Cubs' strategy vs. Harper changes, results with Zimmerman remain

On Monday night, the Cubs pitched to Bryce Harper in the opener of their four-game series with the Nationals. Which may not sound like a big deal, until you recall how little they pitched to the young slugger one year ago when the two clubs met.

Over the course of four agonizing days at Wrigley Field in May 2016, the Cubs walked Harper an astounding 13 times. That included six times in one game, with three of those walks handed out intentionally by manager Joe Maddon.

The strategy was simple: Don't let Harper, coming off an MVP season, beat you. Make the guy hitting behind Harper beat you.

And the guy hitting behind Harper - Ryan Zimmerman - most certainly did not beat the Cubs last year. In the 13 plate appearances that came immediately after his teammate walked that weekend in Chicago, Zimmerman went 2-for-13. Both hits did drive in runs. But he also stranded a total of 16 runners on base in those situations, a major contributing factor to the Cubs' four-game sweep.

That was then, and this is now, and Zimmerman is an entirely different hitter today. One year ago, he was struggling through the worst performance of his career, en route to a .218 batting average and .642 OPS that left many wondering whether his best days were behind him.

Right now, Zimmerman is enjoying the best first half of his career, owner of a .344 batting average and 1.029 OPS that will earn him his second All-Star selection come Sunday.

And yet there was an eerily familiar feeling to Monday night's game. Because even though the Cubs pitched to Harper, Zimmerman still was left to step to the plate in big situations. And as he did one year ago, he failed to capitalize, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and stranding five runners on base.

"Last year is last year," said Harper, who wound up mired in a long slump in 2016 himself that may or may not have been made worse by that series at Wrigley. "Whatever we're doing this year, try to keep it going. Zim's done a great job for us. (Daniel) Murphy as well. I mean, one through eight, pick your poison. We've got a great lineup."

The Nationals do have the majors' most productive lineup, and the results of one game do not accurately reflect the bigger picture. Having said that, boy did Monday's game have a familiar ring to it.

Zimmerman had two big opportunities late to drive in at least the tying runs with the Nationals trailing. Down 2-0 in the eighth, he stepped up with two on and two out against right-hander Justin Grimm and proceeded to ground out to third on a 3-2 pitch.

"It was a good at-bat, and then he made a good pitch," Zimmerman said. "A 3-2 curveball, you can't sit there and sell out on a 3-2 curveball against a guy who throws 95 mph. He made a good pitch at the bottom of the zone. I battled to get back in the at-bat and got all the way back to 3-2. If it's a little bit higher, I think I put a pretty good swing on it. He made a good pitch. Sometimes they make good pitches."

Wade Davis didn't necessarily make good pitches in the bottom of the ninth, when Zimmerman again came up in a huge spot: bases loaded, two out, tying run on second. Of the six pitches Davis threw in the at-bat, only one crossed the strike zone: a first-pitch fastball on the inside corner called strike one.

Otherwise, everything was well out of the zone, including an errant fastball that sailed high and off catcher Willson Contreras' mitt for a run-scoring wild pitch that allowed the tying run to advance to third and the winning run to advance to second.

Zimmerman's biggest regret in that at-bat? Davis' 2-2 fastball, which was outside but up and hittable. Zimmerman could only foul it off.

"I've got to do something with that pitch," he said. "That was the best pitch I had to hit the whole at-bat. He's not an easy guy to face."

No, and when Davis fired off a curveball in the dirt on his next pitch, Zimmerman couldn't hold back and swung and missed to end the game.

Thus ended another frustrating night for Zimmerman against the Cubs. The question now becomes whether the trend continues, whether he reverses the narrative or whether Maddon changes strategies.

"I think Joe's a pretty smart manager," Zimmerman said. "I think everyone would agree with me. I'm pretty sure he just looks at the matchups and the numbers. And last year, the matchups favored him, so he did what he was supposed to do. And I'm sure if the opportunity arises this year, he'll look at the numbers again. And whatever matchup gives him the best chance to succeed, that's what he's going to do."