Zimmerman ramps up again after "frustrating" rehab (Nats lose 5-4)

SAN DIEGO - Ryan Zimmerman has missed considerable time with injuries before, too many times during the course of his career. He's dealt with setbacks. He's had timetables for recovery extended.

The bout of plantar fasciitis the Nationals first baseman has now been trying to recover from for six weeks, though, may top the list for the sheer aggravation it has caused.

"It's been really frustrating," Zimmerman said today. "It's been probably one of the more frustrating things I've gone through. Just because the rest of my body feels so good. I felt good this year up until the point where the heel started acting up. And there's nothing you can really do to prevent something like this.

"It's been frustrating. It's tough not to be out there with the guys, especially when they're grinding through those tough times. You just want to be out there."

When Zimmerman went on the injured April 28, five days after he landed hard on his right foot making a leaping catch in Colorado, he predicted he'd return in fewer than the seven weeks a 2014 bout of plantar fasciitis in his other foot sidelined him.

That's not going to happen, of course, though it briefly appeared things were heading toward a quick resolution when Zimmerman completed baseball activities and began running two weeks ago. But the pain in his right foot returned when he tried to run, and so the Nationals shut him down and decided to give him more time to recover before ramping up activities again.

"Obviously, it was a setback," he admitted. "Just started to run and it got a little bit sore, to the point where we wanted to make sure we get it right. If we do that and try to come back, you're going to be in the same position you are when it happened. It's feeling a lot better now."

Zimmerman skipped the Nationals' last road trip to Atlanta and Cincinnati, staying back in Washington to get treatment. But manager Davey Martinez wanted him to accompany the team on this current trip to San Diego and Chicago.

This has coincided with a return to baseball activities. Zimmerman has been on the field for batting practice each of the last two evenings. He looked perfectly comfortable at the plate, launching balls into the second deck at Petco Park. He fielded grounders at first base. He made throws with no apparent issues.

"He's done a lot of baseball stuff, related activities," Martinez said, "and he looks great."

Zimmerman just needs to try running again, something that should happen soon. He believes if that goes well, he'll be able to head out on a short minor league rehab assignment within days.

The question, of course, is whether it will actually go well this time. And if not, then what?

"The last time we were pretty aggressive with the timeline, cause it wasn't (hurting) when I was doing baseball stuff," Zimmerman said. "We thought this was good. 'If I can do baseball stuff, and then if I can run, then I'll be back in two weeks, three weeks at the most.' I think it was worth it to give it a shot. If it worked out, it would've been great. If not, like it didn't, we were going to be in this situation anyways. We just had to give it a little more time and make sure everything else feels good and I'm ready to go."

Update: The Padres were ultra-aggressive against Erick Fedde the first time through the order. It led to a super-low pitch count (23 pitches to the first nine batters) but it also led to a quick run. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the bottom of the first with a single, took second on a slow roller, stole third and then scored on another slow roller. That's a bit of tough luck for Fedde, though he did benefit from some positive luck when three straight batters ripped drives that were caught at the fence in the bottom of the second. The Nats, meanwhile, have a couple of hits so far off rookie left-hander Nick Margevicius, but nothing to show for it. So they trail 1-0 after three.

Update II: Fedde has done just about everything he can tonight, but his teammates haven't been able to offer any support. The Nats are scoreless through six and scoreless over their last 14 innings in total. And now they face a 3-0 deficit after Tatis belted a two-run homer off Fedde in the bottom of the sixth.

Update III: The scoreless streak is over after 14 innings. And this game is now tied thanks to a three-run rally by the Nats in the top of the seventh. Yan Gomes got the first run home with an RBI single to left. Then with two outs, a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position and gave Trea Turner a chance to tie the game. Which he did, thanks to a blooper that fell just in front of center fielder Wil Myers' diving attempt. It's now 3-3, but the Nationals will need their bullpen to keep it there.

Update IV: The good news: The Nats took the lead in the top of the ninth on a wild pitch. The bad news: Sean Doolittle blew it with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He gave up a game-tying RBI single to Josh Naylor, then let the rookie steal second without a throw. That put him in position to score on Austin Hedges' single to left, with Juan Soto's throw to the plate off-line. The Nats lose 5-4, and that was a dagger of a loss.