Written by Eddie Matz at ESPN.com
Stephen Strasburg was sick, all right. Sick as in really good.
Strasburg’s performance against the Chicago Cubs was so sick that nobody could’ve seen it coming. The Washington Nationals right-hander, who was pumped full of antibiotics and IV fluids so he could take the mound after initially being ruled out Tuesday due to flu-like symptoms, was even better than he was in his dominating, series-opening outing, when he set a franchise record with 10 strikeouts in seven innings.
In Game 4 on Wednesday, Strasburg broke that record, striking out 12 over seven scoreless frames to lead Washington to a 5-0 victory. The victory evened up the National League Division Series and forced a decisive fifth game on Thursday in the nation’s capital. Should the Nationals win Game 5, it would mark the first time in four tries since moving to D.C. in 2005 that they advanced in the playoffs. The fact that they have a chance to do so is a direct result of Strasburg’s exploits.
Pitching in Chicago, the same city that celebrated an NBA title 20 years ago thanks to Michael Jordan’s infamous “Flu Game,” Strasburg authored a script that could potentially rewrite his legacy. A former top overall pick touted as the greatest college pitching prospect ever, the San Diego State product underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010. In 2012, when the Nationals reached the postseason for the first time, the team infamously shut Strasburg down prior to the playoffs in an effort to protect their prized hurler’s precious arm. In 2016, Strasburg missed the playoffs again when a torn pronator tendon ended his season in early September. In between, he made one postseason start (2014) and plenty of trips to the disabled list, earning him a reputation as one of the most fragile starting pitchers in the game. On Wednesday, he was about as fragile as Kevlar.
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