"Over a week ago, sitting before a throng of reporters in the modest and messy media room of the low Class A Hagerstown Suns, Ryan Zimmerman detailed the progress of his two-month-long rehabilitation from a frustrating abdominal muscle tear that, because of its reluctance to improve since its injury on April 9, needed surgery to remedy.

For a player of his caliber, among the best at his position in the league and the best on his major league team, the experience was somewhat humbling, having to rebuild his strength and play at that level of the minor leagues for the first time since his rookie season in 2005. But then, Zimmerman spoke with a slight grin about his hopeful return to his major league teammates and how he hoped to help them win.

In many ways, Zimmerman's return from the disabled list to Nationals Park on Tuesday brought what teammates billed as an immediate "shot in the arm" — energized cheers from the crowd and thoughtful presence in the clubhouse. But it was also Zimmerman's bat, after working through some initial rust, that helped spark a six-run seventh-inning rally with a double and led to an 8-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Zimmerman's slicing double that barely fell inside the right field line scored Jayson Werth. With Werth reaching on a walk and Ian Desmond reaching on an infield single, this was exactly the type of hitting with runners on base that the Nationals had hoped Zimmerman's bat would create. And then, the hitting became contagious.

"I can't even remember all the at-bats, there were so many good at-bats," Manager Jim Riggleman said. "We got a couple breaks, a couple hits that weren't really squared up that well. But a couple big ones."

The Nationals sent 12 batters to the plate that inning, totaled five hits, scored six runs and took their first and only lead of the game. A bases-loaded wild pitch to pinch hitter Ivan Rodriguez scored the game-tying run. Pinch hitter Laynce Nix's 10-pitch, bases-loaded walk then scored the go-ahead run. And Werth's single to right added the eighth and final run — a much-needed exclamation point for an offense that has been struggling and a hitter batting .236 with a huge offseason contract.

Zimmerman, who missed 58 games this season, finished 1 for 5, striking out twice and stranding three base runners. Though the well-regarded player was referred to by teammates as a "game-changer," Zimmerman played down his role as the savior to an offense that has scored three runs or less in seven of the past 10 games and ranks last in the National League in team batting average."