Stephen Strasburg passed what might be his last test on the road to returning to the Washington Nationals.
Strasburg put in six scoreless innings for Triple-A Rochester in a 2-1 Red Wings win Friday night.
It was the righthander’s third minor-league rehab start. Nats GM Mike Rizzo had said that he wanted to see Strasburg able to go six innings or 90 pitches in an outing before he’d consider calling him up.
Strasburg threw 83 pitches, 50 for strikes, Friday night, giving up one hit, walking one and striking out four.
His last outing, in Low-A Fredericksburg on Sunday, was similarly impressive. Strasburg threw five scoreless, no-hit innings in that one, striking out six and walking one, on 58 pitches, 38 of which were strikes.
Assuming a callup, Strasburg would be in line to return to the Nats starting rotation on Wednesday at Miami.
Since signing to a seven-year, $245 million deal following Washington’s 2019 World Series championship, in which Strasburg was named the World Series MVP, the 32-year-old has made just seven big-league starts, with a 1-3 record and 5.74 ERA.
Strasburg was 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA for Washington in 2019, and 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA in the 2019 postseason.
The 2022 Nats pitching staff ranks 29th in team ERA (5.28), and the starters rank 28th in quality start percentage (19%).
Story by Chris Graham
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