Maybe it's because he had already thrown seven innings. Maybe it's because it was opening day and, you know, safety first. But whatever the reason, I have to point out that Stephen Strasburg threw only 80 pitches in his season debut Monday.
Seven innings or not, why not let him try and go the distance? It's not like 95 or 100 pitches would put his arm in jeopardy, and it's not like the Marlins were starting to get a read on him. He allowed only three hits in those seven innings. It's like the Nationals pulled him just for the sake of not having him go the distance on opening day.
Which feeds into the point I made back on March 18 that just because Strasburg doesn't have an innings limit doesn't mean the Nationals won't find ways to limit him, like Jordan Zimmermann last year. Obviously, one game doesn't mean much on its own, but this one doesn't have me second-guessing my belief that Strasburg won't accumulate 200 innings this year.