Washington Nationals News: Despite woes, Strasburg set for next start

Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! After this afternoon’s exciting win over the Diamondbacks, get caught up on all the latest Nats news with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.

In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Barry Bloom discusses Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg and his struggles in recent outings. As Bloom notes, despite Strasburg’s recent rough patch, the right-hander is still expected to make his next start.

There’s been a lot of speculation in recent days that Strasburg might not be 100 percent healthy, and after last night’s start, it became pretty clear that Strasburg isn’t pitching like himself. But the fact that the team expects him to make his next start is great news and shows that he’s at least healthy enough to pitch. But if the Nationals want to continue their winning ways, they’ll need Strasburg to not only pitch, but to pitch well.

Also in today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s James Wagner discusses Jayson Werth‘s early-season struggles with the bat. As Wagner notes, Werth has been doing things to improve his approach at the plate. While it’s still early, it looks like they may be working as the outfielder belted a three-run homer in today’s game against Arizona.

Despite woes, Strasburg set for next start

(Barry Bloom, MLB.com)

PHOENIX — Despite his recent back problems and Tuesday’s night’s 14-6 loss to the D-backs, during which he couldn’t locate his pitches in the strike zone, Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg is on track to make his next start Sunday in his hometown of San Diego.

“I mean, I’m concerned about him being healthy, and he’s healthy,” manager Matt Williams said on Wednesday before his club closed a three-game series at Chase Field. “[Tuesday] night, he was throwing the ball 96, 97 mph and feeling good about it. Location will come for him.

“There’s a lot being made of it, the fact that he had a bad night. But he’ll be ready on Sunday, and I’ll be happy to give him the ball because he’s one of our great pitchers.” Read full article here.

Jayson Werth working through early season kinks

(James Wagner, Washington Post)

PHOENIX — Over four hours before Tuesday’s game here, Nationals hitting coach Rick Schu flipped balls underhand to Jayson Werth. Inside the batting cage, a smaller fence sat angled across the left-handed batter’s box and near the plate. The setup gave Werth less room for his swing, a purposeful tactic by Schu.

“It keeps him shorter,” Schu said. “It keeps him from casting out to the fence. It gets his rhythm going. And when you do it on the field, it lets you really seen what your ball is doing. Cutting, moving. He was just trying to backspin.”

Werth sent balls flying into the left field seats. His swing was short and direct. It isn’t a common drill for Werth but one the Nationals hope will help him improve his timing, which has been slow to come back. Werth, with a .186 average and three extra-base hits in 23 games, has hit mostly third in the Nationals lineup since his season debut on April 13, after a long rehab for his surgically-repaired shoulder. Read full article here.

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