But none of it was enough – even a nice effort from the bullpen – because the Nats couldn’t figure out Chicago starter Gavin Floyd at the plate. Yes, Ryan Zimmerman’s throw cost Washington the go-ahead run in the eleventh. But really – how many third baseman get to that smash by Alex Rios anyway? Maybe Zimmerman had an extra beat. But Rios is a fast runner and Mark Kotsay was going to score from third if Zimmerman gambled on time and lost. In the end, the ball was too high even for first baseman Adam Dunn. But that was one play. This game was lost long before that when Strasburg left after seven innings still trailing 1-0.  

Say this for him: Strasburg’s competitiveness never wavers. He was upset at himself for getting to first base a step late in the first inning on an infield hit by Juan Pierre. He also bunted into a double play in the sixth, later vowing to come in early tomorrow with coach Tim Foley to work on that particular skill. But let’s be honest – those are little mistakes made by a kid who is still, after all, a rookie.

Strasburg used his change-up far more often against the White Sox, who no doubt were geared for his 100 miles-per-hour fastball. But the pitch that he struggled with on Sunday against Cleveland was a weapon this time. Six of Strasburg’s 10 strikeouts came on change-ups – all clocked between 88 and 92 miles-per-hour, which is absurd since that is a fastball for the rest of Washington’s rotation.  

“I think I was just able to throw it over the plate a little bit more,” Strasburg said. “I had a better feel for it than in the previous outing. A lot of it had to do with what I was trying to do with the pitch. I was trying to do too much with it before instead of letting it work itself. So I just went out there and trusted it.”

And the White Sox had no idea what to do with that hard, tumbling pitch. At one point Strasburg retired 15 consecutive Chicago hitters. He even escaped trouble after leadoff singles in both the sixth and seventh innings. And while Strasburg didn’t want to come out of the ballgame – at all – he reluctantly understands the franchise is still trying to protect him. The bullpen pitched well enough to justify taking him out after just 85 pitches anyway.

“I definitely wanted to go out there and definitely finish the game out,” Strasburg said. “But there’s a bigger picture here. The bullpen came in and kept us in scoring distance. We just didn’t get the job done today.”

Zimmerman was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Dunn was 1-for-4 with that game-tying double in the seventh. No Nats batter recorded more than one hit. Neither Tyler Clippard nor Matt Capps allowed a baserunner in one inning each of relief. Storen gave up two hits and two walks in two innings and the winning run was earned because the error came on Zimmerman’s throw.  

Nats Notes

» The game was Washington’s third sellout of the season at Nationals Park with an announced crowd of 40,325. Strasburg’s first start on June 8 against Pittsburgh was also played before a capacity crowd.

» Even at 11 innings the game was played in a tidy two hours, 55 minutes.

» Strasburg threw 85 pitches with 59 of those going for strikes.

» Players from both teams were excited to have President Barack Obama in attendance – even if he was rooting for his hometown White Sox.

“It was awesome. Obviously, he’s from Chicago so he wants to watch the White Sox too,” Strasburg deadpanned. “But it’s just been a great atmosphere my first two [starts] out here. A packed house and everyone on their feet. Its pretty exciting.”

Added Storen: “We saw down in the bullpen with everyone turning away to take pictures. So we figured it out. It was pretty cool. Can’t say I’ve ever had a president come to one of my games before.”

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