In the rain, Stephen Strasburg brings the heat (with lineups)

It's been a tale of two seasons for Stephen Strasburg. The right-hander never quite healed from a sprained left ankle coming out of spring training. Lingering pain led to overcompensation compounding the problem and leading to a baffling 6.55 ERA over his first 10 starts before landing on the disabled list for 21 days.

Strasburg emerged with an improved demeanor on the mound. He won his first two starts, allowing just two runs with 15 strikeouts over 12 innings. But just as he was building momentum, a strained left oblique in his third outing on July 4 derailed his season again.

Since Strasburg returned from the DL on Aug. 8, he has been in the discussion for the best pitcher in the majors. The 27-year-old is 5-2 with a 2.09 ERA while striking out 85 and walking just seven over 60 1/3 innings. The Nationals are 7-2 in Strasburg's last nine starts.

Over his last four starts, Strasburg has 50 strikeouts with one walk in each outing. Only three other pitchers in MLB history have struck out 50 or more batters while issuing fewer than five walks over a four-start span: Roger Clemens (1986; 51 SO, 4 BB), Pedro Martinez (1999; 55 SO, 3 BB), and Corey Kluber (2015; 50 SO, 2 BB), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Strasburg could join Chris Sale and David Price as the only pitchers with streaks of five games or more of 10-plus strikeouts over the last 11 years with another strong outing tonight.

For the Nationals:

3B Anthony Rendon
2B Trea Turner
RF Bryce Harper
LF Jayson Werth
1B Clint Robinson
SS Ian Desmond
CF Michael A. Taylor
C Wilson Ramos
RHP Stephen Strasburg

For the Braves:

LF Michael Bourn
CF Cameron Maybin
RF Nick Markakis
3B Adonis Garcia
1B Nick Swisher
2B Jace Peterson
SS Andrelton Simmons
C Christian Bethancourt
RHP Ryan Weber