Should the Washington Nationals defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLDS, Stephen Strasburg will not be available for the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs.
Dusty on Strasburg: "We know he's not going to be ready for the next series…it'd be a miracle if he were."
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) October 13, 2016
This is bad news for a starting rotation that has been pretty cold in the playoffs. Through the first four games against Los Angeles, Nationals starters have accrued a 6.75 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and have failed to record even one quality start.
On top of that, the rotation would enter a series with Chicago flipped. With ace Max Scherzer being forced to pitch in Game 5 against the Dodgers, he wouldn’t be available on full rest until Tuesday, which would be Game 3 of the NLCS.
The task of beating the Cubs will already be quite the tough one for either the Nationals or Dodgers. Without Strasburg, it gets even more difficult for Washington.