Washington Nationals Reaction: Jordan Zimmermann, Drew Storen are Jekyll and Hyde in Nats Loss

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Aug 7, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (27) pitches during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Nationals suffered one of their most gut-wrenching losses of the seasons on Friday night at the hands of the Colorado Rockies. Heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals handed a three run lead to their set-up man, Drew Storen, who had been dominant since being taken out of the closers role. Three outs and a Carlos Gonzalez grand slam later, they were down 5-4.

To make matters worse, the Mets managed a comeback against the Rays, which means, going into Saturday’s contest, the Nationals now sit 2.5 games back in the NL East. Washington can’t seem to keep any momentum going, failing to put wins together once again. After a Thursday game in which it looked like they were ready to break out of their slump, they fell victim to heartbreak.

Part of the problem was – no surprise – offense. While the Nationals managed to pile up four runs (not an insignificant amount), they squandered opportunities to add more. The team managed to go just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and they stranded eight on the bases. Storen was handed a three run lead to protect, but that could have easily been much larger.

But the real story of Friday night’s game was the pitching, which suffered from Jekyll and Hyde syndrome. On the good side, there was Jordan Zimmermann, whose brilliant pitching put the Nationals in position to win. On the bad side was Drew Storen, who suffered his worst outing since losing his job as closer and allowed the grand slam that cost the Nats the game.

Here’s a look at both sides of the coin.

Aug 7, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (27) pitches during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Dr. Jekyll: Jordan Zimmermann

2015 has not been Jordan Zimmermann’s finest hour by any stretch of the imagination. His numbers for ERA, FIP and WHIP are all at their worst levels since 2010, the year before he became a full-time part of the rotation. He’s given up the most hits per nine innings of his career, and his strikeout to walk numbers are hovering around his career averages.

But on Friday night, Jordan Zimmermann looked like the Jordan Zimmermann Nationals fans have grown accustomed to seeing over the past four years. For almost seven innings, Zimmermann held the Rockies in check, allowing just one earned run on only four hits. He didn’t allow a single walk while striking out six, and he handed the ball to Casey Janssen with a three run lead to work with.

It’s a shame that the Nationals couldn’t get Zimmermann the win, but, all things considered, Zimmermann’s dominant performance has to be encouraging. The Nationals rotation has been in constant flux over the course of the season, with under-performing Doug Fister being banished to the bullpen to make room for Joe Ross. If the Nationals are going to turn things around, they need the dominant Jordan Zimmermann to return.

Friday night, fortunately, offered a glimpse of just that. Hopefully, it’s a sign of J-Zimm returning to form, and not just a blip on the radar.

Aug 7, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Drew Storen (22) pitches during the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park. The Rockies won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Mr. Hyde: Drew Storen

Most of the discussion on Friday’s loss will center around Drew Storen. After all, Friday was his first real disaster of an outing. Since being moved to the eighth inning role, Storen had been near untouchable, locking down opposing hitters whenever he’s been called on regardless of the situation.

On Friday, Storen was just off. He recorded one out quickly, then handed out a walk. He recorded another out, then allowed a single. Then came the bad luck. Nolan Arenado got on top of a pitch, but instead of resulting in a ground ball out, the ball dribbled up the grass towards third. Yunel Escobar never really had a chance. The grand slam would follow.

Fortunately, Friday’s outing doesn’t portend terrible things to come for the Nationals set-up man. Every player has nights where things just don’t go the way you drew them up. For Storen, that’s what Friday’s game was. If the ball of Arenado’s bat finds Escobar a little more quickly, Storen’s out of the inning with no damage done. Instead, he ran into a hot-hitting Carlos Gonzalez and found himself on the wrong side of a comeback.

There’s also the silver lining of the fact that Matt Williams, whose managerial decisions have come into question all too often this season, managed to use his bullpen correctly on Friday. He pulled Zimmermann at the right time, handing the ball over to Janssen before he put in Storen. Once the lead was gone, he used Felipe Rivero to mop up the ninth. It isn’t much, but at least there’s a positive to be taken from a bad night.

Obviously, this loss will sting a little, particularly given that they allowed the Mets to increase their lead in the division, but Nationals fans can take a little solace in the fact that Jordan Zimmermann looked like his old self, and Drew Storen’s bad night seems more like a one-off than a sign of more meltdowns to come.

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