He raised his fist running down the line. He tossed his helmet in the air running towards home. He jumped into a swarm of ecstatic teammates, who rewarded him with swats on the back and the head.
Yes, at 21 years old, Ryan Zimmerman has this game-winning thing down pat.
Zimmerman got more practice in this scene Tuesday afternoon, launching a two-out three-run homer to left field, giving the Nationals a 6-4 win over Florida.
It’s Zimmerman’s second walk-off home run of the season — and second in less than three weeks.
“The guy is a very special individual,” Nats manager Frank Robinson said. “He’s still learning and that’s what’s scary about him. He’ll be good someday — and I mean good. He’ll be an outstanding player for a number of years.”
Considering the Nats might be forced to trade Alfonso Soriano later this month, they needed Zimmerman to become the star, and face, of the franchise. He’s doing that. Robinson moved him to third in the lineup Monday. He now has 12 homers and 56 RBI, accompanied by a .277 average. And he plays an exceptional third base.
“They don’t come along too often,” Robinson said.
Nor do game-winning homers happen often, either. Zimmerman’s first occurred June 18 against New York. Tuesday, he looked for a breaking ball after seeing four already in the at-bat.
“They’re all good,” Zimmerman said. “This one was just as special.”
After that game, he said he needed work on celebrating such plays. This time, he had it down.
“I watch other people on TV do it,” he said. “[The helmet toss] was a [David] Ortiz thing. He always does that. I just watch what they do and copy them.”
Zimmerman’s hit helped save Jose Vidro from goat status. He committed two errors, couldn’t get to a third ball, and was hitless in five at-bats.
Meanwhile, starting pitcher John Patterson said he felt fine after throwing five innings. He said his right arm still feels a little “dead” but he was pleased with how he pitched.
Still, the talk afterward was Zimmerman, last year’s first-round pick who has made people forget he’s still a rookie.
“We expect him to play good defense and get big hits,” said the Nats’ Robert Fick, whose one-out single started the ninth-inning rally. “To do what he did, sit back and wait for a breaking ball, that’s a special thing to do as a young player.”
