Strasburg hit by comebacker, departs (Nats lose 13-0)

Stephen Strasburg's All-Star first half ended with a thud this afternoon. And that might end up keeping him from pitching in Tuesday night's Midsummer Classic in Miami.

Strasburg departed after only three innings today, giving up six runs (three earned) to a Braves lineup that has given him fits plenty of times before. Whether his early departure was a due to the comebacker he took off his right hip is not yet known, but it appeared to play some role in the decision.

Strasburg already was laboring to some extent through his first 2 1/3 innings of the game and was trailing 3-0 when Nick Markakis sent a hot shot back up the box that appeared to clip the pitcher in the hip. Strasburg was able to pick up the ball, but he made an ill-advised and wide throw to second base for an error that only made matters worse.

Manager Dusty Baker, pitching coach Mike Maddux and head athletic trainer Paul Lessard came to the mound to check on Strasburg, who after the discussion threw a couple of warmup tosses and then remained in the game.

Strasburg, though, struggled the rest of the inning. He allowed a two-out single to Kurt Suzuki to drive home a run, then after walking No. 8 batter Johan Camargo surrendered a two-run single to Julio Teheran (giving the opposing pitcher three RBIs already in the game).

The inning finally ended on a flyout to left, and as Strasburg returned to the dugout with his pitch count at 65, he headed down the stairs. Due to lead off the bottom of the third, he instead was replaced in the batter's box by Ryan Raburn and eventually on the mound by Tanner Roark.

This was the 12th time Strasburg has failed to reach the fourth inning in 174 career starts. Five of those abbreviated outings have come against the Braves.

This one could have significant domino effects. With Roark pitching in relief today, Joe Ross is assured of starting Sunday's first-half finale for the Nationals. And if Strasburg elects not to pitch in Tuesday's All-Star Game, he could potentially be replaced on the National League roster by teammate (and Miami native) Gio Gonzalez.

Update: Roark has done pretty well in his first relief appearance of the season. He retired the first six batters he faced, but then surrendered a run in the top of the sixth. That run might have been prevented had Daniel Murphy been able to make a tough play on Ender Inciarte's grounder to his right, which brought home Camargo from second base. There have been plenty of those type of things so far this afternoon, plays that could have been made by the Nats in the field that ultimately were not made. That kind of a day. Nats down 7-0 in the sixth.

Update II: Make it 8-0 after Nick Markakis' solo homer off Roark in the top of the seventh. Roark has done an admirable job under these circumstances, providing four innings of two-run ball in relief. But it wouldn't matter much anyway, because the Nats lineup hasn't done much at all against Teheran. That group is 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position today as we arrive at the seventh-inning stretch.

Update III: The good news: The game is over. The bad news: This was probably the Nationals' worst game of the year. They lost 13-0, shut out for the first time in 2017. And after Roark allowed three runs in five innings of relief, Sammy Solis poured gasoline on the fire and allowed four more in the top of the ninth. But it's over now, and the Nats will try to regroup and win Sunday's first half finale.