Through five innings tonight at the Syracuse Chiefs' home field, Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse, NY, 21-year-old right-handed starter Stephen Strasburg hadn't allowed a hit to the Norfolk Tides' batters, striking out 6, 5 of them looking and getting 4 groundouts and 4 flyouts from the 16 batters he'd faced. A two-out walk and a runner that reached on an error were the only blemishes on the scorecard. The Washington Nationals' '09 no.1 overall pick threw 67 pitches through the first five, 47 for strikes, dominating the top talent in the Baltimore Orioles' organization. The MLB Network took breaks from its highlight packages each time Strasburg took the mound to show a Triple-A game like it was an everyday occurrence. The DC Faithful in the nation's capital waited patiently, avoiding Twitter updates, staying away from the blogs and sports sites, and hoping they might somehow make it til 10:30 pm when MASN aired the tape-delayed footage of the future Nats' ace's seventh start of 2010.
Strasburg takes the mound in the sixth. Tide right fielder Blake Davis, who reached on an error in the third, takes two fastballs outside before taking a hack at the 2-0 offering. Strasburg hits the outside corner with the 2-1 fastball to even the count, then misses with a heater to make it 3-2. Another fastball and a grounder to second. One down. Norfolk catcher Adam Donachie fouls off a 96 mph fastball, then takes a heater and a curve, both outside to make it a 2-1 count before he flies out to left. Two down. Fastball to Joey Gathright, called strike, 0-1. Fastball again, swinging strike 0-2. Fastball again, swinging K!! Strasburg completes 6.0 no-hit innings. 0 H, 1 BB, 7 K's, 80 pitches, 55 strikes, 5 groundouts, 5 flyouts. Strasburg's night is done. The Chiefs win, 4-0 final.
Strasburg's '09 Stats:
• Double-AA Harrisburg: (3-1), 5 GS, 22.0 IP, 7 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 6 BB (2.45 BB/9), 27 K's (11.05 K/9), 1.64 ERA, 0.86 WHIP. WHIP.
• Triple-A Syracuse: (2-0), 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB (1.5 K/9), 13 K's (9.75 K/9), 0.00 ERA.