Dave Martinez noticed there was something off about Stephen Strasburg from the first at-bat Tuesday night, when he missed the plate with three fastballs and a sinker to issue a four-pitch leadoff walk to Ronald Acuna Jr.
“He came out, the velo wasn’t quite there, and he started yanking balls again,” Martinez said. “And I thought, ‘Something doesn’t look right.’ Cause he doesn’t walk a guy the way he walked him.”
That prompted the first trip to the mound for Martinez and head trainer Paul Lessard.