:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/775448/GYI0060681228.jpg)
Well, Tuesday was a big day in Washington and it had nothing to do with some guy in the White House. There's a new sherriff in town, and his name is Strasburg. Stephen. Strasburg. The new face of Washington, and he was worth the wait. Strasburg made his major league debut on Tuesday, and he dominated the Pirates. In 7 innings, he struck out 14 Pirates, and gave up just two runs, on a 2-run HR by Delwyn Young. Of the 21 outs he got, 14 were a result of strikeout and 5 were ground ball outs. Very impressive.
Here are some reactions from across the Twitter-sphere:
XM Radio's Grant Paulsen who was at the game:
Not joking. I've never seen anything like this in my life. No joke. Strikes out the side. Place is going absolutely nuts. 14 strikeouts.
ESPN's Buster Olney:
@Buster_ESPN Strasburg first pitcher EVER to strike out as many as 14 in a zero-walk debut. Incredible. 15 minutes ago
Will Carroll from Baseball Prospectus:
Does steve Phillips or anyone still think Roy oswalt makes a team better right now?
Note: Steve Phillips, in an interview on WFAN with Mike "Fat" Francesca a few weeks ago, stated if he were the GM of the Nationals, he would trade Strasburg for Roy Oswalt since the Nats were in a pennant race. Note to 30 baseball owners: Steve Phillips = Bad GM.
More from Olney:
@Buster_ESPN Before the game, the Hall of Fame had no plans to ask for a memento from the game. But after that outing, the HOF now has a request in. 5 minutes ago
The rest of my thoughts on Tuesday's boxscores after the jump:
Marlins top prospect Mike Stanton also made his major league debut on Tuesday night and went 3-5 with 2 runs scored. He did strike out once as well. He kept a 9th inning rally going with a two out infield single.
Strasburg was not the only starting pitcher to dominate on Tuesday night, as the Giants Matt Cain threw a complete game shutout against the Reds. Cain gave up 7 hits, walked 2 and struck out 5 in winning his 5th game of the season. Cain lowered his ERA to 2.11. Cain has given up 3 runs or less in 9 of his last 10 games, and has given up just 3 earned runs in his last 4 starts covering 31 innings.
Rays starter Jeff Niemann also threw a complete game shutout on Tuesday. He held the Blue Jays to 2 hits, a walk and struck out 6. He has held opponents to 3 runs or less in 9 of his last 10 starts, and his ERA sits at 2.48 and his WHIP at 1.01. The Yankees will not have an easy path to the AL East title with the Rays pitching.
Cubs outfielder Tyler Colvin batted cleanup for the Cubs on Tuesday night. Wow. Never thought I would see that. Is he for real?
Mets starter Mike Pelfrey held the Padres to one run on 5 hits and no walks in 9 innings of work, but did not earn the win, as Padres starter Clayton Richard held the Mets to one run in 7 innings of work. Pelfrey is breaking out this season going 8-1 with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
The Phillies bats finally woke up on Tuesday night as they scored 10 runs against the Marlins. But, I have to ask if Ben Francisco ever played right field before. He looked horrible out there on Tuesday night. He really mis-played two balls that went over his head.
Brad Lidge earned the save on Tuesday night, but not witthout a scare, as he gave up 2 hits, a walk, and struck out two. Jose Contreras owners should sit tight until Lidge proves to be dominant going forward.
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira went 3-4 with a HR, 2 walks, 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs on Tuesday. His HR was his 9th, and fantasy owners are wondering if this is the start of a turnaround for Tex.
Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher went 3-6 with his 10th HR and 5 RBIs on Tuesday. Swisher is hitting .311-.397-.551 with a .366 BABIP. He's a sell high candidate for me as his career BABIP is just .281.
Rangers starter Colby Lewis out-dueled Mariners starter Felix Hernandez on Tuesday, going 7 innings, giving up just one run on 4 hits and 3 walks. He now has 5 wins, 3.40 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 71-32 K/BB ratio. I was wrong on this guy.
Both Carlos Villanueva and John Axford gave up runs on Tuesday, but were bailed out by Cubs closer Carlos Marmol. When does manager Ken Macha give Trevor Hoffmann another save chance? i just traded for him in one keeper league, and own him in my other keeper league.