Sunday’s box score reflects a forgettable game for Ryan Zimmerman. He went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts in the Nationals’ 8-5 loss to the Reds. But the box score can’t begin to enumerate the three plays the third baseman made to keep Washington in the game. With two runners on in the fourth inning, Reds pitcher Mike Leake popped a bunt down the line and in front of the plate. Nats catcher Wilson Ramos got his mitt on the ball, but it bounced out into foul territory. Zimmerman got to the ball with a lunge and threw Leake out at first.
When Ryan Ludwick scorched a shot down the third-base line in the eighth inning, he was so sure the ball was in left field that he seemed ready to round first base. Just one problem: Zimmerman had made a diving stop and thrown Ludwick out from foul territory before he reached first.
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“He’s trotting to second,” Nats manager Davey Johnson said.
In the 11th inning, Zimmerman made another diving catch, this one on a popped bunt.
Eventually, Johnson ran out of words when asked to talk about each play.
“I like Zim,” Johnson said with a shrug.
Zimmerman saved at least two runs Sunday. Four might even be a conservative estimate. Nats shortstop Ian Desmond was asked the last time he saw a play like the one Zimmerman made on the first bunt.
“I don’t know,” Desmond said. “Probably the last time he made one.”
– Kevin Dunleavy
