Tag Archives: Jordan Zimmermann

Adam Laroche and Bryce Harper lead the Nationals over the Padres 5-4

WP – R. Ohlendorf (2-0) LP – N. Vincent (2-1)

S – R. Soriano (24)

Adam Laroche got the scoring started with a solo homerun in the bottom of the third inning for the Washington Nationals.  Laroche went 2-for-4 for the day but arguably made a much more important contribution with his glove, robbing All-Star Everth Cabrera of a game-tying hit to get the last out with a great diving stop in the top of the ninth.  Bryce Harper, announced as a starter for the All Star game today, also came up big at the plate going 1-for-2, with an RBI in three different at-bats on a walk with the bases loaded in the fourth, a single in the bottom of the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh. Harper also had a great diving catch in the outfield that saved a run from scoring.

Denard Span continues to improve his OBP as he went 2-for-3 with a walk. He also stole a base and scored two runs beginning to show what the Nationals expected when they obtained him from the Minnesota Twins before the season.

Jordan Zimmermann was attempting to be the first 13 game winner in the National League and went five and a third innings before being lifted for Ross Ohlendorf. Zimmermann (12-3) gave up three earned runs on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts on the day.  The rumor is that Zimmermann is dealing with tightness in his neck, first noticed in his last start, both of which have been his shortest of the year thus far.  Hopefully it’s nothing serious and Zimmermann can make his next scheduled start before the All Star game.

Ohlendorf had what is probably his worst outing as a National to date, allowing a three run homerun to Jesus Guzman in his first batter.  He clamped down after that and closed out the inning with no more damage and would also pitch the seventh allowing no one else to score.  The Nationals would score two runs in the bottom of the seventh to give Ohlendorf the win.  This is the second time in three games where a reliever gave up a three run homerun to cost a starter a win, only to end up the winning pitcher.

The Padres starter was Jason Marquis, a former National, who pitched six innings giving up three runs on eight hits, three walks and three strikeouts.  He escaped several jams early on, especially in the bottom of the third when the Nationals had the bases loaded with two outs but only managed one run.

Drew Storen had a great outing, retiring the Padres in order on five pitches which had to feel good after two consecutive challenging outings.  Rafael Soriano had to overcome some interesting drama to get his 24th save. Soriano allowed two base runners to advance to second and third with two outs before getting Cabrera to ground out to Laroche.

The Nationals improve to three games over .500 at 45-42, and are now 40-10 in games that they score more than three runs.

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005.

Harper returns with a Homerun, Zimmermann improves to 12-3

Nationals 10, Brewers 5

WP J. Zimmermann (12-3) LP: Y. Gallardo (6-8)

Tonight marked the return of Bryce Harper, who wasted no time in announcing his return, smacking the second pitch for his 13th home run of the year.  Harper had been out for the last 31 games due to a lingering knee injury.  He showed no holdups running the bases, so now we will see how the knee reacts to his first game back. 

This was just the beginning for the sluggish Washington offense as they continued some momentum from the game Sunday night where they pounded the New York Mets 13-2, pounding out five runs in the third inning that started with a double from starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, who went 3-3 from the plate, while also pitching six innings, giving up four runs.  You have to wonder if all the base running took a little out of the Nat’s starter, who is now leading the National League in wins as we approach the all-star game, as he typically goes a bit farther into games.

This two game explosion of 23 runs on 26 hits is a breath of fresh air for a team that has been batting .232 as a team.  Jayson Werth really seemed to enjoy the move back to the two spot in the order, delivering five RBI’s on a 2-for-5 night.  Ryan Zimmerman also contributed a couple RBI’s bringing his season total to 43, second on the team to Ian Desmond, who also knocked in one, giving him 49 for the season so far. This was plenty of offense to allow the bullpen to close things out.  It was a combination of Craig Stammen, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard and Fernando Abad to finish off the last three innings. 

It was good to see the Nationals take one step closer to being a full roster again.  Speculation is that catcher Wilson Ramos, the last remaining starter on the Disabled List, may return as early as Thursday for the 11 am game against the Brewers on the 4th of July.  It will be interesting to see the lineup that Davey Johnson chooses to employ once Ramos returns.

At least for this night it all seemed to click for the Nationals who are now 26-19 when Harper plays, and 37-10 when they score more than three runs.  Let’s hope that the Nationals can deliver a string of wins over these next thirteen games against the next four teams, all of which currently have losing records.  It could go a long way to brining them back into contention with the Atlanta Braves for first place in the National League East.

Robert Peterson lives in the Washington DC Metro area and has been covering the Nationals since the team moved to the area in 2005.