Rick Ankiel went 3-for-7 on Sunday in a 14-inning loss to the Reds. He sure needed that one. Ankiel had gone hitless with 11 strikeouts in five of his previous six starts. He added a run and an RBI on Sunday, and is now batting .240/.300/.357.

Rick Ankiel blasted a grand slam in Tuesday's victory over the Braves. It was his only hit in five at-bats. Ankiel has three home runs in his last two games, both times batting leadoff. He entered Monday having hit just three bombs in 207 at-bats. There's little reason to think that the last few days portends any sort of power barrage is forthcoming from the 32-year-old outfielder.

Rick Ankiel hit a pinch-hit home run in Saturday's loss to the Pirates. Ankiel was just activated from the disabled list Friday. Roger Bernadina emerged as the regular center fielder during his absence, so the only way he should get regular playing time is if Laynce Nix's sore right Achilles' tendon continues to be an issue.

Nationals activated OF Rick Ankiel from the 15-day disabled list. Ankiel missed just over the minimum amount of time on the disabled list with an oblique injury. He'll return to an ugly .204/.271/.276 batting line and we can only hope he doesn't take too much playing time away from Roger Bernadina.

Rick Ankiel has yet to swing a bat since suffering an intercostal strain in Wednesday's game. Ankiel isn't expected to be available to play until at least Tuesday, and if he doesn't make strides in his improvement soon, the disabled list will become likely. It would be his second trip there this season, as he missed most of May with a sprained wrist.

Although he's still considered day-to-day, Rick Ankiel (intercostal strain) isn't expected to be available to play until Tuesday. No surprise there. There's still a pretty good possibility that he'll wind up on the disabled list, as an intercostal strain shouldn't be messed around with, especially for someone as injury-prone as Ankiel. Roger Bernadina will be the Nats' center fielder over the weekend.