Washington Nationals: Storylines to watch in Game 1 of NLDS

Can Strasburg pick up where he left off?

Since Max Scherzer isn’t going to pitch Game 1 of this series, all of the pressure falls on Strasburg to deliver in a big game. This will be his first postseason start since 2014 when he went five innings, gave up two runs on eight hits, and struck out two in a loss to the Giants.

It is disappointing that Scherzer will not be pitching in this game, but Strasburg has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last two months. In those final ten starts, he went 6-1 with a 0.86 ERA and had 76 strikeouts.

Like Hendricks, Strasburg’s changeup has been near impossible to hit over this recent hot stretch. According to Brooks Baseball, teams have a .093 average against that pitch with 29 strikeouts and zero extra-base hits since the All-Star break.

Strasburg did face the Cubs earlier this year (June 28) and was dominant in that game. He went seven innings, gave up two earned runs on only four hits, and struck out 13 in a win. Since last year, he has 21 strikeouts in two starts against the Cubs, but Willson Contreras did homer against him in June.

Of course, with it being Game 1, the one thing to watch is whether or not Strasburg can have a clean first couple of innings. If he gets too amped up, the Cubs have an offense that can make the lead 2-0 or 3-0 in a hurry with Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo at the top of the lineup

Also, Strasburg had to deal with cramps in a few of his starts in the second half. If that trend continues, the Nats may have to use their bullpen early in this game, which they can’t afford to do with Gio Gonzalez pitching Game 2 tomorrow.

This game has the chance to be Strasburg’s second “coming-out party” after bursting onto the stage in his debut in 2010. A great start here could be a big momentum boost for the Nats in this series. As for a loss, well, that could create a bad domino effect.