All season long, Nats right-handed pitcher Jordan Zimmermann has performed well enough to at least etch his name among the sport’s elite. Ignore that 8-11 record. By almost every statistical measure he has done what starting pitchers are supposed to do – give his team a chance to win on a consistent basis. But one issue keeping Zimmermann out of that esteemed group of 10 or 15 top pitchers is his inability to finish games.
It happened earlier this season in Baltimore on May 22 when a 1-0 lead in the seventh turned into a 2-1 deficit on a Vladimir Guerrero homer. It happened Aug. 11 at Chicago when a 1-1 game turned into a 4-1 deficit after the Cubs hit two seventh-inning homers off Zimmermann. The Diamondbacks got him again on Tuesday night at Nationals Park. In a scoreless game with one out in the seventh, Zimmermann walked Chris Young on what he felt was a borderline pitch. After a visit from pitching coach Steve McCatty he gave up a two-run homer to Sean Burroughs. A pitch supposed to be down and away caught too much of the plate, according to catcher Wilson Ramos, and landed in the right-field stands.
“Yeah, he pitched a great ballgame. In the sixth inning when he finished up he was still throwing hard. Made it look easy,” Washington manager Davey Johnson said. He later added with a wry smile, when asked if such disappointments are wearing on Zimmermann: “It wears on a manager, too.”
Johnson liked the way Zimmermann was throwing. His velocity was still there even if some pitches were up in the sixth inning. “He was cruising,” as McCatty said after the game. But in the blink of an eye the Nats were behind.
“Those are situations, especially the last one in Chicago, that you got bit on that one. And again tonight. Got to learn how to get through it,” McCatty said. “It’s extremely important for your guys, your top end guys, to get through those innings.”
Zimmermann admitted to some frustration after the game. It always seems like one pitch sinks him in those late-game situations. Of course, his teammates could get him some help at the plate. The game was scoreless, after all. But Zimmermann said lack of focus is not an issue in those spots. He reminded reporters that in 2009 he almost always struggled to get through the first inning of games without any damage and found a way to fix that flaw this season.
“You got to let guys go out there and learn how to get through those,” McCatty said. “And he’s going to do that. He will do that. He’s got great stuff. He’s a great competitor. I know that he’s disappointed and upset. Guys that are like that they get through it because they don’t quit. It’s a painful learning experience. But we’ve all been through it.”
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