Nationals Get Good News on Stephen Strasburg Injury Update

Despite only being two seasons removed from winning a World Series, the Washington Nationals are off to a disappointing start in the 2021 MLB season. Losers of three of their last four games, the Nationals currently have a 17-23 record and sit at the bottom of the NL East. They only trail the first-place New York Mets by 4.5 games, so a comeback is possible, but they're going to need all the help that they can get.

Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg has been out of the lineup since landing on the Injured List on April 18 due to shoulder inflammation. However, the team got great news in his latest injury update. The 2019 World Series MVP will be back on the mound Friday night for the Nationals' home game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Stephen Strasburg Injury Update

It will be interesting to see how Strasburg looks in his first game back with the Nationals. Fans have only seen a limited amount of him so far this season, as he's started in just two games. During that span, Strasburg has an 0-1 record and an uncharacteristic 6.30 ERA through 10 innings pitched.

Assuming his inflamed shoulder played a role in those statistics, he'll hopefully look more like his old self as he eases back into action.

The truth is that the Nationals pitching staff has been disappointing all season. Washington's team ERA is 4.04, which is right about league average.

It's far from the worst in the league, but it's disappointing considering who's in the Nationals' rotation. As it stands, Max Scherzer is the only pitcher in the rotation who has a sub-3.80 ERA, which is obviously not enough to be successful.

The Nationals are currently tied with the Chicago Cubs for the 20th-best odds to win the World Series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. They're clearly a long shot to win, but there's still a lot of baseball left to be played so anything can happen.

With that being said, Strasburg's return should help Washington turn things around.

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