Paolo Espino solid in spot start, but Nationals drop series finale to Diamondbacks Follow Us
Question of the Day By Andy Kostka - The Washington Times - Sunday, April 18, 2021
Paolo Espino officially heard at 5 p.m. Saturday night that he’d be pitching for the Washington Nationals the following afternoon. With Stephen Strasburg scratched from his scheduled start due to right shoulder inflammation, Espino was called up from the alternate training site for the series finale with the Diamondbacks.
Waiting to welcome the 34-year-old Espino back to the big leagues was the Diamondbacks’ Josh Rojas, who sent a leadoff home run flying out of Nationals Park.
Instead, Strasburg went through his usual between-start routine, and after throwing a bullpen a few days earlier, Strasburg felt discomfort in his shoulder. That’s when Washington opted to have Strasburg undergo an MRI that revealed “some inflammation,” Martinez said. And when it comes to Strasburg, any risk isn’t worth pushing through.
“He’s such an important piece to our club that we want to make sure this goes away, and he comes back and he feels good,” Martinez said. “And the only thing he needs to focus on is getting hitters out. You know, I don’t want him out there thinking about his mechanics, thinking about his shoulder. We want him going out there feeling good about himself. When he does that, you see what he can do.”
Stephen Strasburg headed to 10-day injured list washingtontimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtontimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Fedde expected to start as Nationals host the Diamondbacks
By The Associated PressApril 17, 2021 GMT
Arizona Diamondbacks (5-9) vs. Washington Nationals (4-7)
Washington; Saturday, 1:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Luke Weaver (1-0, 2.13 ERA, .47 WHIP, 11 strikeouts) Nationals: Erick Fedde (0-1, 8.53 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 6 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Nationals -108, Diamondbacks -108; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Arizona Diamondbacks play the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
The Nationals went 15-18 in home games in 2020. Washington averaged 8.6 hits per game last season while batting .264 as a team.
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The Diamondbacks went 9-21 on the road in 2020. Arizona hit .241 as a team last year and hit 58 total home runs.
Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images
After waiting 32 years to have another ring ceremony at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers had to wait one more day, with an off day before Friday’s home opener in Los Angeles.
“It was a long day. It was a
long day,” third baseman Justin Turner said. “I was up early this morning and ready to roll.”
Turner was ready when the game started as well, getting the Dodgers’ first three hits, including a home run in the sixth inning to lead LA over the Nationals 1-0 before 15,036 fans at Dodger Stadium.