Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg left Saturday’s game in the fourth inning with what the team described as tightness in his left side.
Strasburg grimaced after delivering a pitch to San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey with two outs, feeling a twinge of pain in the left side of his torso. Manager Matt Williams, pitching coach Steve McCatty and assistant athletic trainer Steve Gober quickly jogged out to the mound to check on the right-hander. Williams declined to go into detail but indicated that Strasburg wanted to stay in the game.
“He was of course competitive, but we’re not going to take that chance with him. Not in that situation,” Williams said.
After a lengthy discussion, Strasburg trudged toward the dugout, his third start since returning from the disabled list at an abrupt and disappointing end. He threw 56 pitches before leaving the game.
“I wanted to at least get through the inning and see if we could do something about it,” Strasburg said after Washington’s 9-3 win. “But with how it feels now, I think it was the right move [to exit the game].”
For nearly four innings, Strasburg was dominant. He had allowed one hit against the Giants and touched 97 mph with his fastball. Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos thought he was pitching as well as he has all season. Then came the twinge, the latest in a series of injuries that Strasburg has navigated all year.
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It started in spring training, when the right-hander sprained his left ankle. He pitched with lingering soreness in the ankle and later left a start with soreness in his back. Most recently, he exited a game against the Cincinnati Reds because of neck tightness. He spent nearly a month on the 15-day disabled list, returning to the rotation June 23.
Strasburg’s time on the disabled list allowed him to heal physically and make a few minor mechanical adjustments, including his alignment toward the plate. On Saturday, he said he wasn’t sure if the injuries were related.
“I really can’t say. Everything felt good,” Strasburg said. “I was commanding the fastball really well today, especially the last couple outings. Making good strides. But sometimes you don’t have an explanation for what happens.”
The injury will be difficult for the Nationals to stomach given how Strasburg has pitched in recent weeks. Since returning from the disabled list, he was 2-0 with two earned runs allowed in 12 innings. He had struck out 15 and walked only two. Saturday, at least early on, was more of the same.
“Part of the conversation on the mound after he exited was with Wilson and Desi about how good he was today. The best they’ve seen him all year,” Williams said. “So we’ll see how he is, and I’m sure he’ll talk more with the docs and the training staff when he gets here tomorrow and we’ll continue to evaluate it.”
Strasburg’s teammates said it was tough to watch the right-hander leave the game, especially with how well he was pitching. It’s a tough situation, they said. But Strasburg isn’t wallowing in poor fortune.
“I mean everything happens for a reason,” Strasburg said. “So I’m just going to look at it that way. Try to stay positive and get back out here helping this team as soon as I can.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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