Stephen Strasburg, the 21-year old phenom, was the winning pitcher for the Washington Nationals Friday night in a 13-5 win over what passed for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Then, Saturday morning, he and fellow 2009 first round pick Drew Storen were sent over to minor league camp to continue their ascent to the major leagues. Reports are surfacing that both pitchers will be assigned to AA Harrisburg.
Strasburg was finally scored upon in spring training, surrendering two solo home runs in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Tyler Greene pulled the first pitch he saw over the left field fence, and two batters late, Allen Craig hit an opposite field shot.
But after the big hits, Strasburg got down to work.
He retired the next 11 of 14 batters. He struck out 8 in four innings of work, also getting four ground ball outs. In his three appearances, he did not record a single fly ball out. He threw 53 of his 73 pitches for strikes.
Strasburg and Storen now seem to be in the same boat: pitching in the minor leagues and biding their time until they no longer qualify for "Super Two" status, and the Nats can retain their services for an extra year before arbitration, then free agency.
But Nats fans can bet, though, that you'll see both players in D.C. around the beginning of June.
In addition to the two rookies, LHP Matt Chico was sent to Syracuse and LHP Doug Slaten and C Jamie Burke were reassigned to minor league camp. The spring roster now sits at 39.
In addition to the two rookies, LHP Matt Chico was sent to Syracuse and LHP Doug Slaten and C Jamie Burke were reassigned to minor league camp. The spring roster now sits at 39.
WINNERS AND LOSERS:
Winner: Strasburg. 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. Granted it was against a bunch of minor leaguers and has-beens that the Cards sent up, but he dominated after the two solo homers.
Loser: Sean Burnett. 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. Burnett now has a 15.75 ERA in spring. He has not looked comfortable yet. As the only lefty in the Nats pen, Burnett needs to get himself right quickly.
Winner: Migeul Batista. 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. It was a solid appearance for a guy that can start or relieve this season.
Loser: Ian Desmond. The spring's biggest news, but last night he went 0-for-4, stranded six runners, and made an error at short. He did walk, score and steal a base, though he also was caught stealing too.
Winner: Brian Bruney. 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. He was around the plate, which is important for him.
Winner: The Nats offense. 14 hits and 13 runs was a pretty good showing. But again, St. Louis hardly brought any big leaguers on the trip, so most of the damage was done against guys scheduled to play in Springfield.
Washington hosts the Florida Marlins Saturday at 1:05 pm. Hopefully Florida brings a little more representitive squad for today's game.
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