Nationals' Strasburg to start Game 1 vs. Giants
Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams revealed his rotation Thursday for the first three games of the National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants.
Hard-throwing right-hander Stephen Strasburg will get the ball for Friday's Game 1 in Washington, with Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister to follow.
Strasburg, 26, is making the first postseason start of his career and will line up opposite Giants right-hander Jake Peavy. With the infamous shutdown of 2012 well behind him, Strasburg is hitting his stride at the right time.
The NL's co-leader in strikeouts (242) finished the year with a run of 20 consecutive scoreless innings, lowering his stingy September ERA to 1.13 with 32 punchouts across five starts.
Strasburg, who was shut down in the final month of the 2012 season to protect his surgically repaired elbow, looks as strong as ever.
"I don’t regret it. It was the right thing for the young man in the long term," Nationals owner Mark Lerner said. “You’ve got the naysayers out there. That’s fine. But we’re very comfortable in the decision that was made.”
Zimmermann, fresh off throwing the first no-hitter in franchise history on the final day of the regular season, will take the bump in Game 2 against Tim Hudson. The Giants have yet to officially announce their starter for Game 3 in San Francisco.