The Nats might stink like rotting fish, but every fifth day, they smell like roses. And victory. Sweet, sweet victory.
The Mayor of Natstown, Jordan Zimmermann, took the mound for his second career start. And what else? Win, baby, win!
Z'mm'nn took on the hated Mets -- can't wait to see the taunting commercial next year, I bet? -- and shut them down. He pitched into the sixth and struck out five.
He completely dominated the high-priced heart of the Mets order. The Carloses -- Delgado and Beltran -- and David Wright combined for a 2-9 against him, with a measly single and a triple that ticked off the glove of Justin Maxwell. And they struck out four times, too.
What was impressive about the Mayor's performance was that truthfully, he wasn't all that sharp.
He had control, basically. If he needed a strike, he could get it.
But he didn't really have command. Especially early in the game, he wasn't putting his pitches exactly where he wanted. Catcher Jesus Flores reached and stabbed for a number of them -- all in the zone.
While that sounds bad, it's a terrific sign.
He's got enough stuff -- including that beautiful 94-95 mph fastball -- to get the ball past the hitters even when he's not sharp, as he told Nationals Journal:
"If you'd heard Jordan Zimmermann talking after his second big league win, you would have been certain he had just lost. A sampling of what he said: 'I didn't have the control.' ... My fastball was 'all over the place.' ... 'It was a constant battle all day long.' ... 'I don't know what the problem was.'"
The Nats haven't had a starter with pure stuff since the heyday of John Patterson in 2005.
Let's hope the Mayor has a bit better career than that!
Chris Needham used to write Capitol Punishment. He's wondering if he should buy tickets for Friday's game.
