The Washington Nationals will start Stephen Strasburg for Friday’s Game 2 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Strasburg will have two days rest after he threw 34 pitches in Tuesday’s win in the NL Wild Card Game. Strasburg relieved Max Scherzer in the sixth inning and threw three clean innings keeping the Nationals deficit at 3-1. The Nationals offense picked him up with three runs in the eighth to lift Washington to victory.
There will be no restrictions on Strasburg’s start, as the team is viewing his Tuesday appearance as a side session.
No restrictions for Strasburg tomorrow. Viewed his 34-pitch relief appearance as kind of like a between-starts side session.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) October 3, 2019
Nationals manager Davey Martinez said Strasburg approached him and said “I want the ball” for Game 2, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports.
The Nationals and Dodgers begin their best-of-five series Thursday with left-hand pitcher Patrick Corbin will get the Game 1 start for Washington against the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler.
By starting Strasburg for Game 2, sets him up to possibly pitch Game 5 if necessary.
When asked if the possibly was on his mind Martinez replied “It had a lot to do with it,” per Washington Post’s Jesse Doughtery.
