Stephen Strasburg is no longer the kid No. 1 draft pick out of San Diego State returning to his hometown to pitch at Petco Park.
But he’s still a San Diegan at heart with a lot of memories.
“It’s always meaningful to me to pitch here,” Strasburg said several seasons ago after an outing in San Diego.
Strasburg will make his fifth career start at Petco Park on Sunday afternoon as the Nationals seek a second straight win over the Padres and a split of the four-game weekend series. Washington came away with a 4-1 win Saturday night behind seven shutout innings by Max Scherzer.
The Padres took their time naming their starter for Sunday but eventually decided to give the nod to right-hander Luis Perdomo, who struck out one in a scoreless inning of relief Saturday night.
“We’ll sit down after the game tonight having an understanding of who we have available and make a determination at that point in time,” Padres manager Andy Green said before Saturday’s game.
“We’ll use whomever we feel is necessary to win this game tonight, and then we’ll figure Sunday out on the other side. That’s not to say we don’t have some contingencies in place. Using certain guys tonight makes other guys available.
“You can cross them off your list as they enter tonight’s game … and then I might start them anyway. You try to win every game. The main drive yesterday was to win yesterday. We hope (Eric) Lauer pitches seven and there are no decisions to make.”
Well, Lauer did pitch seven innings Saturday night. But it wasn’t until an hour after Saturday’s final pitch that the decision came down on who would pitch the series finale.
Perdomo, a former Rule 5 pick who has actually had some success against the Nationals, is 2-2 against Washington in five games (three starts) with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.190 WHIP — allowing 10 runs (eight earned) on 18 strikeouts and seven walks with 18 strikeouts in 21 innings.
Strasburg has made 10 starts against the Padres during his career. He is 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP — allowing 22 runs (21 earned) on 48 hits and 15 walks with 80 strikeouts in 63 innings.
He is 3-1 against the Padres at Petco Park with a 3.12 ERA in four starts. Sunday will be his fifth career start at Petco Park. He has given up 10 runs (nine earned) on 18 hits and six walks with 24 strikeouts in 26 innings.
“This ballpark will always be special to me,” said Strasburg, who pitched for the late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn while at San Diego State. “Coach used to talk about how he always wanted to play at Petco Park but never got the chance because he retired (2001) before it opened (2004).”
The Nationals lost each of the first two games of the series by 5-4 scores after leading. A split of the series would still leave them 11-4 over the past 15 games.
The Padres, meanwhile, need a victory Sunday to gain a 5-5 mark on their longest homestand of the season.