Stephen Strasburg takes the hill for Washington as they continue their series with Reds. Luis Castillo starts his sophomore year for the Reds. Strasburg finished the 2017 season on a very high note. He allowed zero earned runs in two starts for the Nationals against the Cubs, struck out 22 batters in 14 innings while walking just three, allowing just six hits. The two unearned runs hung a loss on him, however, otherwise the Nationals might have advance to the NLCS for the first time.
That second start that extended the playoffs to game five was not without controversy. Reports were that Strasburg declined to pitch the game due to breathing problems, then Strasburg threw seven shutout innings. Expectations are high for him in 2018.
Castillo pitched his rookie year, posting a 3.12 ERA in 89 1/3 innings, his strikeout and walk rates both good. His 3-7 record was due to a lack of run support.
Yu Darvish makes his Cubs debut in Miami against Dillon Peters. Darvish pitched well for the Dodgers up until the World Series, where the Astros scored nine runs against him in 3 1/3 innings over two starts. An Astros play said they knew what Darvish was about to throw. Having seen Darvish from playing in the same division, I suspect the Astros were holding that card in their pocket until they needed to play it. Peters posted a high ERA in his 2017 rookie season as he allowed way too many base runners. Overall, his OBP allowed was .381, but with on one on, it rose to .406. He constantly had to deal with runners on base, not just concentrate on the batter. He walked very few batters in the minor leagues, so I suspect that aspect of his game should improve.
Enjoy!
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