Strasburg to start Game 1 of NLDS
Hamstring injury may keep Scherzer off the mound until Game 3 at earliest
WASHINGTON— Stephen Strasburg will start Game 1 of Washington’s NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs, Nationals manager Dusty Baker announced Thursday, while twotime Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer might not pitch before Game 3.
Scherzer tweaked his right hamstring during his last regular-season start and bypassed planned bullpen sessions during workouts at Nationals Park on Wednesday and Thursday.
Lefty Gio Gonzalez did throw off a bullpen mound Thursday, making it seem likely he would start Game 2 on Saturday. The series opens Friday night at Washington.
General manager Mike Rizzo said the team would not decide on a Game 2 starter until later Thursday. Baker said either Scherzer or Gonzalez would get Game 2 and the other Game 3.
“A lot of it depends on our evaluation of Scherzer,” Baker said.
For the second day in a row, Scherzer threw on flat ground in the outfield, but did not go through a bullpen session off a mound, which starters usually do two or three days before a game.
Baker had said Tuesday that the plan was for Scherzer to test his leg in the bullpen Wednesday; on Thursday, Baker again said Scherzer would have a bullpen session.
“When you have a nagging injury, every day is important for our trainers to evaluate it, put hands on him and see if he’s still sore or if he’s feeling great,” Baker said.
Because of days off in the schedule, whoever pitches in Game 2 could be available on regular rest to start Game 5, if there is one.
Asked whether that could be a factor in the decision of when Scherzer is used, Baker said: “Is that worth taking a chance — and if you get past the first round, then are you jeopardizing the second round? So you have to kind of weigh both. But the health of Max, I think, is No. 1.”
The Cubs already announced their pitching plans, saying Wednesday that their rotation would be Kyle Hendricks in Game 1, Jon Lester in Game 2, Jose Quintana in Game 3 and Jake Arrieta in Game 4 — if there is one — in the best-of-five series.