Major League Baseball

Nationals' Strasburg throws side session

Published Aug. 8, 2010 2:39 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Stephen Strasburg threw a side session Saturday and is set to rejoin the Washington Nationals' rotation on Tuesday night against the Florida Marlins.

The right-hander was scratched minutes before his scheduled start against Atlanta on July 27 and was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time two days later, retroactive to July 22.

The 22-year-old Strasburg will be on a 90-pitch limit for his return against the Marlins, and manager Jim Riggleman has modest expectations.

''I'm not really looking for him to go out there for the seventh inning,'' Riggleman said before Saturday night's game at Dodger Stadium. ''If we were to get six innings out of him, that would be a huge step. If he got five, that would be a good number to build on for his next one.''

Strasburg looked good in Saturday's side session, according to pitching coach Steve McCatty. He is 5-2 with a 2.32 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 54 1-3 innings this season.

Strasburg has been restricted to no more than 160 innings this season and Riggleman doesn't think he will make it to the end of the year.

''Based on the math - how many starts he would have left and how many innings per start, I think he could probably get into mid-September before he reached the limit,'' he said. ''I'm hoping that's what happens, because that means he didn't miss any more starts.''

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball