MLB Notes: Dodgers hand Nats’ Stephen Strasburg first loss of season
By the time Stephen Strasburg settled down and looked like his dominant self, it was too late and his undefeated season was over.
Strasburg struck out 10, but allowed six runs and seven hits including two home runs and the Washington Nationals lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 on Thursday. It’s Strasburg’s first loss since Sept. 9, ending a streak of 16 consecutive winning decisions.
“During the streak he was outstanding,” manager Dusty Baker said. “You know every streak is going to end. That’s the best streak I’ve ever seen I think. Now you just go back to the drawing board and start a new streak.”
The All-Star right-hander allowed two- and three-run home runs to third baseman Justin Turner in the first and third innings and an RBI single to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. After Turner’s home run, Strasburg retired 12 of his final 13 batters.
“It was just a couple of pitches where I just didn’t execute when I needed to, and I got beat on them,” Strasburg said. “Once I got past those first couple innings I started throwing more first-pitch strikes.”
Strasburg (13-1) had the longest winning streak to begin a season among National League starters since Rube Marquard of the New York Giants went 18-0 in 1912. The Dodgers hit the ball hard against him early, but he had that unstoppable stuff in his final three innings.
At the plate, Strasburg’s teammates couldn’t crack Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias, who allowed one run and five hits in four innings. Bryce Harper drove in Trea Turner with a sacrifice fly in the first, Danny Espinosa had an RBI double and Daniel Murphy an RBI single off the Los Angeles bullpen.
The Nationals left 12 runners on base in losing to the Dodgers for the fifth time in six games this season.
“We were fighting back,” Baker said. “We were stealing bases. We were trying to get runners in scoring position, which we did. We left 12 men on bases. We had opportunities to get back into that game.”
Ex-Spokane Indian Strahler dies
Mike Strahler, a right-handed pitcher who was among the stars of Spokane’s best professional baseball team, died at his home in Alamogordo, New Mexico. He was 69.
Three years after having his right kidney removed, Strahler posted a 15-5 record with a 2.98 earned run average for the 1970 Indians, who breezed past Hawaii to win the Pacific Coast League championship. Strahler pitched a 12-4 victory in Game 2 of the playoffs. Of 30 players who appeared for Spokane, putting up a 94-52 regular-season record, 21 played in the major leagues. Manager Tom Lasorda became a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Strahler, a Chicago native who grew up in Sacramento, spent most of four years (1968-71) in Spokane. His 41-30 record is among the best in the city’s 99 seasons of pro ball. He had an 11-7 record in 1971, which he split between Spokane and the parent Los Angeles Dodgers. He later pitched for Detroit. Used mostly as a reliever, his major-league record was 6-8 in 53 games.
Strahler retired at age 28 in 1975 and spent 35 years as a mechanical engineer for Proctor & Gamble. He is survived by his wife, Dana, and three daughters.
Clearing the bases
Cardinals OF Matt Holliday left the game against the Padres after being hit in the face by a pitch from Andrew Cashner. The Cardinals said Holliday sustained facial abrasions around the nose and upper lip and there were no broken bones. … White Sox 2B Brett Lawrie left the game against the Tigers because of tightness in his left hamstring.