Stephen Strasburg, the former World Series MVP, was set to a veteran presence the Washington Nationals desperately need in his first major league start in over a year.
Unfortunately for Strasburg and the Nationals, it was not a fairytale return on Thursday against the Miami Marlins.
On Strasburg’s first pitch of the night, Jazz Chisolm bunted for a single and immediately stole second base. The hits kept coming for the Marlins, who took advantage of Strasburg apparent rust in his return from having thoracic outlet surgery in July 2021 to the tune of a 7-4 Miami win.
The right-hander ended his day with eight hits, two walks, a hit by pitch, and seven runs over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five batters over 83 pitches while averaging 91.9 mph on his fastball.
Despite the outcome, the 33-year-old was just happy to be back on the mound for the first time since June 1, 2021.
“It’s crazy — I feel like last time I was out there, I don’t know, I guess now everybody throws 96, 97 [mph],” Strasburg said. “But it felt good, and I’m excited to learn from it and get back out there for the next one.”
The Nationals, owners of the second-worst combined ERA (5.39) in the National League, opted to focus on the positives.
“I’m going to be outcome-biased right now,” said manager Dave Martinez. “But I thought he looked good, he really did.”
“He didn’t throw 93-94 (mph) but his fastball had oof at the end of it,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “There was late action. Now it’s a matter of getting back out there every five days and getting him going.”
Barring any setback, Strasburg will make his second start against the red-hot Atlanta Braves.
Credit: Source link
