Strasburg absorbs first Triple-A loss
Then came the top of the sixth.
Strasburg failed to retire a batter in the sixth, loading the bases on two hits and a walk. Two of those runners scored and the former No. 1 overall Draft pick lost for the first time in five Triple-A starts as the Chiefs were beaten by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 3-2.
Strasburg (3-1) was charged with all three runs on six hits over five-plus innings, striking out six and walking two before another sellout crowd of 13,115 at Alliance Bank Stadium. One of those hits was a solo blast by Major League veteran Rene Rivera, the first home run Strasburg has surrendered in the Minor Leagues.
"It happens," said Strasburg, who is expected to make his Major League debut in less than two weeks. "For the most part, besides the home run, they just hit it where guys weren't. That's baseball."
With fans anticipating another dominant performance, Strasburg struck out Greg Golson with a 99 mph fastball to open the game. Two batters later, MLB.com's No. 2 prospect showed some finesse with a 90 mph changeup that got Eduardo Nunez swinging.
Strasburg gave up a hit in the second but didn't get encounter adversity until the third. On a full count, Rivera deposited another 99 mph fastball over the right-center field fence to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 1-0 lead.
"I didn't think it was gone," Strasburg said. "But guys are going to run into it every now and then. I made a good pitch, he just put a good swing on it."
The Chiefs took a 2-1 lead in the fourth and the homer didn't seem to faze Strasburg. He threw a nasty curveball to Rivera as he struck out the side in the fifth.
After throwing 75 pitches, 15 below his limit, Strasburg returned to the mound for the sixth. Reegie Corona and Nunez singled to start the inning and Strasburg got a 2-2 count on Jon Weber, who was ejected for arguing the second strike call. One pitch later, Strasburg balked both runners into scoring position. He went on to walk pinch-hitter Jeff Natale to load the bases before exiting.
Josh Wilkie relieved, but Corona scored the tying run on a double play by Chad Huffman and Nunez came home on a base hit by Jesus Montero, MLB.com's No. 19 prospect.
Although his star pitcher didn't perform as well as he did in his first four starts with Syracuse, Chiefs manager Trent Jewett felt Strasburg maintained his composure.
"I didn't think he ever wavered and I don't expect that he ever will," Jewett said. "He's a guy that I think has a lot of poise and he's going to compete at all times. Not a concern."
The Chiefs couldn't manufacture another run as Strasburg suffered his first loss at the Triple-A level. The 21-year-old was quick to point that this was not his first defeat and would not be his last.
"It's baseball. You lose. You win some, you lose some," he said. "I'm not going to chalk it up as getting pushed back or anything. They beat me today, and it happens."
Zach Brown is a contributor to MLB.com.