Entering the season, Jordan Zimmermann was considered good as gone. The Washington Nationals went out and signed Max Scherzer to a big contract and many viewed the pitcher as available. The Nationals never confirmed the idea, but several teams were linked to a potential deal heading into the year. Nothing ever came of the talk and Zimmermann remained on the roster and is now their best threat on the mound.
Zimmermann has been a lock this season with Scherzer as the two are the most consistent of the Nationals' rotation. That will be put to the test again as both are scheduled to start during a double-header with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Nationals need a win, but it is not because of their starting pitching. The team has dropped four of their last five while getting swept of the weekend thanks to their struggling bullpen. The relievers were tagged for six runs in two innings on Sunday while giving up a total of 14 in the series.
The starters will try and bail them out once again. Zimmermann takes the mound in the afternoon being 4-2 with a 3.26 ERA on the season. He has eight quality starts to his name while recording a 1.35 ERA in his last three starts. He has one loss in his last six starts for Washington. He is currently 6-0 with a 1.95 ERA in interleague matchups at home and he wants to continue that against the Blue Jays. Meanwhile, Scherzer will take the mound at night to improve off his dominating 1.51 ERA.
The Blue Jays will put RA Dickey on the mound as he is 2-5 with a 5.77 ERA. He has struggled heavily recently, putting up a 7.92 ERA in his last four starts. He is 0-3 with a 7.43 ERA in his last four starts on the road. He could catch a break and face a Bryce Harper who is not 100 percent. The outfielder was scratched from Saturday's game with a sore back. He played Sunday, but went 0-2 with two walks. In the month of May, he was hitting .360 with 13 home runs and 28 RBI.