Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth inning at Nationals Park in Washington. (UPI)

 

By John Smallwood/Philadelphia Daily News


Considering that Stephen Strasburg had struggled in his first two starts, the Washington Nationals right-hander could not have picked a better opponent than the Phillies to shake the early doldrums.
In 11 career starts against the Phillies, Strasburg was 4-1 with a 2.09 ERA. He had 82 strikeouts in 69 innings. Last season, Strasburg was 2-0 with a 1.42 in five starts against the Phillies with the Nationals going 4-1 in those games.
So when Strasburg started yesterday’s game at Nationals Park by setting the Phillies down on eight pitches in a 1-2-3 first inning, he had to be feeling good about the way things were headed.
Strasburg had a perfect game broken up by Carlos Ruiz with two outs in the fifth inning but he collected his first win of the season in Washington’s 4-1 victory.
The Phillies concluded their first road trip of the season 1-6.
After giving up eight earned runs in his first two starts, Strasburg went 7 1/3 innings against the Phillies. He gave up the one earned run and five hits with seven strikeouts.
It was the most innings Strasburg (1-1) has thrown this season, the fewest hits and runs he’s allowed and the most strikeouts he’s recorded.
“A tough pitcher like that you don’t want to fall behind too much and get two strikes on you,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said of his hitters swinging early in the count against Strasburg. “One time I looked up there and he had thrown 32 strikes and seven balls, so he was pounding the zone.
“He’s got too many weapons. We did hit some balls in play hard early on in the game.”
Only in the current Phillies’ world do routine groundouts and easily played fly balls to the outfield count as hard balls in play.
Phillies starter David Buchanan (0-3) wasn’t as overpowering as Strasburg but managed to keep Washington (6-7) scoreless going into the fifth inning.
But when Buchanan allowed three runs after recording the first two outs in the fifth, it was obvious the Phillies (4-9) wouldn’t have the offensive juice to muster a comeback.
When veteran players like Ruiz, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jeff Francoeur all are hitting near the “Mendoza Line,” any opposing pitcher with decent stuff is likely to find his way out of a tough stretch when facing the Phillies.
“I think it’s just a matter of time before guys start swinging the bats,” said Sandberg, whose team has lost seven of its last eight games. “In the meantime some of the bright spots on this road trip was younger guys swinging the bat like , and
“So you know, with veteran guys, you know that will pick up a little bit and I think that it will.”


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