Biceps cramp knocks Zimmermann from start vs. Phillies, MRI tomorrow

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals have dealt with a slew of injuries this season. Now they have to hope Jordan Zimmermann's injury won't knock him out of action for a long period of time. Zimmermann left tonight's game in the fourth inning with what the Nationals are calling a right biceps cramp. An MRI is scheduled for tomorrow to get a better idea of what the issue is. "Doc checked him out," manager Matt Williams said after the Nats' 6-2 loss to the Phillies. "Doesn't seem to be an issue with the shoulder or the elbow. It seems to be in the belly of the muscle. We're going to get an MRI in the morning, but I think Jordan feels OK about it." "The shoulder feels fine," Zimmermann said. "Elbow feels great. They did all the tests and everything was good. Everything was strong. I'm not too worried. I just think the biceps (is) a little ticked off right now. Hopefully a couple days off and it should be better." Zimmermann, who had Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2009, retired Dominic Brown to start the bottom of the fourth, then threw four pitches to Cameron Rupp. After the fourth, a slider, Zimmermann motioned towards the Nats' dugout with his glove, bringing out manager Matt Williams, pitching coach Steve McCatty and head trainer Lee Kuntz. "It was just getting a little tight the last inning, and every pitch it seemed like it was getting tighter and tighter and cramping up," Zimmermann said. "I didn't want to push it too far and have something worse happen, so I figured it would be best if I came out. "The inning before, I came out and I could feel it a little bit. And when I went back out there, it was gradually getting worse and worse every pitch. I thought I could maybe get a couple more innings out of it before it got too bad. But it got pretty bad, so I called them out and told them what the deal was and they got me out of there. Hopefully the MRI comes back good and we'll go from there." Because Zimmermann has dealt with a torn ligament in his elbow in the past, he has an idea what that feels like. That's a big part of the reason why he doesn't think this issue is anything serious. "When I had the elbow problems, I knew something wasn't right the whole time and just kept trying to pitch through it," Zimmermann said. "This, I don't think it's anything major, to be honest with you. It's a little cramping, and it just felt really tight. So I didn't want to push it." Biceps or forearm tightness can often be an indication that there's a larger issue at play with the elbow, but the Nationals feel that this is more of a muscular injury. "The fact that he said it's in the belly of the muscle is probably the best thing that you could hear when you go out there, as compared to elbow," Williams said. This injury will cost Zimmermann, who is now 6-5 with a 3.03 ERA this season, a chance to pitch in the All-Star Game on Tuesday, marking the second straight season an injury has forced him to miss the Midsummer Classic. "Obviously you want to go over there, and I had all the plans made up and everything," Zimmermann said. "I want to pitch in front of my family. Hopefully everything's fine. That's not the main problem right now. It's getting healthy. Hopefully there will be another one down the road." Williams said he would confer with Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, who is the skipper of the NL All-Star squad, and discuss other Nationals who could potentially replace Zimmermann on the All-Star roster. Because Zimmermann still qualifies as an All-Star, however, Matheny wouldn't need to pick a National to meet the requirement of one player from each major league team making the Midsummer Classic.