Washington Nationals News: Stephen Strasburg gives Nats an encouraging sign
Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, James Wagner of The Washington Post discusses the recent success of Nationals’ right-hander Stephen Strasburg. As Wagner notes, Strasburg has pitched well since coming off the disabled list and is one of the few bright spots on the self-destructing Nationals.
In the two starts he’s made since returning from the disabled list, the right-hander has allowed three runs over 13 innings while striking out 20 batters. After struggling for most of the first half, Strasburg has been dominant since well before he landed on the disabled list with an oblique injury on July 4, posting a 2.97 ERA with 41 strikeouts and a 1.08 WHIP in his last seven starts (33 1/3 innings).
Indeed, while the Nationals as a team have been in a free fall and appear to be letting any chance of making the postseason slip right through their fingers, Strasburg has been putting together a string of dominance unlike any we’ve seen from him this season. And, as Wagner writes in his article, Strasburg’s success gives the Nationals a reason to be optimistic.
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While the team’s playoff prospects aren’t looking so bright right now, a dominant Strasburg could help lead the Nationals to a late-season surge that just might help them catch up to the Mets in the NL East. There’s still plenty of baseball left to play for the Nationals, but if the team wants to make it to October, they’ll need several players to do something special over the final two months of the season—and Strasburg is definitely one of them.
Also in today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson writes an article discussing how manager Matt Williams believes Nationals center fielder Michael Taylor should be a candidate for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Stephen Strasburg gives the Nationals an encouraging sign
(James Wagner, Washington Post)
Although Stephen Strasburg was the losing pitcher in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Giants, he pitched well enough to keep the Nationals competitive. He gave up two runs in the first inning, his command not quite in focus. He got into a jam an inning later before finding a groove.
In his second start back from the disabled list, Strasburg struck out eight over six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks. After he coughed up the runs in the first inning, he gave up a leadoff triple in the next frame but bounced back with a strikeout, groundout and flyout to strand the runner. Read full article here.
Williams thinks Taylor has ROY case
SAN FRANCISCO — Nationals manager Matt Williams said center fielder Michael Taylor should be a candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year.
Taylor has been steady in center field ever since Denard Span went on disabled list. In his last 18 games, Taylor is 20-for-66 (.303) with four home runs and 13 RBIs. His best work is with runners in scoring position, hitting .371, which ranks 10th in the Major Leagues. Read full article here.
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