The nation may be debating the Washington
Nationals' decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg as early as next
week, but Ross Detwiler's emergence may be making it easier on the NL
East leaders.
Detwiler looks to continue
his superb stretch at home in order to win a third game in a row as the
Nationals try to rebound from a loss to the Miami Marlins in the middle
game of this series Saturday.
Washington
(85-53) owns the best record in baseball and leads the division by 6 1/2
games over second-place Atlanta. The franchise seems headed to the
postseason for the first time since 1981, when it was the Montreal
Expos.
The nation's capital hasn't seen postseason baseball since the original Senators in 1933.
That's precisely why the Nationals' decision to limit Strasburg's
innings this year is under intense scrutiny, with the club trying to
protect his arm after undergoing Tommy John surgery two years ago. His
next scheduled outing Wednesday against New York may be his last.
Washington's five-game winning streak ended with the ace on the mound
for Friday's 9-7, 10-inning loss to Miami (62-77). Strasburg gave up
five runs and two homers in three innings.
"To be honest with you, I think he just is thinking too much about the
decision when we're going to shut him down," manager Davey Johnson said.
"And he kind of wore it. He didn't like it. But that's the way it is."
Detwiler's success may give the Nationals confidence in sticking to
their decision. The left-hander (9-6, 3.15 ERA) was pulled from the
rotation in May after compiling an 8.16 ERA in three starts.
He's been solid since being re-installed for an ineffective Chien-Ming Wang, going 5-3 with a 3.00 ERA in 13 starts.
Detwiler has been particularly impressive over his last six starts at
home, putting together a 4-1 record and 1.37 ERA, and that may continue
versus Miami.
He's 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA
in five games against the Marlins, winning both of his starts while
allowing three runs in 11 2-3 innings.
Detwiler gave up all of those runs in 5 2-3 innings Aug. 29, but still
earned an 8-4 win at Miami. He followed that up with a dazzling effort
Monday, tossing seven scoreless innings while yielding four hits in a
2-1 victory over Chicago.
"He was real special," Johnson said. "He mixed in some breaking balls. Even the ones that were bad were pretty good."
The Marlins are seeking a three-game winning streak for the first
time since July 4-6, and Jose Reyes is giving them some punch at the
plate.
The shortstop is 7 for 19 with
three extra-base hits and eight RBIs in five games, getting two triples
among his three hits to go with three RBIs on Friday. He's hitting .483
in six games at Washington this year.
Mark Buehrle (12-12, 3.73) is scheduled to take the mound looking to get off to a better start.
The left-hander gave up all of New York's scoring in the opening
inning and pitched seven overall in a 5-1 home loss Sunday, ending a
three-start winning streak.
"You just
realize you have to settle down," Buehrle told the team's official
website. "If you have any chance of coming back, you can't give up many
more. You just try to go out there and try to eat up innings."
Buehrle is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in two starts against the Nationals,
but he didn't get a decision in a 10-7 loss Aug. 4. He allowed four runs
and two homers in six innings.
