Stephen Strasburg is nothing if not reliable.
The West Hills grad and former Aztec ace has shown that again and again throughout the 2019 postseason. And he did it Tuesday night when his team's season depended on it.
Strasburg went 8.1 innings, striking out seven and allowing two runs in Washington's 7-2 Game 6 win over the Astros. The victory forced Game 7 Wednesday night in Houston.
"For me it's going out there and just emptying the tank and giving everything I possibly have," Strasburg said after the game on the Fox TV broadcast. "That's something I can live with. I can live with the results as long as I can do that. It was a mental grind out there, especially after the first. You just gotta keep fighting."
Just as he did in Game 2, Strasburg gave up a two-run homer to Alex Bregman. And just like he did in that one, Strasburg surrendered no more runs the rest of the way.
Stephen Strasburg has been unflappable.
⚾ NLDS Game 5: Gave up 3 ER in first two innings. Retired 15 of next 18.
⚾ WS Game 2: Gave up 2-Run HR in 1st. Goes 6 IP, allowed no more runs.
⚾ WS Game 6: Gave up 2 ER in 1st. Goes 8.1 IP, allowed no more runs.
📸: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/2OM6ZqfYCg — Darnay Tripp (@DarnayTripp) October 30, 2019
Local
Strasburg retired the next nine batters he faced after Bregman's blast. He then finished the night by retiring 10 straight.
With the win he became the second starting pitcher ever to log five wins in a single postseason, joining Randy Johnson in 2001. He now has a career postseason ERA of 1.46 over 55.1 innings, with 71 strikeouts along the way.
Oh - and Padres fans - the San Diego native can opt out of his contract to become a free agent this offseason.
Stephen Strasburg is the 1st P to go 8.1+ IP in an elimination game since Madison Bumgarner in the '16 WC game
He's the 1st to do it in an elimination game of any *series* since the Adam Wainwright in the '13 NLDS
He's the 1st to do it in the #WorldSeries since Al Leiter in '00 pic.twitter.com/uGYcJx5FcP — Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) October 30, 2019
