Jordan Zimmermann labored through his outing, and in so many ways, he is fortunate the Texas Rangers only scored the three runs they did off him in his five innings of work. He worked with men on base in every inning and gave up hard contact all game long. His saving grace was that the ball stayed in the ballpark, an impressive feat against a Rangers lineup that ranks tied for eighth in MLB in ISO (with the Yankees and Diamondbacks).
Zimmermann gave up three singles and a walk in the first inning, yet allowed only two runs to score on a single and a sacrifice fly — even while facing the dangerous Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo in that inning.