Cristian Guzman, seen here sliding into second during last night’s win against Florida, is at the core of the Nationals’ recent red-hot streak. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Nationals 5, Marlins 4: Who is this team? Surely, it’s not the same Nationals which we grew accustomed to in the first half of the season, is it? Last night, the Nationals showed that when they’re on a tear, they can be a very tricky knot to untangle. Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn wasted little time and went back-to-back in the opening inning — Dunn’s third consecutive game with a longball — and staff ace John Lannan (8-8) upped his record to 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA at Nationals Park this season by scattering seven hits. Florida made it a game with two runs off Sean Burnett, but closer Mike MacDougal (yup, he’s on a streak, too) slammed the door shut in the ninth to earn his fourth save in four games.

On a team full of scalding hot players, Cristian Guzman might be the one who breaks the thermometer — with three hits including an RBI triple last night, Guzman has now hit safely in each of the last twelve games, and is swinging the bat at an unreal .470 clip with 15 RBI and 14 runs scored during that span. Suddenly, the Nats, now 8-4 in their last twelve, look like a side that could cause some problems for playoff contenders down the stretch — a Phillies fan we spoke to last night called the Nationals “one of the last teams I’d want to play right now.” Not too shabby for a team with twice as many losses as wins.