Stephen Strasburg vs. Houston Astros
It was Stephen Strasburg that carried this Washington Nationals starting rotation in the second half of the season with Scherzer banged up.
In the last three months of the regular season he posted a 2.70 ERA in 100 innings pitched allowing just 71 hits and 29 walks (1.00 WHIP) with 126 strikeouts.
He won all five of his July starts and finished the season with 18 wins.
That success has carried into the postseason as the Nationals have won all four games that he’s pitched in and he’s given up just 4 earned runs in 22 postseason innings with 33 strikeouts.
Like the righty Verlander, the right-handed Strasburg has done better against lefties this year holding them to a .192 average compared to .224 for righties.
Strasburg did face the Houston Astros in 2017 — the year they won the World Series — and pitched 6 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk with 7 strikeouts.
Still, no one on the Astros roster has faced Strasburg more than five times. And that is Jose Altuve who is 2-for-5 off him. Alex Bregman has had his number as well with 2 hits in just 3 at-bats, but nobody has homered off of him.
Typically the pitcher has the advantage when hitters haven’t seen him as much, let’s hope that’s the case in Game 2 for Strasburg.