‘The Smoking Gun(ner)’
courtesy of ‘Mylar Bono’

Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo received word from pitching coach Steve McCatty relayed from the team’s trainer during Stephen Strasburg’s bullpen warmup before Tuesday night’s proposed tenth start against the Atlanta Braves that Strasburg was having trouble getting loose.

According to Rizzo, Strasburg showed no signs of pain or symptoms during the week and had played catch yesterday. “There’s no shooting pain or anything like that in his shoulder or elbow,” Rizzo said. “He was just struggling to get loose.”

Strasburg’s pitch and inning count during his rookie season is something the Nationals are keeping close tabs on. Hence, the erring on the side of safety.

Strasburg will undergo a series of routine medical tests by the Nationals doctor including an MRI and X-Ray. He is listed as day-to-day in the mean time.

“We’re gonna use common sense and be cautious like we have,” Rizzo said. “[…] This is a workload that he’s never seen before and we’re gonna take it from there.”

Miguel Batista replaced Strasburg as Tuesday night’s starter.

Rachel Levitin

Rachel moved to DC in the fall of 2005 to study Journalism and Music at American University. When she’s not keeping up with the latest Major League Baseball news, she works on making music as an accomplished singer-songwriter and was even a featured performer/speaker at TEDxDupont Circle in 2012. Rachel has also contributed to The Washington Examiner and MASN Sports’ Nationals Buzz as a guest blogger. See why she loves DC. E-Mail: rachel@welovedc.com.