WASHINGTON -- Ryan Zimmerman had not hit a home run since July 30 and his batting average has gone down each month since a red-hot start in April.

But the first baseman bounced back in a big way Wednesday night, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs as the first-place Washington Nationals blasted the Miami Marlins 10-1.

Zimmerman has 26 homers and 81 RBIs this year and lifted his average to .310.

He also set a career Montreal/Washington franchise record for RBIs with 910 to pass the mark of 905 held by Tim Wallach, a bench coach for the Marlins who looked on from the third-base dugout.

"It has been a tough two-week stretch for me. But that is part of the game," Zimmerman said. "Hopefully, today will get me going and take me through the rest of the next two months."

Marlins manager Don Mattingly, no stranger to driving in runs, was in Washington the first week of the season when Zimmerman got off to a blazing start at the plate.

"He is having good at-bats. You see him early in the year, he was really rolling," Mattingly said. "He has always been able to hit. It looks like he is healthy."

Howie Kendrick had three hits and three RBIs, and Gio Gonzalez allowed only one run and seven hits (all singles) in seven innings for Washington.

"It seems like we had him on the ropes a little bit. I think he kept us off balance," Mattingly said of Gonzalez.

Gonzalez (10-5) had six strikeouts and no walks. He has won at least 10 games the past eight seasons and is 9-3 against his hometown Marlins. The veteran left-hander saw his ERA rise every year the past four seasons, but he is now down to 2.59 after posting a mark of 4.57 in 2016.

"When I was throwing that hard (earlier in his career), I wasn't going deep in games," he said. "That was not helping anybody. I'd take more innings and less strikeouts."

It has been a busy time for Gonzalez as his wife had a son earlier this week -- the couple's second child. "She has me doing a lot of daddy duty," he said.

Marlins starter Adam Conley (4-5) gave up five runs and 11 hits in five innings. He has not beaten the Nationals since 2015. Miami's Tyler Moore had two hits against his former club and Ichiro Suzuki added three hits.

"Zimmerman obviously was all over him tonight," Mattingly said of Conley. "I thought it was a middle-of-the road start."

Washington (67-45) is 14 games ahead of the second-place Marlins (53-59) with the teams splitting their first 12 meetings this season.

Adrian Sanchez had two hits for the Nationals, who collected six extra-base hits and were 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Zimmerman hit a 0-2 pitch from Conley into the seats in left field to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

In the third, Bryce Harper hit an opposite field single to left to score Brian Goodwin, who led off with a double and went to third on a sacrifice bunt. Zimmerman followed with an RBI double to center that scored Harper from first for a 3-0 advantage.

Suzuki had an RBI single off Gonzalez in the fourth to trim the lead to 3-1. His hit scored Derek Dietrich, who reached on a fielder's choice and took third on Moore's single.

Zimmerman came through again in the fifth with an RBI single to score Harper. Later in the inning, Kendrick doubled to left to drive in a run that gave Washington a 5-1 lead.

Harper (two hits, two RBIs) had a sacrifice fly in the sixth as the Nationals took a 6-1 lead. Kendrick drove in two with a single later in the inning for an 8-1 advantage.

"The guy can hit," Washington manager Dusty Baker said of Kendrick. "He had some big hits tonight. He is a professional hitter. He has fit right in with the team (after a July trade with Philadelphia). He has a good attitude. He could hit before he got here."

Zimmerman hit his second homer of the game in the seventh, a two-run shot to right off reliever Javy Guerra to make it 10-1.

NOTES: Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg, on the disabled list since July 2 because of a right elbow nerve impingement, threw a simulated game of 57 pitches at Nationals Park. Among the hitters he faced was Nationals LF Jayson Werth (left foot contusion), who has not played since June 4. ... Washington RHP Tanner Roark (9-7, 4.82 ERA) will oppose Marlins RHP Dan Straily (7-8, 3.77) on Thursday in the series finale. ... Nationals 2B Daniel Murphy (hip) was out of the starting lineup for the second day in a row. ... Marlins 1B Tyler Moore played for the Nationals from 2012 to 2015.