Strasburg might skip future All-Star games
Nats host in 2018
The Charlottetown Bulk Carriers Pride swept a pair of home games at the Bell Aliant Centre over the weekend.
The Pride followed up a 4-0 win over the Fredericton Caps on Saturday night with an exciting 4-3 win in a shootout over the first-place Moncton Flyers on Sunday afternoon.
The two victories improved the Pride’s record to 7-11-2 (won-lost-overtime losses) in the New Brunswick/P.E.I. Major Midget Hockey League.
The Pride will remain home and host two games this coming weekend. The Northern Moose (5-10-3) visit Charlottetown on Friday, and the Saint John Vitos (12-8-0) will provide the opposition on Saturday. Both games will start at 7 p.m.
Pride 4, Caps 0
Kennedy Gallant scored two goals while MacInnis registered a 24-save shutout against Fredericton.
Dylan Matthews and Riley MacDougall also scored for the Pride, who improved to 6-10-2 (won-lost-overtime losses). Connor McGregor (2), Nick Reeves (2), MacNeill, Seth Morris and Logan Kelly-Murphy added assists.
The Pride built period leads of 2-0 and 3-0.
Frederic Plourde faced 33 shots in goal for the Caps (6-130).
Pride 4, Flyers 3 (SO)
Owen MacNeill scored the lone goal of the shootout in the fifth round to lift the Pride to victory.
Charlottetown goaltender Erik MacInnis also played a key role in the victory, stopping 44 shots, including nine in overtime, and was perfect against all five Moncton shooters in the shootout.
MacNeill, Shaul Mitton and Gage MacWilliams, who tied the game at 14:11 of the third period, scored in regulation time for the Pride.
Nash Smith (1-1), Cole Stewart (1-1) and Patrick LeBlanc replied for the Flyers (15-4-2).
Daniel Thompson made 20 saves in regulation time and overtime for Moncton.
Stephen Strasburg is not so sure he wants to be an All-Star ever again.
The Washington Nationals right-hander said Sunday he is sure a change in routine for that event last season contributed to an arm injury that landed him on the disabled list, so he might just skip future Midsummer Classics.
The Nationals are hosting the 2018 edition.
“I mean, I think I felt like, at the All-Star break, it was a tough situation. Might have to rethink about if I’m going to actually pitch or not pitch in an All-Star Game - whether I’ll actually go altogether,” Strasburg said at the team’s annual fan festival. “That was the issue I felt like was the reason why I got hurt.”
His 2017 invitation to Miami was his third career All-Star selection. He didn’t appear in the game, but he still was thrown off, Strasburg said, and he left his second start following the break after only two innings.
He went on the DL for a little more than three weeks with a nerve issue in his pitching elbow.
“You’re asked to throw, potentially pitch - maybe not - but not have any access or ability to really stick to your routine. Once that’s over, it’s like right back into it: bullpen, day off, game,” Strasburg said. “I just know that little lapse, for whatever reason, it pushed me back a bit. It started making my arm hurt. My arm felt good before that, then it was, like, after that, it just didn’t feel right.”
He wound up going 15-4 with a 2.52 ERA in 2017, finishing third in voting for the NL Cy Young Award , an honour that went to teammate Max Scherzer.
In Washington’s NL Division Series loss to the Chicago Cubs, Strasburg was 1-1 and allowed zero earned runs in 14 innings. That included his Game 4 gem, when he struck out 12 in seven innings of a 5-0 victory.
Last February, Strasburg entered spring training having come off a right arm problem at the end of 2016. Scherzer, meanwhile, was dealing with a stress fracture in a knuckle on his pitching hand.
Both are now healthy. “I’ve always said that in the off-season, when you’re preparing for spring training as opposed to rehabbing to get to spring training, it’s a big difference,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. “Those are just two positives - that they’re both healthy and preparing for spring training and getting ready for the long season.”