Nationals' Zimmerman: Respect soaring for reliever Storen

Drew Storen may have lost his job as closer with the Washington Nationals, but he continues to pile up points inside the team's clubhouse.

Storen has made two appearances since the acquisition of Jonathan Papelbon cost him his job as closer and turned in a pair of dazzling performances. Storen struck out four of the six batters he faced and threw 17 of 19 pitches for strikes in back-to-back wins over the Miami Marlins.

“I don’t think any of us could respect him more than we already did, but him doing that, I guess if it’s possible we respect him even more now," Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman told the Washington Post. "The last two times he came out in the eighth, to do what he did, obviously makes us a better team.”

Storen has remained tight-lipped since the arrival of Papelbon, who insisted he remain a closer before agreeing to any trade with the Philadelphia Phillies. Storen converted 29 of 31 save chances before he was ushered into a setup role.

“Storen is an established closer," right fielder Bryce Harper said. "He’s got 29 saves for us this year, he’s been unbelievable, lights out this year. So having him as our eighth-inning guy is going to make us even better.”

(h/t Washington Post)