Pittsburgh @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 3, 2009 ) Washington 8, Pittsburgh 4
The future is now for the Washington Nationals.
Stephen Strasburg makes his highly anticipated major league debuton Tuesday as the Nationals open a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Selected first overall in the 2009 draft, Strasburg has been the most hyped major league prospect in years, and deservedly so. The 21-year old was dazzling as a senior at San Diego State last year, posting a 13-1 record and 1.32 ERA while striking out 195 batters and walking just 19 in 109 innings.
With a fastball reaching nearly 100 miles per hour and a tantalizing curveball, Strasburg believed he was ready to begin the season with the Nationals this year. However, the club decided to let him get his feet wet in the minors.
The right-hander continued his dominance, combining to go 7-2 with a 1.30 ERA and 65 strikeouts against just 13 walks in 55 1/3 innings with Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse. In his final tuneup on Thursday, Strasburg worked five scoreless innings against Buffalo, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five.
Now, Strasburg finally gets the opportunity to prove himself on the big stage. And the anticipation has been tremendous, as Tuesday's game quickly became a sellout once the announcement of his debut was made and will be a media frenzy as over 200 members are expected to be in attendance.
Strasburg comes along at just the right time for Washington, which has lost five of its last six games. On Sunday, the Nationals squandered a lead in the top of the ninth inning against Cincinnati, rallied in the bottom half to forge a tie and allowed a run in the top of the 10th as they dropped a 5-4 decision.
Saddled with the unenviable task of facing Strasburg is Jeff Karstens, who will be making his fifth start of the season. The 27-year old, who also has made six relief appearances, worked six innings last Tuesday, allowing two runs and six hits but not factoring in the decision of Pittsburgh's 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
The Pirates lost for the third time in four games Monday, suffering a 6-1 setback to the Cubs. Jason Jaramillo drove in Pittsburgh's lone run with a sacrifice fly while Dana Eveland yielded three runs and six hits in five innings.
Washington owns a 15-12 record at home this season, while Pittsburgh is 9-19 on the road.