District Daily: Stephen Strasburg pleased with playoff debut, Drew Storen sticks to routine

Oct 3, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher

(37) leaves the game in the sixth inning of game one of the 2014 NLDS playoff baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning DoD readers! As you get ready for one of the most important games in Washington Nationals history, start off your day with some great Nationals articles from around the web in our District Daily:

Result aside, Strasburg pleased with playoff debut

(Andrew Simon, MLB.com)

WASHINGTON — The first pitch of Stephen Strasburg‘s postseason career zipped into the strike zone at 97 mph. The next three sizzled at 98, and Strasburg had his first out.

It was a boisterous start to an ultimately frustrating afternoon for the Nationals right-hander, his much-anticipated playoff debut marred by a flurry of Giants singles that found their way over or through the Washington infield. Strasburg kept the Nats in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, but he couldn’t match veteran Jake Peavy, giving up two runs (one earned) in five-plus innings of a 3-2 loss.

“I was getting contact. I was getting ground balls,” Strasburg said. “I was giving up all singles, so it wasn’t like they really hit me all around the yard. Read full article here.

Washington Nationals closer Drew Storen sticks to routine in career that has been anything but

(Barry Svrluga, Washington Post)

It was a Wednesday, but that made no difference. Could have been Monday, Saturday, any day, every day. The skies were cloudy, and a September breeze pushed summer further behind, so Drew Storen altered his routine just a hair, sweatshirt and jeans replacing T-shirt and shorts. He popped out the back door of his Rosslyn apartment building and took the same route to the same restaurant where the same order placed with the same app awaited him. Read full article here.

Washington Nationals discover how tough the San Francisco Giants can be in October

(Thomas Boswell, Washington Post)

Losing to the San Francisco Giants in October is like being beaten to death with wet noodles. Or, more literally, being drowned in singles slapped to center field and sound execution of every basic, boring fundamental play in baseball. Against the Giants, you get to do most of the fun stuff, like hit a third-deck home run. They focus on what’s boring. If something flashy happens by accident, they’ll take that, too.

When the score is added up, you lose, 3-2, as the Washington Nationals did Friday in this opening game of the National League Division Series. For San Francisco, that makes 23 wins in its past 31 postseason games. And the Nats, like many of their previous foes, only seem to grasp a fraction of what’s happening to them. Read full article here.