Zimmermann tosses 4 1/3 innings in rehab start
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
TOLEDO — The last time Jordan Zimmermann made a rehab start here, he gave up seven runs on seven singles and two walks without getting thru the first inning on May 27. So when he retired the side in order on 13 pitches in his opening inning at Fifth Third Field on Wednesday, his second Triple-A rehab outing was already better.
“I didn’t get booed out of the stadium, so I guess that’s a positive,” said Zimmermann, who finished with 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball, two walks and five strikeouts for the Mud Hens against the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate.
Until Zimmermann left a fifth-inning fastball up to Buffalo slugger Rowdy Tellez, his outing was pretty much all positive. He had a scoreless outing going on a couple of singles until the solo homer deep to left. He struck out Jason Leblebijian on three consecutive sliders before a one-out walk to Reese McGuire ended his outing at 72 pitches (50 strikes), right around the 75-pitch limit the Tigers had in mind as he works back from a right shoulder impingement that landed him on the disabled list about a month ago.
“I threw the ball well, made some pitches,” Zimmermann said. “Still missed on a few that I’d like to have back, but overall it was a good outing. And I felt good, so that was the main thing.”
Zimmermann worked efficiently early with a pair of 13-pitch innings before a 10-pitch walk to Dwight Smith Jr. set off a 21-pitch third. He got out of a two-on, one-out jam with a double play grounder from Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
“I was getting a lot of swings and misses on the slider,” Zimmermann said, “threw the fastball past a couple guys up in the zone. My curveball and changeup were good and I got a couple lazy ground balls. So all my stuff was really working. I was throwing strikes, which is definitely a good sign.”
Zimmermann induced 10 swing-and-misses, at least half off his slider, which he said had more depth when he got on top of it in his delivery. His fastball topped out at 92 mph on the Fifth Third Field radar gun, sitting around 91 mph early before fading a tick the last couple innings.
“I left a few balls up in the zone, which is the first sign of getting a little tired,” he said. “But overall, I felt fine out there. We’ll see in the coming days what the plan is.”
Though Zimmermann didn’t say what the next step is, he’s clearly hopeful it’s a return to the Tigers rotation. He’ll consult with the Tigers physical therapy and medical staff in Detroit on Thursday, then meet with the coaches when the next homestand begins Friday.
“Hopefully my next start is with Detroit,” he said.