Good news, such as it is: Washington beat Arizona, 4-2, on Tuesday night.
Bad news: earlier in the day, the Nats lost All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos for the season to a torn ACL suffered the night before.
More bad news: ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg has been ruled out for a return for the NLDS next week against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Strasburg (15-4, 3.60 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) hasn’t pitched since straining a muscle in his right forearm on Sept. 7 against Atlanta.
He had lost his previous three starts before going on the DL in August.
Strasburg was 13-0 with a 2.51 ERA on July 15.
Ramos (.307/.354/.496, 22 HR, 80 RBI) was injured leaping for a relay throw from Ryan Zimmerman in the sixth inning of Washington’s 14-4 loss to Arizona on Monday.
An MRI on Tuesday revealed the ACL tear.
Max Scherzer (19-7, 2.82 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) gave up two runs on six hits in six innings of work to get the win on Tuesday, striking out 10 and walking two.
Anthony Rendon (.269/.348/.448, 19 HR, 84 RBI) hit a three-run homer to key a four-run sixth that was the difference.
The Nationals (92-65) have a game and a half lead on the Dodgers for home-field advantage in their NLDS series, which begins Friday, Oct. 7.
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Chris Graham
