Throughout his brief time in the minor leagues, the Nationals wanted Stephen Strasburg to learn the hardest lesson for any young pitcher: how to keep his composure against the best hitters in the world when things are going wrong. Unfortunately, Strasburg was so good down on the farm he never really had to worry about it. It’s not hard to stay calm when opposing batters almost never reach base.
So the Nats will let him learn those lessons in the big leagues instead. Sunday afternoon’s game against the Indians in Cleveland was a good start. Almost from the first inning, Strasburg struggled with his landing area at the base of the mound. Every few pitches he would kick at the dirt, and twice the grounds crew came out to fill in a hole. On his last pitch — with just one out in the sixth inning — Strasburg’s cleats skidded across the base of the mound. He threw his hands up even before that pitch to Austin Kearns hit the dirt, and within moments manager Jim Riggleman pulled him from the game.
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Afterward, Strasburg admitted he let the mound conditions send him into a funk. He walked five Cleveland batters — after issuing no walks in his first start against the Pirates on Tuesday.
“It’s part of the game,” Strasburg told reporters in remarks broadcast on MASN. “I just wish I could have dealt with it a little bit better.”
That’s exactly what his coaches and teammates want to hear. In the end, Strasburg got the chance to learn a valuable lesson. Yet his talent is so great it didn’t really cost his team in the process. He escaped a first-and-second situation with one out in the fourth inning and later watched teammate Drew Storen bail him out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth. In all, two hits allowed, one earned run and eight strikeouts. Oh — and Strasburg also snapped Washington’s two-game losing streak like any true ace should.
