Strasburg, Verlander head to mound for World Series Game 6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stephen Strasburg never has thrown this many innings or this many pitches in a season during his 10-year major league career.

He's also never taken the mound with nearly as much at stake as there will be this time.

When Strasburg starts Game 6 of the World Series for the Washington Nationals against Justin Verlander and the Astros on Tuesday night in Houston, he either will have a chance to clinch a championship — or a must-win attempt to extend the Fall Classic.

"Yeah, it's definitely uncharted territory," Strasburg said Sunday before Washington hosted Game 5 with the Series even at 2-all. "And I'm just trying to continue to do what I've tried to do all year, (which) is just take it one day at a time and just listen to the body."

Strasburg said there was never any consideration to pushing up his start to Sunday to fill in for three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, who was scratched hours before the first pitch because of an irritated nerve in his neck.

Instead, Joe Ross went up against Gerrit Cole in Game 5.

Strasburg vs. Verlander is a rematch from Game 2, which the Nationals won 12-3 as each starter lasted six innings. Strasburg gave up two runs in his stint; Verlander allowed four runs before Houston's bullpen let it become a rout.

Memorably shut down for the 2012 playoffs to protect his surgically repaired right elbow, Strasburg has a lengthy history of health issues. That includes no fewer than a dozen trips to the injured list, with two per year in 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

But not a single such stay in 2019, when he made 33 starts and led the NL with 209 innings in the regular season while going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA and 251 strikeouts. Add in his postseason innings, and his full-year total is 237, 17 more than in 2014.

His...

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