May 8, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (27) throws during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Zimmerman turned in another stellar performance against the fearsome Detroit Tigers lineup, and the Nationals beat the Tigers 3-1 in the first interleague game between the teams.

The game was delayed for an hour due to rain, and Zimmermann had to wait an extra day for his start, but none of that seemed to bother him as he pitched seven innings in a quality start. Zimmermann gave up one run in the third inning on a single to Miguel Cabrera which scored Torii Hunter. Jordan scattered seven hits over seven innings. His ERA is down to 1.59.

Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez has been a Nats nemesis in the past. When he was with Miami, the Nationals could not beat him no matter what they tried. Sanchez’s record against the Nats coming into this game was 10-0. Sanchez was not the better pticher on this night. He gave up three runs (two earned) over six innings. The Nationals had plenty of opportunities to break the game wide open, but rarely scored on those opportunities, continuing their RISP woes.

The Nationals scoring started in the bottom of the third, answering the run the Tigers had just put up. Denard Span tripled and came home on a sacrifice fly by Bryce Harper, tying the score. The Nats went ahead for good in the fourth inning on a bizarre play. Adam LaRoche and Danny Espinosa singled. With runners at first and second and one out, Kurt Suzuki hit a deep fly ball, and both runners tagged up. Hunter fired the ball to third after the catch, and the ball ended up bouncing into the camera well and then bouncing back onto the field. The umpires ruled the ball left the field of play, and LaRoche and Espinosa were awarded an extra base, which scored LaRoche.

Bryce Harper put the icing on the cake in the sixth with a solo home run, his tenth of the year. Harper looked much better at the plate, going one for three and adding two RBI’s to his stats. The enforced rest from the ejection and the rainout may have helped Harper’s injured side heal.

Tyler Clippard pitched the eighth inning on what was a roller coaster of an appearance. He got two quick outs against Cabrera and Prince Fielder, but then struggled to get that third out. He walked Andy Dirks and Jhonny Peralta, but finally got Alex Avila to strike out swinging to end the inning. In Tyler’s defense, the home plate umpire, Hunter Wendlestedt, appeared to be reluctant to call strike three on batters the entire game. The crowd was chirping during the Dirks and Peralta at bats, when Clippard would get to two strikes and then could not get that strike three call. Avila struck out swinging or we might all still be at the park waiting for that strike three call.

Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth inning for his eleventh save of the year. He owes the save to Roger Bernadina. Davey Johnson put him into left field for defensive purposes in the top of the eighth. That move paid off in the ninth. Omar Infante hit a line drive to left-center, which appeared to be destined to be a double. Bernadina made a spectacular diving play on the ball, catching it cleanly and robbing Infante. The crowd started doing “The Shark”, which made its appearance again on the next batter, when Bernadian caught a fly ball to left off the bat of Victor Martinez. I had to explain “The Shark” to the Detroit fan sitting next to me, who had never been to a Nats game. He thought the crowd was being alligators, but I straightened him out. Fittingly, Harper caught the last out of the game, a fly ball from Austin Jackson to end the game.

Game Notes: Jayson Werth sat out the game continuing to nurse his ankle and leg problems. Tyler Moore played in left field for most of the game, and Harper was in right. Adam LaRoche went 2 for 3, continuing to show signs he is heating up at the plate. Danny Espinosa also had a good night at the dish, also going 2 for 3. On the other hand, Moore was 0 for 3, and Ian Desmond was 0 for 4. Desmond contributed with his glove, making several great plays at short.

Next Game: Thursday, May 9th at Nats Park at 4:05. This is the makeup for Tuesday night’s rainout. Dan Haren ( 3-3, 5.01 ERA) will start for the Nationals, while the Tigers send Doug Fister (4-0, 2.48 ERA) to the bump.

September 19, 2012; Washington, D.C., USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (27) pitches in the first inning during game one against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

On another bright and sunny day at Nats Park, it was the Milwaukee Brewers who had trouble with the sun and fly balls, helping to spark a huge six run fourth inning for the Nats on their way to a 12-2 rout of the Brewers.

Jordan Zimmermann pitched six and 2/3 innings, only allowing four hits and one run. He also had a good day at the plate with two hits, an RBI and a run scored. The game was also notable for Ian Desmond swiping his twentieth stolen base of the year, making him a member of the 20-20 club, the first for the Nationals since Alphonso Soriano had his 40-40 season in 2006.

The Nats scored in the first inning due to heads up base running by Bryce Harper. Harper hit a single and went to second when Ryan Zimmerman drew a walk. Harper stole third and came home on a throwing error by Brewer’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy trying to get Harper at third. Corey Hart homered for the Brewers to even the score.

With the game tied in the bottom of the fourth, Danny Espinosa smacked a double, then went to third on a balk called on Brewers pitcher Marco Estrada. Roger Bernadina, starting in place of Michael Morse, grounded into a fielder’s choice, with the Brewers throwing home to get Espinosa trying to score. Kurt Suzuki singled to right, and Jordan Zimmermann singled to center, scoring Bernadina. Jayson Werth then hit a fly ball which should have been the third out, but Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez lost the ball in the sun. The ball dropped and both Suzuki and Jordan Zimmermann scored. Harper drew a walk, and then Werth and Harper executed a double steal. Ryan Zimmerman homered to tack on three more runs. The Nats were ahead 7-1, and Brewers starter Estrada was done for the day.

The Nationals struck for two more runs in the bottom of the fifth off Brewers reliever Kameron Loe. Ian Desmond drew a lead off walk and stole second. Espinosa singled and ended up on second on a throwing error. Bernadina grounded into another fielder’s choice. The Brewers threw home to get Desmond at the plate on yet another bad call by umpire Marvin Hudson (the replays showed Desmond was clearly safe). Kurt Suzuki doubled, and Espinosa and Bernadina scored. That chased Loe from the game. Josh Stinson got the final two outs of the inning and pitched the sixth.

Milwaukee scored a run in the top of the eighth off Tyler Clippard. Ryan Braun hit a two out single and Aramis Ramirez got a double that scored Braun. Clippard then got Corey Hart to fly out to right, ending the Brewer threat.

Manny Parra pitched the bottom of the eighth for the Brewers and the Nationals scored three more runs. Ryan Zimmerman hit a single that scored Mark DeRosa who had drawn a walk, and Eury Perez who had singled for his first major league hit. Espinosa got the third RBI of the inning grounding into a fielders choice with the bases loaded that scored Ryan Zimmerman. Drew Storen pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the Nats win.

Champ of the Game: Ryan Zimmerman went three for four with four RBI’s, and his three run homer gave the Nats tons of breathing room.

Chump of the Game: Roger Bernadina went 0-3, grounding into a fielder’s choice twice with a runner on third, both of whom were thrown out at the plate.

Unsung Hero: Bryce Harper had a terrific catch to end the first inning, went 1-3 with a walk, and stole two bases.

Next Game: Tuesday, September 25th against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, 7:05 p.m. start. Ross Detwiler (10-6, 3.10 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (15-6, 3.05 ERA).

April 13, 2012;Washington, D.C., USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmerman (27) throws a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-US PRESSWIRE

The Nationals played a wild and wooly game against the Cardinals Saturday afternoon at Nats Park. The Nationals had several leads in the game but could not hold them as the Cardinals nipped the Nationals by scoring the go ahead run in the top of the ninth inning to hand the Nationals the loss.

Starting pitchers Jordan Zimmerman and Kyle Lohse squared off in what promised to be a good pitching matchup. Both offenses scored early and often off the starters, neither of whom had a particularly good outing. Zimmerman labored from the beginning, taking over twenty pitches to get through the first inning. It would be his only scoreless inning in three and two-thirds innings of work.

The Nationals scored four runs in the bottom of the first thanks to two errors by the Cardinals. After Jayson Werth lined out, Bryce Harper turned a single into a double thanks to aggressive base running. Ryan Zimmerman ground out, but Adam LaRoche slapped an RBI single to get Harper home. Michael Morse singled and Ian Desmond then sent a ball to deep left center near the Cardinals bullpen. Matt Holliday missed the catch, and both LaRoche and Morse scored. Desmond ended up on second and Holliday was charged with an error. Danny Espinosa hit a routine ground ball to Daniel Descalso playing shortstop for the Cardinals, who muffed the play, allowing Espinosa to get to first safely. Kurt Suzuki cashed in with an RBI single, and the Nationals had jumped out to the early lead.

Jordan gave two of those runs back in the second inning, giving up a single to Yadier Molina and a home run to David Freese. The Nationals got those two runs back in the bottom of the second on a Ryan Zimmerman single and a home run by Adam LaRoche. The Cardinals scored two more runs in the top of the third on a single by John Jay and a home run by Matt Holliday.

At the beginning of the fourth inning the score was 6-4 in favor of the Nationals, but the Cardinals turned that around in the top of the fourth. David Freese hit a lead off double. After Skip Schumaker flew out, Descalso was hit by a pitch, which put runners on first and second. Lohse attempted to bunt the runners over, but popped the ball up to Ryan Zimmerman for the second out. Jordan hit Jay to load the bases, gave up a bases clearing double to Matt Carpenter, and then walked Matt Holliday. Davey Johnson finally came out to get Jordan, who had thrown ninety-three pitches. Craig Stammen came in to relieve Zimmerman. Allen Craig smacked a single that scored Carpenter. Stammen then got Molina to ground out. Jordan Zimmerman was charged with eight runs in his outing, clearly his worst of the year.

Stammen pitched scoreless fifth and sixth innings. Kyle Lohse took a two run lead into the bottom of the sixth, when the Nats offense struck again. Danny Espinosa belted a solo home run to cut the deficit to one run. Suzuki popped out on a bunt attempt and pinch hitter Roger Bernadina flew out. Werth doubled and the Cardinals went to their bullpen, bringing in Marc Rzepczynski, who promptly walked Harper. Fernando Salas then came in to pitch to Ryan Zimmerman. He singled to right field. Werth scored easily. Ryan tried to turn the single into a double and was hung up between first and second. Right fielder Craig threw the ball home when he realized Harper was trying to score instead of throwing to second to get the out on Ryan. Harper was safe and Zimmerman got to second. The Nationals were now ahead 9-8. LaRoche ground out to end the inning.

Ryan Mattheus threw a scoreless seventh, as did Edward Mujica for the Cardinals. Sean Burnett came in to pitch the eighth and struggled today just like he did in his last outing against the Marlins. Burnett walked pinch hitter Shane Robinson, who went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Descalso. Robinson scored on a pinch hit single by Carlos Beltran, which tied the game. Jay then singled. Carpenter ground out, but advanced the runners to second and third with Holliday coming to the plate. Drew Storen was called upon to get Holliday out, and he did, getting Holliday to strike out. The Nats could not score in the bottom of the eighth, leaving the score tied 9-9.

Storen came out to pitch the ninth inning. Craig singled. Molina flew out to left. With Freese batting, Craig stole second and then scored on Freese’s single. Freese then stole second, but Pete Kozma ground out and Descalso flew out. The Cardinals were ahead 10-9. The Nats could not get a base runner against the Cardinals closer Jason Motte, who pitched a one-two-three inning for the save. Drew Storen took the loss, and Mitchell Boggs, who handled the bottom of the eighth for the Cards, vultured the win.

Champ of the Game: For the Nationals, it was Bryce Harper. He went 2-4, drew a walk, and scored two runs with heads up base running, stretching a single into a double in the first inning and then scoring the go ahead run in the sixth in a bone jarring collision at the plate play.

David Freese went 3-5, scored two runs and had three RBIs. He was the champ of the game for the Cards.

Chump of the Game: For the Nationals, it wasn’t Jordan Zimmerman. It’s Davey Johnson. It was apparent from the first inning that for whatever reason, Zimmerman didn’t have it today.
By the time he had reached the fourth inning it was clear from the number of pitches he had already thrown that he was going to need a quick inning to get through five. As the fourth inning dragged on and Zimmerman had hit two batters, it was clear Zimmerman was gassed and had lost his control. Once your pitcher has loaded the bases by hitting two batters, it’s time for the hook. Instead, Zimmerman faced two more batters giving up a bases clearing double and walking the next batter and putting the Nationals behind in a game where the offense had scored six runs to that point.

Skip Schumaker went 0-3 for the Cardinals with two strikeouts. He was the only starter that didn’t contribute to some way to the Cardinals offensive explosion.

Next Game: September 2nd at 1:35 p.m. at Nationals Park. Projected starters: Stephen Strasburg (15-6, 3.05 ERA) and Jake Westbrook (13-10, 3.94 ERA).