Strasburg Named Opening Day Starter

[Giantmetfan07]

Davey Johnson Names Stephen Strasburg Opening Day Starter


VIERA, Fla. -- Not that there was any uncertainty about it, but Davey Johnson made it official nonetheless this morning: Stephen Strasburg will start Opening Day for the Nationals.

"I guess you want me to say it," the 70-year-old manager said. "He's going to be my Opening Day starter. You drug it out of me."​

Johnson's selection of Strasburg is hardly a surprise. The right-hander got the Opening Day nod last season in Chicago, then went 15-6 with a 3.16 ERA and 197 strikeouts before his much-debated shutdown in early September after 159 1/3 innings. [font=lucida sans unicode']But in a rotation that also boasts a 21-game winner (Gio Gonzalez), a top-10 ERA finisher (Jordan Zimmermann) and a three-time All-Star (Dan Haren), Johnson certainly had other viable options if he chose to go in another direction.[/font]

"That's a great honor," the manager said. "There's a lot of great starters in my rotation."​

Strasburg will face a familiar foe April 1 at Nationals Park. This will be his 10th career start against the Marlins, more than he's made against any other opponent. Strasburg's results against Miami have run the gamut, from a 1-hit, 10-strikeout effort on the final day of the 2011 season to a ragged, 3-inning start last September that prompted the Nationals to shut him down one week earlier than originally planned.