Washington Nationals beat Boston Red Sox 7-4 as Stephen Strasburg shines - MLB Update
Hunger of drawing strike-outs for starter Stephen Strasburg remains unquenched as the Washington Nationals win 7-4 against the Boston Red Sox in first game of the three match series on June 8, 2012 at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts.
Nationals’ starter pitched six innings. Though, he allowed two runs, massive 13 strike-outs by him can easily overshadow whatever little rough-up he experienced. He recorded seventh win of the season.
Talking about the number of pitches he threw, Strasburg stated that he knew that his arms are going to endure a lengthy exercise on Friday. Despite greater pitch-count on Friday, it remains to be seen when Strasburg will be throwing shut-out game.
''Obviously you don't want to go out there and throw that many pitches through six innings, but sometimes they're just going to make you work,'' Strasburg said. ''I knew it was up there, but I had so much adrenaline being at Fenway for the first time it didn't really matter.''
Strasburg, along with relief pitcher Ross Detwiler, formed a solid fortified for blocking runs. Any resistance emanating from the Red Sox was effectively put to halt. At no time was the Red Sox able to challenge the lead that the Nationals posted during initial innings.
Once again, centre-fielder Bryce Harper turned out the star performer. Connecting three hits in five at-bats, he drove in for three RBIs. As part of the fourth inning fireworks by the Nationals, Harper struck two-run homer.
Finally third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman has started to show consistency in hits. He made two hits in five at-bats.
Speaking of Strasburg, the Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson expressed his surprise on such an impeccable show on the mound. He maintained that Strasburg was not at his best before the game, but as soon as he went there, he was vastly different.
''He was throwing the heck out of the ball,'' Davey Johnson said. ''He got a little out of sorts I thought there early in the ballgame, but came back and started really going after them.''
Win in the first game by the Nationals has given them a psychological edge in the series. The kind of dominance they showed, one can believe, they are going to sweep the series.
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