Apparently, San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg has recovered from the flu.
Strasburg missed last week's start because of a bad cold that led to an ear infection. He returned last night more dominant than ever, pitching a one-hitter against Utah that included a school-record 23 strikeouts in the Aztecs' 1-0 Mountain West Conference victory at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
“I've seen a lot of baseball,” said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. “I have never seen anything like that.”
Strasburg started strong – striking out the side in the first – and got stronger – striking out the side in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth. In the ninth, Strasburg hopped off the mound and pumped his fist after striking out Utah's Jesse Shriner to end the game.
“My arm was well-rested,” said Strasburg, who threw 128 pitches, primarily sliders and a fastball that touched 99 mph. “I was pitching the way I have all year. Maybe my stuff was working a little better tonight.”
Strasburg retired the first nine hitters before Utah's Corey Shimada walked to lead off the fourth inning. Strasburg didn't allow a hit until Michael Beltran led off the sixth with a high chopper that got under the glove of SDSU second baseman Garett Green for a single to center. The only other balls Utah (13-15, 3-3 MWC) put in play came on a groundout to first base in the second inning and sacrifice bunts in the sixth (after Beltran's single) and the ninth (after Strasburg hit Shimada with a pitch).
Strasburg broke the SDSU record of 18 strikeouts, set by John Hemmerly in 1988, as well as the MWC record of 17, set by SDSU's Marcos Mendoza in 2001.
Despite such dominance, Strasburg (4-1) wasn't in line for a win until the Aztecs (19-15, 7-3) pushed across an unearned run in the seventh inning.
The three-game series continues today at 1 p.m. at SDSU.
USD beats Portland
USD left-hander Brian Matusz (7-1) won his seventh straight game in the Toreros' 7-4 West Coast Conference win at Portland. USD's Victor Sanchez hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning against the Pilots (16-18, 2-5 WCC). Josh Romanski added a solo homer in the ninth for the No. 13-ranked Toreros (25-11, 5-2).
Softball
No. 18 SDSU lost to visiting BYU 2-0 to drop the Aztecs to 30-12 overall and 3-2 in the MWC. The teams play again today at 1.
