Zimmerman dealing with right hamstring strain (plus more after Nats' 7-4 win)
By Dan Kolko
DENVER - The Nationals don't know how severe Ryan Zimmerman's right hamstring injury is just yet. But the early information isn't too encouraging.
Zimmerman had to leave tonight's 7-4 Nationals win over the Rockies in the sixth inning after coming up lame just before first base on an RBI groundout. Zimmerman made it through the bag, but crumpled to the ground behind the base, and needed assistance getting off the field and down the dugout steps.
The Nats are calling Zimmerman's injury a right hamstring strain, and are awaiting an MRI tomorrow before determining whether to place him on the disabled list for the second time this season.
"We'll have an MRI in the morning and see the severity of it," Matt Williams said. "It's pretty sore tonight. We'll get the MRI, get some results tomorrow and see where we're at. ...
"It's concerning. Anytime you've got to leave the game with a hamstring injury, it's concerning. But we don't know until we get a picture of it. We'll do that in the morning."
If Zimmerman does need to land on the DL, Zach Walters and Tyler Moore are two candidates to get called up from Triple-A Syracuse to fill the empty roster spot.
"We'll talk about it tonight heading back to the hotel," Williams said, when asked if the Nats will fly a player to Denver in case Zimmerman is out for an extended period. "But as of tonight, we've got to see what it is. We had this situation with Wilson (Ramos) earlier where he could've played in three or four days, but we'll see what the picture tells us first and go from there."
Zimmerman missed 44 games earlier this season with a fractured right thumb, and had missed time the last couple of seasons with shoulder problems. He had really been heating up offensively as of late, hitting .407 with an OPS of 1.100 in his last 16 games coming into tonight.
"He's swinging great, playing great," Williams said. "But we'll have to deal with it and see where we're at tomorrow and make the correct decision. And regardless, we'll still have to play."
Here's more from the skipper after the Nats' 7-4 win.
On how Jordan Zimmermann made it through his first start back after suffering a right biceps strain 11 days ago: "OK. He couldn't find his fastball. He came to the dugout just saying, 'I don't know where my fastball's going.' Threw a lot of sliders to get into counts and get outs, but his fastball command wasn't quite there today. But he felt great. That's encouraging."
On Adam LaRoche's big night (2-for-5 with a three-run homer in the seventh): "When you're facing a bunch of lefties, it can get you right again, because you have to stay on the baseball. For the first few at-bats of this series, he wasn't quite right. Couple of at-bats tonight in this game, he stayed on baseballs, which is good. Sometimes you need that, you need to face those lefties and figure it out. He got a fastball and hit it over the fence. Big hit for us."
On the bullpen turning in four scoreless innings here at Coors Field: "That's not easy. Not easy for anybody in this ballpark. With the fact that we had to hit for (Zimmermann), we were in the sixth inning there and had to go to the bullpen. But everybody pitched great."
Zimmerman had to leave tonight's 7-4 Nationals win over the Rockies in the sixth inning after coming up lame just before first base on an RBI groundout. Zimmerman made it through the bag, but crumpled to the ground behind the base, and needed assistance getting off the field and down the dugout steps.
The Nats are calling Zimmerman's injury a right hamstring strain, and are awaiting an MRI tomorrow before determining whether to place him on the disabled list for the second time this season.
"We'll have an MRI in the morning and see the severity of it," Matt Williams said. "It's pretty sore tonight. We'll get the MRI, get some results tomorrow and see where we're at. ...
"It's concerning. Anytime you've got to leave the game with a hamstring injury, it's concerning. But we don't know until we get a picture of it. We'll do that in the morning."
If Zimmerman does need to land on the DL, Zach Walters and Tyler Moore are two candidates to get called up from Triple-A Syracuse to fill the empty roster spot.
"We'll talk about it tonight heading back to the hotel," Williams said, when asked if the Nats will fly a player to Denver in case Zimmerman is out for an extended period. "But as of tonight, we've got to see what it is. We had this situation with Wilson (Ramos) earlier where he could've played in three or four days, but we'll see what the picture tells us first and go from there."
Zimmerman missed 44 games earlier this season with a fractured right thumb, and had missed time the last couple of seasons with shoulder problems. He had really been heating up offensively as of late, hitting .407 with an OPS of 1.100 in his last 16 games coming into tonight.
"He's swinging great, playing great," Williams said. "But we'll have to deal with it and see where we're at tomorrow and make the correct decision. And regardless, we'll still have to play."
Here's more from the skipper after the Nats' 7-4 win.
On how Jordan Zimmermann made it through his first start back after suffering a right biceps strain 11 days ago: "OK. He couldn't find his fastball. He came to the dugout just saying, 'I don't know where my fastball's going.' Threw a lot of sliders to get into counts and get outs, but his fastball command wasn't quite there today. But he felt great. That's encouraging."
On Adam LaRoche's big night (2-for-5 with a three-run homer in the seventh): "When you're facing a bunch of lefties, it can get you right again, because you have to stay on the baseball. For the first few at-bats of this series, he wasn't quite right. Couple of at-bats tonight in this game, he stayed on baseballs, which is good. Sometimes you need that, you need to face those lefties and figure it out. He got a fastball and hit it over the fence. Big hit for us."
On the bullpen turning in four scoreless innings here at Coors Field: "That's not easy. Not easy for anybody in this ballpark. With the fact that we had to hit for (Zimmermann), we were in the sixth inning there and had to go to the bullpen. But everybody pitched great."
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