The most anticipated call up in the short Washington Nationals history was a success. That is if you count 14 strikeouts in 7 innings a success. Stephen Strasburg, in his Major League debut downed the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2. Tyler Clippard and Matt Capps each pitched a scoreless inning to solidify the win. The important stats: 7.0 IP, 14 K, 0 BB, 2 H, 2 ER, 2.57 ERA. Oh plus this...he clocked 100 mph a few times, averaging 99 mph on his fastballs. Also there are reports that on the MASN telecast, they recorded at least one pitch at 101 mph.
The crowd was there for a show and Strasburg did not disappoint. We could feel that a good outing was coming. When the Pirates' Delwyn Young lofted a home run to right field to take them to a 2-1 lead, it showed that the young pitcher was human. But the best part was the reaction. He came back out confident and struck out his final 7 batters. The 14 overall strikeouts set a Nationals record in one game for a pitcher. It was something to see. The soldout crowd roared at every strikeout. We barely sat the first inning as every pitch was reviewed by the fans.
While it was Strasburg's night, the pitcher had solid defense behind him. Adam Dunn launched a 2 run home run while Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham provided solo shots.
Even the expert and analysts were in awe. Listening to ESPN Radio's MIke & Mike show, their baseball people one after another noted how great his start was. On the Internet, in particular Twitter, the term "#Strasmas" was coined to describe the debut.
Of course we are talking about one game. Strasburg has many more to come. It will be how the opponents prepare for him. For the few teams that might see him multiple times this season, what will they do to adjust? Time will tell, but savor the moment for now. Strasmas might go down in the books as the day baseball truly returned to the Nation's Capital.
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