The Washington Nationals are last in the NL East with one of the worst records in baseball. They did, however, show progress in the month of July.
The Nationals try to match a season high with their fourth straight home victory Wednesday night when they continue a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Washington opened a six-game homestand with a 6-3 win in Tuesday's series opener, as Ryan Zimmerman's three-run double highlighted a five-run fifth inning.
Ryan Church knocked in two runs and Felipe Lopez added three hits for the Nationals (46-60), who finished 14-12 in July after going 10-16 in June. It was their first winning month since they were 15-13 in September 2006.
The Nationals have outscored opponents 12-3 during their three-game home win streak. They have won eight of their last 10 at RFK Stadium.
Washington was quiet at the trade deadline Tuesday, holding on to closer Chad Cordero and set-up man Jon Rauch, who were thought to be the players most likely to be dealt.
Cordero worked a perfect ninth for his 22nd save in 29 opportunities.
"It feels really good to be able to stay here and hopefully see that new stadium next year," Cordero said. "I heard they were asking too much. That made me feel a lot better -- it meant the chances of me going were very slim."
Cordero set the franchise record with 47 saves in 2005. This June, he became, at 25, the second-youngest pitcher to reach 100 career saves.
Rauch leads the majors with 56 appearances this season, and he's 7-2 with three saves and a 3.79 ERA.
Cincinnati (45-62) has been outscored 20-4 during a three-game losing streak after winning three in a row.
The Reds also didn't make any moves before the deadline, holding onto high-priced veterans Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn.
"I didn't care," said Dunn, 1-for-16 in his last four games. "I couldn't do anything about it anyway, so I'm not going to sit and worry about something I have no control over. I'm not going to let it ruin my day and make me lose sleep."
Griffey went hitless in five at-bats Tuesday, and is 5-for-41 (.122) in the last 11 games.
Bronson Arroyo (4-11, 4.33 ERA) looks to avoid his career-high 12th loss for Cincinnati. Although the right-hander is likely to reach that mark this season, Arroyo has been effective lately. He has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts while pitching at least six innings in 10 consecutive outings.
Arroyo was very good against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, yielding two unearned runs and four hits through 7 2-3 innings before leaving without a decision in Cincinnati's 5-4 victory.
Arroyo had his worst start of the season against the Nationals on May 21, when he gave up six runs and six hits in a career-low two innings. He had thrown 16 scoreless innings in his first two career starts against them.
Washington's Dmitri Young is 7-for-15 (.467) with a home run and two doubles against Arroyo.
John Lannan (0-0, 8.31) hopes for better results in his second major league start.
The 22-year-old left-hander allowed three runs and six hits in the first four innings at Philadelphia on Thursday in his major league debut. He got the first out of the fifth, but was ejected after hitting Chase Utley on the right hand and Ryan Howard on the right shoulder.