Written by Eddie Matz at ESPN.com
The Washington Nationals picked up right where they left off, and so did Stephen Strasburg.
After beating the New York Mets in each of the final three games before the All-Star break, the Nats kicked off the second half of the season Friday night by downing the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 in the District. They did so thanks largely to Strasburg, who looked plenty rested after surprisingly forgoing the All-Star Game — and a chance to potentially start the Midsummer Classic in his hometown of San Diego.
“He got some grief for not pitching in the All-Star Game,” manager Dusty Baker said of Strasburg, who went 12-0 with a 2.62 ERA during the first half of the season and would’ve surely been on NL skipper Terry Collins’ short list to get the starting nod Tuesday at Petco Park. But late last week, Strasburg, who missed two starts earlier this summer after going on the disabled list with an upper back strain, decided that he wouldn’t pitch in the All-Star Game. Said Baker: “He was doing what he thought was best for us and him.”
If early returns are any indication, Strasburg’s decision was a good one. In the series opener against Pittsburgh, he allowed just one run on three hits over eight innings. As if that weren’t enough, he picked up the go-ahead RBI on a seventh-inning sacrifice bunt that ended with him reaching base on a bang-bang play at first that was ruled an error.
“I messed the signs up the previous at-bat and didn’t get the bunt down,” said Strasburg, who fanned in the fifth after unsuccessfully trying to lay one down with two strikes. “So I was pretty upset with myself.”
Odds are, the way Strasburg has been throwing, the only member of the Nationals who’s even the slightest bit upset with him was him. Since returning from the DL on July 3, the 27-year-old righty has allowed a total of just five hits in 21 2/3 innings. With his latest gem on Friday, he upped his record to 13-0, becoming the first NL pitcher in the divisional era (since 1969) to start the season by winning his first 13 decisions. He’s also the first NL starter to rip off at least 13 straight W’s out of the gate since Rube Marquard went 18-0 over a century ago (1912).
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