Stephen Strasburg ‘Under The Weather,’ Declines To Pitch NLDS Game 4

Stephen Strasburg reportedly is too sick to enter the heat of Major League Baseball’s postseason.

The Washington Nationals ace has declined to pitch against the Chicago Cubs in Game 4 of the National League Division Series due to illness, USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale reported Tuesday night, citing a source with direct knowledge of the Nationals’ pitching plans. Strasburg was scheduled to start for Washington on Wednesday afternoon, with his team trailing in the series 2-1 and facing elimination, but Tanner Roark will do the honors.

“He’s under the weather like a lot of my team is,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said Tuesday at a press conference.

Baker was noncommittal when asked whether Strasburg would be available to pitch out of the bullpen.

“I don’t know, man,’’ he said, via USA TODAY. “I ain’t even thinking about that to tell you the truth. I’m thinking Tanner’s going to do his thing.’’

Strasburg has pitched sensationally in recent weeks, going 5-1 with a 0.84 ERA in his last eight regular-season starts and pitching five-plus no-hit innings and striking out 10 batters against the Cubs in Game 1 of the NLDS.

But he declined to take the mound when the Nationals need him most because he felt his illness left him unprepared for the fateful moment, the source told Nightengale.

“He informed the Nationals’ staff that he ran a half-mile Tuesday afternoon, was wheezing during his run and simply isn’t prepared to start Wednesday, even though he’d be on regular rest,” Nightengale wrote.

Strasburg’s fellow Nationals and their fans must be feeling some kind of way about his unexpected decision. We’ll see if they let him know about it before or during Game 5, when he claims he’d be available to pitch.

That is, if they earn the right to play another game this season.

Thumbnail photo via Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports Images