Strasburg and Baker on decision to end no-hit bid in seventh

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg had to labor, but certainly displayed the toughness and grit that have been hallmarks of his amazing start to the 2016 season in the Nationals' 12-1 dismantling of the Reds on Sunday.

Strasburg no-hit the Reds through 6 2/3 innings, allowing no runs with four walks and five strikeouts. He fired 109 pitches, 70 for strikes, in his first start since June 15. He had been recovering from an upper back strain.

Danny Espinosa slammed two of the Nationals' season-high six homers, including a grand slam, and finished with six RBIs in the series-clinching victory.

"It was awesome to see (Strasburg) come off the DL and see him throw like that," Espinosa said. "He's a huge part of this team and a huge part of the reason why we win."

Strasburg (11-0) walked two batters in the first inning but then retired eight straight hitters to get into a good groove. Espinosa and third baseman Anthony Rendon also provided solid defense to keep the Reds off the bases.

Strasburg, who trimmed his ERA to 2.71, has won 14 starts in a row dating back to the end of 2015.

"I felt pretty good," Strasburg said. "I just told myself today not to have too high expectations as far as execution and just really make it a point not make it affect the next one."

Manager Dusty Baker had to make the critical decision to either let Strasburg go for the no-hitter or pull him after an outstanding return from the disabled list.

"He didn't start off that well in the first inning," Baker said. "He walked the first hitter but then he settled in. He threw an outstanding game. We tried to get him through the seventh, but his pitch count got pretty high, especially his first time up there. It's tough to take a guy out of a no-hitter, but we've got to think about the future, and where he had come from off the DL"

Strasburg had control issues in the first frame. He said part of the battle was controlling breaking pitches after his pregame bullpen session.

"It was weird, warming up my changeup was the only pitch I could really locate, and then I couldn't find the strike zone with it today, but the curveball and slider were really good."

But even at 109 pitches, was there a part of Strasburg that wanted to go for the no-hitter, or did he understand Baker's call to grab him in the seventh?

"Yeah, I understand," Strasburg said of the decision to be lifted.

When pressed further, Strasburg again agreed with Baker's thought on the big picture down the road.

"I understand where he's coming from," Strasburg said. "There's more important things, hopefully, down the road for this team."

It was impressive to see Strasburg go deep into the seventh inning with a high pitch count, especially considering it was his first game back.

He had been close to pitching two other times the last two weeks, in Los Angeles and Milwaukee, only to ultimately be shelved with an upper back strain.

Strasburg said he had no such setbacks this week and his workout sessions were pain free. He felt confident he could pitch Sunday after his mid-week bullpen session.

"Probably my second-to-last bullpen everything really felt good, once I kind of got with our chiropractor here and did some stuff that really freed it up," Strasburg said. "And then just working with Paul (Lessard) and the training staff doing some shoulder stuff, and everything seemed to really improve."

Baker said it was an easy decision to relieve Strasburg, regardless of the possible no-hitter. They want Strasburg to be healthy and strong for starts that could materialize in October.

"You've got to weigh the future with the present," Baker said. "You just think we're going to need him. He was outstanding his first time (back) out there against a very good offensive club."