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Nats' Strasburg to rethink All-Star appearances due to injury concerns

Stacy Revere / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Stephen Strasburg was baseball's best pitcher in the second half of 2017. For a moment in late July, though, it might have seemed unlikely to occur.

The Washington Nationals right-hander left a start against the Arizona Diamondbacks with right forearm tightness after only two innings. He chalks it all up to participating in All-Star festivities - despite not even playing - earlier that month, he told Pete Kerzel of MASN Sports. It broke his routine.

"I think I felt like at the All-Star break, it was a tough situation," Strasburg said. "Might have to rethink about if I’m going to actually pitch or not pitch in an All-Star Game, whether I’ll actually go altogether. That was the issue I felt like was the reason why I got hurt. I was on such a good program with the training staff and massage therapists - I was in this routine. Then all of a sudden you’re asked to throw, potentially pitch - maybe not - but not have any access or ability to really stick to your routine."

Strasburg has struggled with injuries throughout his career, eclipsing 200 innings only once.

Despite that brief flirtation with forearm tightness - a scare for any pitcher - he was dominant in the dead of summer. In the second half of the season, Strasburg went 6-1 with a 0.86 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 76 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings. He finished third in NL Cy Young voting.

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