Major League Baseball

Strasburg leaves game after appearing in pain for three innings

Published May. 5, 2015 10:31 p.m. ET

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UPDATE (Tuesday, 11:10 p.m. ET):

The Nationals offered this update on Stephen Strasburg following their 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins.

"He's got a little issue under his shoulder blade," manager Matt Williams said. "Had it last start. Could be an alignment issue, but as he finishes pitches it grabs him every once in a while. Tonight it got a little bit worse. So we'll have to have the chiropractor look at him."

Said Strasburg: "It's something that's just been lingering and I just felt it more and more. I felt like it was something that I felt I could have gone through it, but at this point in the season you just want to get it right and not alter your mechanics too much."

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Original story

Washington Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg left Tuesday night's game against the Miami Marlins after only three innings with an apparent shoulder injury, though a bizarre series of pitches in the first indicated the injury may have come much earlier in the game.

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2009 draft got the game's first two batters at Nationals Park on a ground out and strikeout, then surrendered a single to Giancarlo Stanton before walking Marcell Ozuna. In the process, Strasburg shrugged his throwing shoulder and grimaced on the follow-through on four straight pitches. However, no one from the Nationals dugout tended to the right-hander, with catcher Wilson Ramos meeting with Strasburg on the mound after that fourth straight pitch.

Strasburg immediately went into the clubhouse as the game went to commercial on the broadcast, but came back out for the second. In that inning, Strasburg gave up a triple and a single to start the inning, then hit a batter and then committed a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by opposing pitcher Mat Latos. Finally, MLB.com reported, manager Matt Williams, pitching coach Steve McCatty and athletic trainer Lee Kuntz visited Strasburg on the mound.

He responded by getting the next three batters to fly or line out and, after a scoreless third which saw him put two more runners on (walk and a single), Strasburg was pinch-hit for, by fellow starting pitcher Doug Fister, in the top of the third, leaving the game after just 64 pitches, trailing 2-1.

The official announcement was that he indeed was removed from the game due to a right shoulder injury. The start of the game was delayed 52 minutes due to weather.

Strasburg's health has long been a concern for the Nationals.

He tore his UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010, and in his first full season back from the injury, 2012, the Nationals famously put him on an innings limit which saw the club end his season in September and hold him out of the playoffs despite the Nationals finishing the regular season with the best record in baseball.

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