Strasburg going on paternity leave, Turner likely to start Monday

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

April 23, 2017, 2:45pm

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NEW YORK - Stephen Strasburg is heading home to San Diego for the birth of his second child and won't pitch for the Nationals in Colorado this week.

Strasburg's wife, Rachel, is expecting, so the Nationals plan to place Strasburg on the paternity leave list Monday. He would be required to be activated three days later, but he's not scheduled to pitch again until either Friday or Saturday in Washington against the Mets.

The Nationals are expected to promote Jacob Turner from Triple-A Syracuse to start Monday's series opener against the Rockies, a move the club telegraphed last week when the right-hander was pulled after 1 2/3 innings Thursday.

Asked at the time if the early exit was done to keep Turner available to pitch in Colorado, manager Dusty Baker said: "Yeah, it's connected."

Turner, 25, has a 2.61 ERA in three starts so far for Syracuse. A veteran of 79 career big league games, 53 of those starts, he is 12-27 with a 5.09 ERA having pitched for the Tigers, Marlins, Cubs and White Sox.

The Nationals for now are listing Monday's starter as "TBA." Joe Ross has been named as Tuesday's starter, with Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzalez finishing out the series at Coors Field.

Strasburg last pitched Thursday night in Atlanta, allowing two runs in seven innings to improve to 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA. He will avoid pitching at Coors Field, where last August he was roughed up for a career-worst nine runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Strasburg wound up going on the disabled list before making another start, and appeared only once more in 2016 before being shut down with a partially torn tendon near his right elbow.