Neck tightness forces Stephen Strasburg out early in Nats' loss

The Nationals have lost only seven games the entire month of May. Stephen Strasburg has started four of them. The right-hander lasted just five batters tonight before exiting with an injury in a 5-2 loss to the Reds.

"He came out of the game with left trap tightness ... trapezius muscle, neck tightness," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters after the game.

Strasburg quickly got ahead of Reds catcher Brayan Pena 0-2 to start the second inning before delivering four consecutive balls to surrender a walk. After releasing the final pitch, a 95 mph heater, Strasburg began shrugging his shoulder and rolling his neck in obvious discomfort.

Williams, accompanied by Nats pitching coach Steve McCatty and head athletic trainer Lee Kuntz, immediately left the dugout for the mound to check on Strasburg. After a brief discussion, Strasburg departed with Kuntz and headed directly to the clubhouse.

"It's pretty stiff. I don't know why," Strasburg said to reporters after the game. "It just felt fine in the first inning and then once I sat down in the second, I just felt it kinda tighten up a little bit so I threw some hot stuff on it. It just progressed. It's hard for me to really turn my head to the left. It just didn't feel like it was something where I'd be able to throw out of the corner of my eyes and be effective. I just didn't want to push it too much."

Strasburg gave up a one-out, solo homer to Reds first baseman Joey Votto in the first. The next batter, third baseman Todd Frazier, singled before right fielder Jay Bruce bounced into an inning-ending double play.

Williams indicated that Strasburg had not experienced the pain before the ensuing moments.

"He came out of the bullpen good and went through the first inning good," Williams told reporters. "Joey hit a 97 mph fastball down and in for a homer ... it was a pretty good pitch. But then (the) second inning he went out there and it started to tighten up on him."

It's the second time in Strasburg's last five starts that the 26-year-old has been forced to leave a game early due to discomfort. Back on May 5, Strasburg retired after three innings when the right side of his back tightened up in a loss to the Marlins. He said that an adjustment from a chiropractor shortly after relieved an alignment problem. The potential exists that Strasburg's difficulties stem from a sprained left ankle which occurred during spring training and caused him to miss an exhibition start.

Strasburg has only pitched through the fourth inning once in his last five starts. He managed only 16 pitches tonight in the shortest outing of his six-year career. His ERA is hard to fathom at 6.55.

"We'll address Stras (Saturday) and see where he's at and make a decision from there," Williams told reporters.

Meanwhile, Strasburg chose a positive approach.

"I'm trying to go out there and work through it and help this team win," Strasburg told reporters. "It's just something that I gotta pull through and just ride it out just know that it's gonna get better eventually."

Right-hander Taylor Jordan followed Strasburg to the mound and performed admirably on short notice. Making his season debut, Jordan threw four straight scoreless innings before allowing three runs in the sixth.

After falling behind early on Votto's homer, the Nats fought back to take the lead on RBI singles from Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.

The game's key play occurred with Reds left fielder Marlon Byrd standing on third base with one out in the sixth and the Nats clinging to a 2-1 lead. Pinch-hitter Brandon Phillips lifted an easy fly ball to left fielder Michael A. Taylor. With Byrd tagging, Taylor rifled a throw to the plate. The ball beat Byrd, but Ramos couldn't gather the one-hop dart for the tag. Instead of ending the inning, the Reds tied the game and proceeded to score two more runs in the frame.