Stephen Strasburg held the Astros scoreless into the third, only to give up two runs in 2 2/3 innings in his spring debut.
Strasburg struck out three and walked none. He allowed a solo homer to Chris Snyder and a double to Jordan Schafer in the third. Schafer came around to score off Tom Gorzelanny after Strasburg departed.
In all, Strasburg threw 26 of his 44 pitches for strikes.
“The biggest thing I noticed was that it was very easy for me to go out there,” he said. “My arm felt a lot stronger. It didn’t feel like it was getting tired as fast (as last year). I mean, it was pretty much a breeze. I was a little erratic at times, but I know that’s going to come with repetitions and just fine-tuning the mechanics.”
It was rather odd to see Strasburg set up to throw three innings in his first outing of the spring. Many veteran starters go just two in their debuts, and unlike all of them, Strasburg, who missed most of last year following Tommy John surgery, is dealing with a 160-inning limit for the regular season this year. It hardly makes much sense for the Nationals to put him ahead of the curve now.
