Written by Chelsea Janes at WashingtonPost.com
Stephen Strasburg put Washington Nationals Manager Dusty Baker in one of those sanity-testing positions that even a blowout win like Sunday’s 12-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds cannot make less complicated: Hours after he was activated from a two-week stint on the disabled list, a month and a half after the Nationals signed him to a seven-year extension, Strasburg carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, towing a high pitch count along, too.
The last 15 or so pitches Strasburg threw had not been as sharp as the first six innings’ worth — a change-up yanked wide, a fastball that missed up, and the like. So after Brandon Phillips grounded out on Strasburg’s 109th pitch, Baker walked out to the mound and took the ball. Strasburg walked off to an ovation. The Reds put together three hits and a run off Matt Belisle in the eighth to end a team no-hit bid and the shutout, but by then, the Nationals had clinched their 50th win of the season.
“I understand where he’s coming from, yeah,” Strasburg said. “There’s more important things, hopefully, down the road for this team.”
Strasburg had plenty of runs to work with because Danny Espinosa homered twice — one of them a grand slam — and finished a remarkable four-game series with 15 RBI. Baker did not have to worry about preserving a win because the Nationals hit a season-high six home runs.
Baker has agonized over decisions like this before, most memorably when Max Scherzer struck out 20 Tigers on May 11, his pitch count climbing high into the ninth. That night, Baker stood on the top step of the dugout, then stepped back, up, then back, marching between pursuing history and health concerns. Sunday’s decision, he said later, was not as difficult.
To continue reading this article, click here.
