter, Matt Andriese, was scratched following Tuesday's loss.

Geltz gave up zero hits after two innings before giving way to Andriese. Rays manager Kevin Cash's interesting strategy of starting a reliever worked out for the team as Andriese (2-1) threw four scoreless innings of his own to earn the victory. 

Jordan Zimmermann (5-5) took the hill for the Nationals as he looked to avoid his third straight loss. He started off strong before givng up home runs to Steven Souza and Curt Casali in the fifth inning. An Ian Desmond error then let Evan Longoria score from third, but the run was earned. He finished with three earned runs after seven innings, giving him the loss. 

Poor fielding again cost the Nationals in the eighth. A bunt from Souza turned into a two-run play after Blake Treiner overthrew first base and Bryce Harper overthrew third base trying to catch Souza.

The Rays are counting on players like Geltz and Andriese to step up, as they currently have four pitchers from their main rotation on the disabled list. Despite the injuries, the Rays still have the fourth-best rotation ERA in baseball, according to ESPN Stats & Information. 

If the Rays can keep up their play and stay atop the American League East, they could become a serious contender come playoff time when their injured players return. This is a remarkable job by Cash after the team lost their manager and general manager in the offseason.

As for the Nationals, they should be encouraged by Zimmermann's performance, even though he took the loss Wednesday. If he pitches this well on most nights, the Nationals will be in great shape. Putting up zero runs in a game is not too much of a concern with big bats like Harper in the lineup. The Nationals are also dealing with injuries, so look for them to improve when they get healthy.