MRI scheduled after Strasburg felt "pinch in the back of his elbow"

Stephen Strasburg "felt a pinch in the back of his elbow" and will undergo an MRI on Thursday morning to determine the extent to which the Nationals right-hander is injured, manager Dusty Baker said.

Speaking at nearly 1 a.m., about 15 minutes after his team wrapped up a 5-4 11-inning, rain-delayed victory over the Braves, and about four hours after Strasburg departed in the top of the third with that elbow injury, Baker expressed both clear concern about his pitcher's health while also holding out hope this isn't a worst-case scenario.

"We're hoping that it's something minor," Baker said. "But, again, we'll find out more tomorrow."

Facing live batters for the first time in three weeks, when a sore elbow landed him on the disabled list, Strasburg impressed everyone in attendance at Nationals Park when he burst out of the gates throwing a 97 mph fastball and a pair of 91 mph changeups to strike out Adonis Garcia and Freddie Freeman during a 1-2-3 top of the first.

"He was throwing such a good game," catcher Wilson Ramos said, through interpreter Octavio Martinez. "He was locating his pitches very well. His velocity was very good."

Then came the top of the third, when the tenor of the entire evening took a dramatic downturn. Strasburg gave up a leadoff double to Dansby Swanson. He then tried to throw a high fastball past Atlanta pitcher Mike Foltynewicz, who was attempting to bunt, and nearly threw it over Ramos' head.

Strasburg grimaced after throwing that pitch, but he remained in the game and threw another pitch (this time a slider) that Foltynewicz bunted foul to strike out. Strasburg again grimaced, sending alarm bells ringing in his teammates and coaches' minds.

"He didn't tell me anything," Ramos said. "It was after a high fastball that he threw - he made a gesture like he was uncomfortable. That's when we came out and I saw the look on his face, and you could tell there was discomfort and he was obviously upset about it."

After a conference on the mound with head athletic trainer Paul Lessard and pitching coach Mike Maddux, Baker made his way to the mound, as well, at which point Strasburg started walking in the opposite direction, the lower half of his face buried inside his glove during the entire trek.

"I saw a grimace on his face during a couple pitches," Baker said. "So I thought it would be best if Mike and the trainer went out, and then they called me out. That was a long walk."

Strasburg didn't talk to any teammates as he went down the dugout stairs and straight toward the home clubhouse at Nationals Park. He had long since departed by the time the game ended and reporters entered.

"It's definitely not the best thing to look at," said rookie teammate Lucas Giolito, who had Tommy John surgery to replace a torn elbow ligament in 2012 shortly after the Nationals drafted him. "I've been through it. A bunch of guys have been through it. I'm just hoping Stras is OK, it's nothing serious and he'll be back with the team. But, yeah, it's definitely a tough thing."

Strasburg famously had Tommy John surgery in 2010, when his dynamic rookie season was cut short after he tore his elbow ligament throwing a 91 mph changeup in Philadelphia during the fifth inning of what had to that point been a dominant start. Though the right-hander has made several trips to the DL in the six years since, his elbow had not been an issue again until last month, when he complained of soreness in between outings.

The Nationals placed him on the DL, saying it was more precautionary than anything. General manager Mike Rizzo said that day that Strasburg wasn't getting a new MRI because one taken in April when he signed his $175 million extension was clean. Strasburg was back throwing off a bullpen mound a week after landing on the DL, and he was cleared to pitch tonight with no overwhelming concerns by club officials or doctors.

"He did everything that was asked of him," Baker said. "He was cleared. He wasn't trying to be a hero. He said that he felt fine. But a lot of times, you really don't know until you get into action."

The Nationals won't really know the extent of Strasburg's latest injury until those MRI results come back sometime Thursday. Until then, they'll wait anxiously along with everyone else who now wonders whether this key part of the club's rotation will be returning in time for the postseason, in time for next season or not for some time much farther down the road.

"He's a very important piece to the team, so obviously right now the whole team is feeling a little sad about what's going on," Ramos said. "He's a very important piece to the team, so we're all concerned."