Jordan Zimmermann's No-Hitter Highlights Nationals' Dominant Postseason Staff

Given the kind of firepower the Washington Nationals have in their starting rotation, it was just a matter of time before their starters had everyone's attention in October.

Jordan Zimmermann, however, decided to start the party a few days early.

If you're just now joining us, Zimmermann ended his regular season in style on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park. He tossed a no-hitter against the Miami Marlins to pace the NL East champs to a 1-0 win, striking out 10 and walking only one.

Confirmed: Yes, the extra N in Zimmermann stands for "nasty" (citation needed).

Not that the 28-year-old right-hander did it all on his own. His no-hit bid would have met a disappointing end had it not been for a sprawling catch by Steven Souza in left field that secured the final out.

"I thought that was a double for sure, and here he comes out of nowhere and makes the play," Zimmermann said afterward, via USA Today.

Beyond putting a cap on the first no-hitter in the brief history of the Nationals, Souza's catch also put a cap on yet another excellent season for Zimmermann. After compiling a 3.12 ERA between 2011 and 2013, he ended 2014 with a 2.66 ERA and an impressive 6.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 199.2 innings.

Oh, and here's one more thing Souza's catch put a cap on: an absolutely dominant finish to 2014 by Washington's top starters.

Here's Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com:

In addition to Zimmermann, Zuckerman is referring to Stephen Strasburg, Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark. You have to go back to Gonzalez's start against the New York Mets on Sept. 12 to find the last time one of the five gave up even so many as three earned runs in a start.

And if you look back even further, you'll notice that these five have been dominating for longer than just a couple of weeks.

Courtesy of FanGraphs, here's what Washington's killer fivesome has done in the second half:

Player	GS	IP	K/9	BB/9	ERA
Jordan Zimmermann	13	95.2	8.6	0.9	1.99
Stephen Strasburg	14	90.0	9.3	1.7	2.70
Doug Fister	13	86.1	5.5	1.7	1.98
Tanner Roark	13	85.0	5.6	1.5	2.65
Gio Gonzalez	13	75.1	9.2	2.8	3.58

Only Gonzalez hasn't posted an ERA under 3.00 since the All-Star break. But that's slightly misleading, as he's been hot for well over a month at this point. In nine starts dating back to Aug. 10, he's posted a 2.77 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 55.1 innings.

"I'd like to always think it's not how you start but how you finish," the left-hander (and apparent cliche enthusiast) told MASNSports.com after his 12-strikeout performance against the Mets on Thursday. 

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

By FanGraphs' reckoning, Gonzalez's hot finish has pushed his WAR to 3.1. Alongside Roark, Strasburg and Zimmermann, that gives the Nationals four of only 31 qualified pitchers with WARs that high.

If you prefer ERA, it also has a favorable testament to give. Between Roark, Strasburg, Zimmermann and Fister, it features four of only 25 qualified pitchers with ERAs as low as 3.14.

This leaves little room to nitpick Washington's rotation. If you prefer to focus on the big picture, the Nationals are heading into October with four of baseball's elite starters. If you're a "What have you done for me lately?" sort, they're heading into October with five starters who are all hot.

Either way, Nationals skipper Matt Williams is looking at having one of those problems other managers would love to have: too many good starters to choose from for his postseason rotation.

If, however, Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post is right in guessing that Williams' postseason rotation will be Strasburg followed by Zimmermann, Fister and Gonzalez with Roark going to the bullpen, it won't just be excellent regular-season numbers boding well for Washington's starters in October.

They'll have something else working for them, too: variety.

In Strasburg, the Nationals have one of the game's top strikeout artists. His good command of his mid-90s fastball sets up his curveball and changeup, which are both elite swing-and-miss offerings.

In Zimmermann, the Nationals essentially have the National League's Phil Hughes. He leans on his own mid-90s fastball for 70 percent of his pitches. That and his excellent command explain why he's one of the best strike-throwers in the game today.

Fister, meanwhile, is still a sinker-baller all the way. And though his ground-ball habit has actually taken a step back in 2014, he's still a better ground-ball pitcher than the average starter. And like Zimmermann, he's also an elite strike-thrower.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, is certainly not an elite strike-thrower. But in his own hard fastball, an excellent curveball and a solid changeup that he's trusting more than ever, he definitely has good stuff. And after seeing three righties with good command, having to face a wild lefty like Gonzalez won't be easy.

As such, going up against Washington's starting rotation in the postseason doesn't mean just going up against a handful of guys who all had success in the regular season. It means their opponents will have to win a game or two in a short series to get the same look twice.

This is not to say the Nationals can't be beaten in October. They're not a perfect team outside of their rotation. Beyond having the most strikeout-happy offense of any National League playoff team, their bullpen hasn't been able to maintain its first-half dominance in the second half.

They certainly should be feared, however. Dominant starting pitching alone can take a team far in October, and the Nationals have the goods to become the latest example of that. Theirs is a rotation that we could eventually look back on as one that simply got on a roll.

And that it was Zimmermann, of course, who really got it all started.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.

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