Washington D.C. will be the place to watch on Tuesday night, as Stephen Strasburg makes his return to the major leagues, starting for the Washington Nationals against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Strasburg took baseball by storm in his 2010 debut before getting shut down in August and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery. His return to a major league mound in just under 13 months provides a nice blueprint for the Dodgers' Rubby De La Rosa, who had the same surgery in August.
Strasburg is scheduled to throw roughly four innings or 60 pitches on Tuesday against the Dodgers, assuming weather allows it. Per Ben Goessling of MASN, "if Strasburg warms up at all, he'll either start the game or get bumped back to another day - the Nationals won't have him warm up, sit down through a delay and come back after rain subsides."
Strasburg, 23, was 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 12 starts in 2010, with 92 strikeouts in 68 innings. His final start was August 21, 2010. His first outing on the mound came on August 7, 2011 with Class A Hagerstown. In six rehab assignment games spread over four levels, Strasburg had a 3.54 ERA with three walks and 29 strikeouts in 20 innings.
The 22-year old De La Rosa was 4-5 with a 3.54 ERA this year for the Dodgers, with 60 strikeouts in 61 innings. His final start for the Dodgers came on July 31, and he had Tommy John surgery in early August. If he follows in the same rehabilitation path as Strasburg, De La Rosa could be pitching on a minor league mound some time in mid July 2012, and perhaps a return to the Dodgers at some point in August 2012.
Tuesday's Dodgers vs. Nationals 4:05 p.m. PDT game will be televised on KCAL. For more news and information on the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.