Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg opened the season on a sour note, suffering his first loss of the season Thursday afternoon against the Mets.
Strasburg (0-1) was outdueled by Matt Harvey, who made his long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery. A fielding error by Ian Desmond helped the Mets tack on four runs in the third inning. David Wright singled in two runs in the sixth inning to knock Strasburg out of the game. He said after the game he wasn't frustrated about the sloppy defense, MLB.com reports.
"You can't let those things affect you. Those guys are going to go out there and give you everything they have, every single day," Strasburg said. "That's all I'm expecting because I'm trying to go out there and do the same thing. I know when you face adversity, you want to go out there and pick each other up. I went out there and I tried to do that."
Strasburg permitted six runs -- three earned -- on nine hits and three walks while striking out five over 5 1/3 innings of a 6-3 defeat.
"I thought he pitched well enough to keep us in it. That's for sure." manager Matt Williams said.
The right-hander will look to get back on track Tuesday at Boston. He allowed two earned runs over six innings of work his last time out against Boston in 2012.