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In his last 13 starts, going back to September 2015, the Washington Nationals are 13-0 when '09 No.1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg takes the hill.
That includes the nine starts he's made so far this season, over which he's (7-0) with a 2.80 ERA, 2.29 FIP, 16 walks (2.36 BB/9), 75 Ks (11.07 K/9) and a .221/.317/.264 line against in 61 innings.
Dusty Baker was asked this afternoon, as Strasburg prepared to take on the New York Mets for the second time in a week after beating them last Thursday in Citi Field, what signs, if any, he's seen that make him think Strasburg's run might be sustainable?
"You don't know if it's sustainable or not, really," Baker said.
"The more success you have, the more success you expect and the more confidence that you have, but your record sometimes isn't indicative of how well you're doing necessarily. Neither is ERA.
"I don't know what is the indicator -- I'm sure if you ask him he's very grateful and thankful to be where he is right now.
"What does he have a 6-0 record? 7-0. But he's probably been the recipient of more runs than anybody on our team which is -- do guys play better behind him? Or has it been the matchup on the other side? There are a lot of variables that go into that, but I don't care, he's still 7-0. And I'm sure everybody would trade to do that, but the thing about it is, part of the reason he's 7-0 is because he's been out there without his best stuff and still managed to keep us in the ballgame until our team came through."
Do his teammates really play better behind him though? Considering that the Nationals are 13-0 in his last thirteen starts and 20-2 in his last 22 outings?
"Maybe," Baker said, "but you know we have -- I mean, you can say that... I remember back in the day, Steve Carlton, that was 'win day' when Steve Carlton was pitching. His team won [59] games, he won like 27 of them. That's 'win day'.
"Here we have three or four horses. You'd have to say your No. 1 horse would probably be [Scherzer]. Am I right?
"He's our No. 1 in the rotation, and our No.2 horse isn't far behind him, which is Stras.
"But, on the other hand, [Scherzer] usually doesn't get runs. We know the horse is on the mound, but what happens is, whoever pitches against your horse, he brings their level of competition up. I remember when we were playing, I used to get some letters [about] Fernando [Valenzuela] when he was pitching, how come we didn't ever get Fernando runs?
"It's because whoever was pitching against Fernando would pitch their very best ballgame because they know if they give up two runs early it could be the game. You look around, most aces don't get a bunch of runs. That's what I've found."
Whatever Strasburg is doing, Baker added, he hopes it continues.
"Whatever Stras is doing, you just ride it. It's like surfing, you ride the wave to the beach, and jump off and just catch another wave. If you think about falling off, you're going to fall.
Nationals drop series opener to Mets, 7-1
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"So, don't think about falling, don't think about when it's going to end. It hasn't ended for [Jake] Arrieta..."
Strasburg will try to keep it going when he takes on the Mets tonight in the nation's capital after he went six strong against New York last week, allowing six hits, three walks and one earned run in a 9-1 win.
Heading into the start, he's (5-3) in 10 career starts vs the Nationals' NL East rivals with a 2.66 ERA, 18 walks (2.66 BB/9), 84 Ks (12.39 K/9) and a .215/.276/.320 line against in 61 innings pitched.