The book on Pedro Astacio goes something like this: he was drafted in 1987; he first pitched in the majors in 1992; he hasn’t pitched more than 200 innings since 1999; and he has only led the majors in three categories, those being home runs allowed, earned runs allowed and hit batsmen.
He’s pitched for six MLB teams this millennium, so the 36-year-old’s best days have already passed. At least, that’s how it seemed until Tuesday night, when Astacio threw a sensational complete game shutout, allowing only two hits, striking out five and helping the Nationals to a 5-0 win over Atlanta.
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“It was a superb performance from the first pitch of the ballgame to the last pitch of the ballgame,” manager Frank Robinson said. “He was in complete control the entire ballgame. It’s one of those efforts you don’t see often. He was just outstanding.”
Astacio (3-2) threw strikes early in the count, which allowed him to get ahead of hitters and throw breaking balls later in at bats. Of his 89 pitches, 66 were strikes.
When asked about what worked well for him, Astacio said, “Everything.” Added Robinson: “It just clicked tonight.”
Besides the pitching performance, the Nationals (52-67) had success offensively. Balls bounced their way early — the Braves committed as many errors as they had baserunners — which gave Astacio more comfort on the mound.
The Braves committed both errors in the third inning. A poor throw from second baseman Marcus Giles gave the Nationals runners on second and third with none out. Three batters later, Tony Pena misjudged a grounder from Austin Kearns, and two runs scored.
When Astacio gave up a single in the fifth, the Nationals had already scored four runs. With his pitch count at 45, Astacio knew he had a chance for a long outing.
“When you do not throw too many pitches and you throw good, you know you’re going to stay longer in the game,” he said.
The complete game was the first by a Nationals pitcher since Sept. 20 last year, and the shutout was Astacio’s first since 2002.
