WASHINGTON -- When Ryan Zimmerman went down 13 days ago with an oblique injury, the popular thinking around DC was that the Washington Nationals were toast. They were already five games behind the Mets and were losing their cleanup hitter -- the power-hitting first baseman who's clubbed more career home runs than anyone in a Nats uni and who'd been as hot as anyone in the National League since returning on July 28th from a seven-week stint on the DL (plantar fasciitis).

But two weeks later, the Nationals' faint playoff hopes are still alive. And while Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, who today were named National League Player and Pitcher of the Week, have plenty to do with that, so does Clintler Moorinson.

For those unfamiliar with Moorinson, he's the two-headed monster that's replaced Zimmerman over the last couple weeks. Comprised of 30-year-old lefty Clint Robinson and 28-year-old righty Tyler Moore -- two role players with a combined 1,500-plus games of minor league experience between them -- the Nats' first base platoon has done everything in its power to soften the blow of losing Zimmerman.

"The little platoon that T-Mo and I have going for the last couple weeks," said Robinson, who's in the lineup Monday against Orioles righty Ubaldo Jimenez, "it's worked out pretty well."

Just how well?

In 12 games since Zimmerman's been out, Robinson and Moore have teamed to post a slash line of .356/.408/.600. Their combined 1.008 OPS over that stretch is the best among National League first basemen, and nearly identical to Zimmerman's mark since returning from the DL in July (1.024 OPS). In each of the last three games, one of them has homered (Robinson on Friday, Moore on Saturday and Sunday). In related news, Washington won all three contests, in the process gaining two games on the first-place New York.

Even though the Nats -- who will face the Mets in the final series of the season -- are still six back with only 13 left to play, their odds of winning the division have increased from next to nothing (a low of 0.2% last week) to, well, something (2.2% today).

Neither Robinson, who typically bats fifth in the lineup, nor Moore, who's been hitting seventh or eighth, have been directly responsible for protecting Harper. That job belongs to Jayson Werth, who by the way has produced to the tune of a 1.139 OPS in nine games since moving into the cleanup spot. Still, there's no denying that Clintler Moorinson has had plenty to do with keeping the Nationals playoff flame flickering.

"They understand what their roll is at this point, and they have been performing," said Washington skipper Matt Williams. "Hopefully that will continue."