Strasburg season over due to surgery
Stephen Strasburg will have season-ending neck surgery, Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Tuesday, ending another frustrating year for Washington’s 2019 World Series hero.
The three-time All-Star right-hander felt discomfort after a 27-pitch bullpen session last week and saw a specialist on Monday. Strasburg, who is 1-2 with a 4.57 ERA in five starts this season, was diagnosed with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome and will be operated on by Dr. Greg Pearl in Dallas today, Martinez said.
“He’s down, he’s frustrated,” Martinez said. “Hopefully after this procedure is done, it’s the next hurdle, recovering and then starting to rehab as soon as he possibly can.”
Injuries have limited Strasburg to seven starts since he was named MVP of Washington’s World Series win over Houston two years ago. He last pitched on June 1.
NOTES >> Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich has tested positive for the coronavirus and is showing mild symptoms. Yelich and utilityman Jace Peterson were placed on the COVID-19 injured list. Peterson was sidelined due to contact tracing and hasn’t tested positive . ... The Astros landed one of the top relievers in baseball, acquiring right-hander Kendall Graveman from the Mariners in an odd intra-division trade while the teams were preparing to play each other. Graveman and Rafael Montero are going to the AL Westleading Astros with infielder Abraham Toro and reliever Joe Smith going back to Seattle.
NATIONALS 6, PHILLIES 4 >> Trea Turner singled in the first inning and scored on Josh Bell’s three-run homer that put Washington ahead to stay, but its shortstop was then pulled from the game because of a positive COVID-19 test and never played defense in a 6-4 win over host Philadelphia. Juan Soto hit another three-run homer for the Nationals in the second. Bryce Harper hit his first career insidethe-park homer, doubled and drove in a pair of runs for Philadelphia.
CARDINALS 4, INDIANS 2 >> Adam Wainwright (86) won in his first appearance at Progressive Field, Paul DeJong hit a go-ahead homer, and visiting St. Louis beat Cleveland. DeJong’s two-out, two-run drive in the seventh inning put St. Louis in front 3-2.
BRAVES 12, METS 5 >> Austin Riley hit a grand slam and a two-run homer to set a career high with six RBIs, powering visiting Atlanta. Ozzie Albies and Abraham Almonte also had two-run homers for the Braves, who have won two of the first three in a five-game series as they chase the first-place Mets in the NL East.
WHITE SOX 5, ROYALS 3 >> Eloy Jiménez logged his first big hit of the season, launching a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning that sent Chicago past host Kansas City. The 24-year-old slugger tore a pectoral muscle in spring training. He hadn’t played in the majors until going 0 for 4 Monday.
RANGERS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4 >> All-Star slugger Joey Gallo hit his first home run since the break, a towering three-run shot to put Texas ahead, and also had two assists from right field as the host Rangers ended a 12-game losing streak.
YANKEES 4, RAYS 3 >> Jordan Montgomery (4-5) stopped an eight-start winless streak, Aaron Judge singled in his return from COVID-19, and New York beat Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla.