Still in stretch, Strasburg takes subpar outing in stride (Nats lose 9-3)

NATIONALS QUICK WRAP

Score: Cardinals 9, Nationals 3

Recap: Stephen Strasburg yielded six runs on seven hits in two innings while still pitching exclusively from the stretch. ... Michael A. Taylor, Grant Green and Chris Heisey drove in runs for the Nationals. ... Taylor is hitting .409 after a 2-for-3 day, Pedro Severino pushed his spring average to .571 with a 2-for-2 afternoon and Wilmer Difo also went 2-for-2 to push his spring average to .429.

Need to know: The Cardinals were sitting on fastballs and put wood on just about every one Strasburg threw, particularly early in the count. But Strasburg still registered 96 mph on his fastball, according to the stadium radar gun, a sign that he's still getting ample velocity on his fastball even though he's throwing from the stretch.

On deck: Thursday vs. Marlins at West Palm Beach, 1:05 p.m.

___________________________________________

JUPITER, Fla. - Stephen Strasburg's newfound comfort zone of pitching exclusively from the stretch quickly turned a little uncomfortable Wednesday afternoon.

And one batter into the Cardinals lineup that seemed to be feasting on fastballs, Strasburg's choice to ditch the windup as a way to trim his mechanics became a moot point.

Walking leadoff man Dexter Fowler was a precursor to a two-inning stint that saw the right-hander tattooed for six runs on seven hits. The Cardinals sent nine men to the plate in the opening frame, and when the lead grew to 6-0 in the second, Matt Albers started throwing in the Nationals bullpen.

As spring starts go, this one was forgettable, as gloomy as the weather leading up to first pitch. But while other lamentable outings could be blamed on wind-blown balls, curious umpiring or shoddy defense, Strasburg had no one to blame for this one but himself.

Only 24 of his 48 pitches hit the strike zone; the rest were easy pickings for the Cardinals, who were aggressive and teeing up every fastball that came their way.

Two or three years ago, Strasburg might have had to screw up every ounce of fortitude he had to explain away such a performance. But the right-hander has mellowed and grown.

"All in all, I've just got to take it with a grain of salt," he said. "It wasn't the outcome I was looking for, but I felt good out there. I feel like when I did throw my off-speed, I did execute it. It's just throwing the fastball, they were hunting fastballs, trying to get out there early. I'll let them keep that approach and take that during the season. At least they kind of tipped their cards."

The Roger Dean Stadium radar gun clocked Strasburg's fastball at 96 mph, a sign that he's still getting ample velocity even through he's working from the stretch. And Strasburg was quick to point out that doubles by shortstop Aledmys Díaz in the first and second innings were the only balls the home team squared up.

"I try to think about the big picture and in my head, I'm trying to go out there and work on certain things," he said. "In a regular game, I probably would have pitched them differently, especially (with) all that early contact, swinging at every fastball they see. But I think stuff-wise, I thought I was pretty good. Especially (because) early on, I thought I was pretty inconsistent with it. But I did throw some good changeups. I threw some good two-seamers in there that they just didn't hit where we wanted (them) to."

Strasburg said there's no chance he'd return to the windup without runners on base - though he left the door to a traditional windup open. Pitching from the stretch, he insists, helps him better repeat a mechanically sound delivery.

"I'm not going to jump ship after a crazy outing like this," Strasburg said. "I think it's going to help me in the long run. Who knows? Maybe I'll do it enough times and be comfortable with it (and) it'll help me out of the windup in the future. I'm not shutting that door either."

Even though he didn't get the results he wanted, Strasburg felt comfortable and thought he had a handle on his delivery, which he took as a positive - especially since he's getting the velocity he thrives on.

"I feel really good with it. I feel like I had a tendency of just wanting to push the throttle down a little too much with that," he said. "I guess what I really mean is just trusting it. One thing out of the stretch is, you automatically think you have to generate more (velocity). But the guys up in the stands with the radar guns say the velocity's still there. For me, it's just staying within the mechanics because when I can do that, I'm able to repeat it a lot better.

"Working on new things, especially something like this, you're going to have these days. Hopefully, I can keep progressing at it. I think the biggest thing is just executing pitches and I think, for the most part, I did execute pitches. It's just one of those days where they just fought them off."