Jordan Zimmerman exits start early, will miss All-Star game
By Hayden Kane
The Washington Nationals cannot catch a break when it comes to injuries to their key players. Granted they would receive no sympathy from teams like the Texas Rangers or New York Yankees, but the Nationals have yet to enjoy a sustained stretch where their key pitchers and position players are all healthy. Even with that being the case, they enter the weekend tied for first place in the NL East with the Atlanta Braves.
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The latest addition to their list of injured players is stud starting pitcher Jordan Zimmerman. The right-hander was forced to exit his start early on Friday night with a cramp in the biceps of his throwing arm and will miss the All-Star game for the second consecutive summer.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com spoke to Zimmerman, who expressed his disappointment about having to miss the midsummer classic once again.
"“Obviously, you want to go over there,” Zimmermann said. “I had all the plans and everything made up. I want to pitch in front of my family. Hopefully, everything is fine. [Not pitching in the All-Star Game] is not the main problem. It’s getting healthy. Hopefully, there will be another one down the road.”"
As for the biceps injury itself, it will be the kind of thing that the Nationals will proceed very carefully with, especially considering the fact that it gradually got worse over the course of the game. From Ladson:
"Zimmermann said he started to feel tightness in his arm an inning earlier and that the injury was getting worse with each pitch. After the game, Zimmermann said he felt OK but would have an MRI exam on his right arm."
The Nationals will hope for good news from the MRI and a well-timed All-Star break to have Zimmerman back and ready to go for a big push in the second half.