In his return back to the Washington Nationals rotation tonight, Stephen Strasburg left the game in the top of the third inning due to injury.
Tonight, Washington Nationals fans were hoping to see the dominant Stephen Strasburg back on the mound as he made his return to the starting rotation against the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately, that return was cut short. In the top of the third inning, Strasburg was pulled from the game due to an injury and it did not look good at all:
Replays show Strasburg winced after throwing second-to-last pitch, which sailed way high.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 8, 2016
Replay showed Strasburg grimacing again after his final pitch, then looking immediately at the bench.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 8, 2016
For the first two innings, Strasburg gave up one hit and struck out three batters while getting his fastball up to 97 miles per hour. Then, Dansby Swanson led off the third inning with a double down the right field line.
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On the next batter, Mike Foltynewicz, the Braves pitcher, was unable to get a bunt down and ended up striking out. But, after the trainer went out to see Strasburg, Dusty Baker decided to take his starter out of the game and bring in left-handed reliever Sean Burnett, who gave up a RBI double to Adonis Garcia, which tied the game at one.
Of course, the Washington Nationals do not announce any injury news until after the game is over, so we will find out more tonight. With that being said, this would be a huge injury for the Nats if Strasburg is out for an extended period of time.
Strasburg was making his return tonight after being out since August 17 because of soreness in his right elbow. The Nats decided to not give him any rehab starts before putting him back in the starting rotation.
If Strasburg were to miss a long period of time, this would be a significant blow to the Washington Nationals chances to do damage in the postseason, should they make it there (8.5 game lead over the Mets in the NL East). With Gio Gonzalez’s struggles last night and Joe Ross still not back, the Nats need that third reliable starting pitcher to go with Max Scherzer and Tanner Roark when it comes time for October.
Right now, this is just a moment where the Washington Nationals and their fans will have to hold their breath while they await the status of a pitcher who was having one of the best seasons of his career. Hopefully, for the Nats, the injury isn’t as bad as it looked.