Written by Chelsea Janes at WashingtonPost.com
The last time Stephen Strasburg lost a start, he was set to be the prize of the 2016 free agent pitching market, thought to be heading into his final season as a National, considered likely to head west at his first opportunity.
The last time Stephen Strasburg lost a start was September, 21 starts ago, the 12th-longest loss-free streak since 1912.
Strasburg and the Nationals lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 , on Thursday afternoon, his streak undone by two home runs from Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner — one of them on a hanging cutter/slider in the first, the other on a 3-0 pitch in the third that put the Nationals down four.
“That’s the one that really hurt,” Nationals Manager Dusty Baker said. “I don’t know if that’s [Turner] having his number or if that’s Stras getting behind. Usually he doesn’t get behind like that. It was kind of the ballgame — Turner five and the Nationals two.”
Only one other player has hit two home runs against Strasburg in the same game, so Turner’s effort was as remarkable as it was detrimental to the Nationals. They lost their eighth series of the season and missed another chance to claim the best record (by wins) in baseball with the Chicago Cubs off Thursday.
“Sometimes you make really good pitches, and they hit it. Sometimes you make really bad pitches and they hit it as well,” Strasburg said. “I tried to battle out there today and left on a high note.”
Other than those two swings from Turner, Strasburg pitched as he has throughout this season — with good command of a variety of pitches, with a mid-90s fastball through six innings. He finished those six innings with 10 strikeouts, one walk and no hits after giving up Turner’s third-inning shot.
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