Strasburg not pushing to make opening day
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Stephen Strasburg doesn’t intend to push his recovery from thoracic outlet surgery to be ready for opening day. The Washington Nationals pitcher said Tuesday faced hitters for the first time since the operation last summer. He threw two- and four-seam fastballs, curveballs and changeups to Victor Robles, Lane Thomas, Juan Soto and Josh Bell. The 33-year-old right-hander was MVP of the 2019 World Series after going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA. He was 0-1 in two starts during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, then 1-2 with a 4.57 in five starts in 2021. Dr. Greg Pearl operated on July 28.