Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg recorded a season-high 12 strikeouts while allowing one earned run on just two hits and no walks in eight innings Wednesday but was the tough-luck loser in his team's 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Pirates.
Strasburg's only mistake came in the second inning, when Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit a solo home run, which represented the only scoring by either team before the ninth inning. Strasburg's big performance gives him a 5-8 record, 2.85 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 127:38 K:BB ratio in 123 1/3 innings. He's scheduled to take on the Tigers Tuesday.