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If Jordan Zimmermann's season is indeed over - and he's crossed the 160-inning threshold the Nationals have been targeting for him - it didn't end the way he would have preferred.
Zimmermann had his shortest start of the season today, lasting just 4 2/3 inning against the Reds. The final pitch he threw was a fastball on the edge of the strike zone that went for a bases-loaded walk to Fred Lewis. The Nationals are trailing 3-2 in the fifth, and Zimmermann is in line for a loss at the moment.
Assuming he won't make another start (the Nationals had planned to limit his workload to 160 innings in his first full season after Tommy John surgery), Zimmermann will end his year with eight wins, a 3.18 ERA in 161 1/3 innings, 124 strikeouts, 31 walks, 12 homers and 154 hits. He lost six times when allowing two runs or less, so he probably won't get the kind of credit he deserves, and he'll fall 2/3 of an inning short of being able to qualify for the league ERA leaderboard, but he made even more progress this year than the Nationals could have expected. He cut down on his homers - though he gave up two today - and learned to limit his pitch counts while still striking out batters. When the Nationals finally have him and Stephen Strasburg in their rotation next year, they should be well on their way to a formidable pitching staff.
They trail 3-2 in the top of the sixth, though, and will need to tie the game to take Zimmermann off the hook for his 12th loss.
