As Stephen Strasburg recovered from an upper back strain, Dusty Baker was in no hurry to rush the right-handed pitcher back to the starting rotation.
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The Nationals’ no-hit bid ended in the eighth inning, when reliever Matt Belisle gave up a single to Ramon Cabrera.
“You’ve got to weigh the future with the present”, Baker said. We needed those innings out of him to kind of preserve our bullpen.
The Washington Nationals relieved starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg 6.2 innings into Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, in the process taking his chance at a complete game no-hitter.
Nationals: Strasburg (10-0, 2.90) returns from the disabled list to face the Reds. The move was probably the correct one for Baker, who’s had a reputation for overusing his starters in previous managerial stints.
With Strasburg in his first start coming off the DL, there was no reason to have him potentially throw out his arm for the sake of a no-hitter. Strasburg following the games said there are things that are more important to consider down the road for the team.
“I felt pretty good”, Strasburg said. “It was weird, warming up”. Giolito pitched four innings and allowed no runs and one hit against the New York Mets in his first game on Tuesday.
After Strasburg struck out Bruce to begin the seventh inning, he walked third baseman Eugenio Suarez and engaged in a seven-pitch battle with Phillips before getting him to ground out. He threw an outstanding game. Cincinnati has lost 10 of 12.
He got a no-decision June 4 in Cincinnati after allowing three runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Ramos homered in the second and finished 3 for 4 with a walk and two RBIs.
Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer (9-5) is to face the visiting Brewers in the opener of a three-game series.
Espinosa also hit a solo drive against Keyvius Sampson in the seventh, going deep back-to-back with Rendon for his team-leading 18th homer.
Espinosa was a huge part of the reason the Nationals won the weekend series, their 15th series win in 26 tries. “It’s insane. I’m just out there having fun and I’m just staying with my work every day and it’s paying off. I couldn’t dream anything like this could ever happen”.
Harper led off the fifth with his 17th homer. Baker did not have to worry about preserving a win because the Nationals hit a season-high six home runs.
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The Nationals placed right-hander Joe Ross on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation to open a roster spot when Strasburg was activated Sunday.
