Striking out 14 batters (12 swinging and 2 looking), allowing only four base runners (3 singles and 1 home run) and pitching the Nationals to a win, Strasburg had one of the best pitching debuts that I can remember.
Strasburg appeared to begin the game with a few butterflies in his stomach. He pitched behind in the count to Andrew McCutchen and Niel Walker, but retired them on sharp hit balls on the infield. After the first two batters it's hard to remember a time when he wasn't throwing strikes. One of those pitches ended up in the stands, but it was still a strike. His only mistake, a 1-0 change-up over the heart of the plate to Delwyn Young, resulted in the Pirates taking a 2-1 lead.
At this point, I have to be honest, I was worried that Strasburg wasn't going to get the win. Even if he pitched shutout ball, I didn't expect the Nationals to score too many runs. (Not that opposing pitcher Jeff Karstens was lights-out, but it's the Nationals offense. Need I say more?)
Anyway, after the home run Strasburg certainly settled back in. He struck out 8 of the next 10 batters including the final 7 batters he faced. Simply astounding! I'm counting on an encore against the Indians over the weekend.
The kid looked great out there and I have certainly bought in to Strasburgmania, but his first start was against the Pirates. I would almost expect the kind of numbers Strasburg exhibited against the Pirates from Jamie Moyer. They have scored the least number of runs in the league and have allowed the third most runs to score. It's not a pretty thing, losing to the Pirates.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying Strasburg won because he faced the Pirates, I just can't wait to see him pitch against the AL East powerhouse...or Albert Pujols.
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