Stephen Strasburg will make his long-awaited debut with the Nationals on Tuesday. Sound familiar?
Technically, it’s only the phenom’s season debut, since he appeared in 12 games for the Nationals last season. But after Strasburg missed a year due to Tommy John surgery, there may be nearly as many eyes on this debut as his first big league appearance a year ago. Certainly, it’s been a long time coming.
“The bottom line is to go out there, get your innings in, build up the arm strength, go into the offseason healthy,” Strasburg said earlier this week. “I’m not going to put any expectations on myself. I’m not going to win a Cy Young in four starts. I’m just going to try and help this team win some ballgames.
“It was my goal [to come back this season]. Besides that, I wanted to go into the offseason healthy. It looks like at this point, both are going to happen.”
Strasburg is expected to pitch five or six innings on Tuesday against the Dodgers, who have dropped two straight after rattling off a season-best six consecutive wins.
Last year, Strasburg went 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA before undergoing elbow reconstruction in September. He was on a rehab assignment by August, going 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA in six games. Tuesday’s start — against Los Angeles southpaw Ted Lilly — will be Strasburg’s first big league game since Aug. 21, 2010, against the Phillies.