Stephen Strasburg joins elite company with one-hit, 14-strikeout gem

PHILADELPHIA - Add another file to the what-if folder after right-hander Stephen Strasburg completely handcuffed the Phillies, allowing only one hit while matching his career-high with 14 strikeouts in last night's 4-0 shutout win for the Nationals.

The lone hit of the night was a sharp grounder through the hole into right field to start the fifth off the bat of Cody Asche. Strasburg's only other blemish was a walk to Freddy Galvis in the first.

"Really good," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "The biggest thing is he established (the) low fastball. When he establishes his low fastball, he gets a lot of swings and misses - on the changeup, too. Innings four through eight, he used the changeup a lot and got a lot of guys to swing and miss on it. He was really good."

Strasburg overpowered the Phillies all night with a fastball topping out at 98 mph.

"He's been more aggressive," catcher Wilson Ramos said. "He attacked the hitters really well. So that's the key."

The Phillies swung at 55 of Strasburg's 105 pitches over the eight innings. They missed 30 times. The 55 percent miss rate was the highest by a pitcher in any start of at least 100 pitches within the last 10 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Strasburg became just the fourth pitcher since 1900 to hold the Phillies to one hit while striking out 14 or more in a game. The others are Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan (Mets), Tom Seaver (Mets) and Warren Spahn (Braves).

After fanning 13 in last Wednesday's loss to the Mets, Strasburg joined recent Hall of Fame inductee Pedro Martinez as the only pitchers in Nationals/Expos franchise history to record consecutive games of 13 or more strikeouts. Martinez accomplished the feat twice in 1997, according to Elias.

Strasburg, along with fellow right-hander Max Scherzer, joined Ryan and Seaver (1970) as the only other teammates to have a one-hit, 14-strikeout game in the same season, according to Elias.

And in a season where Strasburg's dazzling major league debut has been celebrated as one of the greatest moments in the first 10 years of Nationals baseball, the right-hander equaled his strikeout mark from that special night.

"He's a stud," said right fielder Bryce Harper, who provided all Strasburg's offense with two homers and four RBIs. "He had all three (pitches) working. It's very special to be able to play behind that. That's why he's Stephen Strasburg."

Strasburg sprained his left ankle late in spring training and lingering effects from the injury caused baffling results over the first two months of the season. The Nationals went 3-7 in Strasburg's first 10 starts while he posted a suspicious 6.55 ERA.

Nagging injuries knocked Strasburg out of four of his five starts before the fifth inning in May. He finally ended up on the disabled list with neck tightness on May 30 after lasting just one inning in a start against the Reds the day before.

Strasburg emerged upon activation from the DL, proclaiming it was the healthiest he had felt since showing up for spring training. The results showed immediately as he went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two starts before landing back on the DL with a left oblique strain that flared up during an outing against the Giants on July 4.

Strasburg has been dominant since returning from the DL on Aug. 8, going 4-2 with a 2.38 ERA while striking out 62 and walking just five over 45 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting just .168 off Strasburg over the seven games and the Nats' record is 5-2.

"I think health is huge for anybody," Strasburg said. "We've had a lot of guys battle through injuries and stuff. It's been a good learning process for me. Even going back to spring training, it helped me kind of get a better understanding of where I need to have my body to go out there and execute pitches that I need to."

"I think he's healthy, one - that helps," Williams added. "There's no issue with the back. There's no ankle issue. And he feels good when he goes out there. I just think he was in command the whole night, throwing it from the first pitch where he wanted to."

Trailing the first place Mets by 8 1/2 games with just 18 games remaining, the Nationals are left to wonder what could have been as stars such as Jayson Werth, Anthony Rendon and Strasburg have finally overcome costly injuries to wreak havoc on the opposition.

"I'll let you guys play the what-if scenarios," Strasburg said.