Comparing Strasburg's First Two Starts

It's safe to say that Stephen Strasburg (picture courtesy "afagen" on Flickr) has been successful in his first two starts at the Major League level. Strasburg blew away the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out 14 in seven innings of work. He followed that up with a more mortal-like line with eight K's over five and one-thirds innings against the Cleveland Indians. In both starts, the rookie phenom has given up homers to left-handed hitters; one on a changeup to Delwyn Young, the other a fastball (down and in) that was turned around by Travis Hafner.

Enough about what he's done. The purpose of this post was to compare his first two starts to other pitchers in MLB history who have had significant starts to their own careers and see the similarities.

Strasburg's debut was impressive. He set the Washington Nationals' single-game record with 14 K's. He topped 100 MPH several times. He sold out the stadium and made it one of the few times the Nationals had more fans than the opposing team in a sell out. But, was his first two starts better than Luis Tiant's? What about J.R. Richard or Juan Marichal?

There are several similarities between these four pitchers. Each of these pitchers struck out at least 11 in their debut. All started their careers 2-0. Tiant, Marichal and Richard went on to have all-star careers. Marichal took it to the next level, being elected to the Hall of Fame. So, let's examine each of their first two starts and compare to Strasburg. Could he be on the same path of these three pitchers, in terms of success?

Tiant posted a four-hit shutout in his debut. He followed that up with a six-hit complete game, allowing one run in his second outing. Marichal's first three starts were off the charts. He hurled a one-hit shutout in his debut, only to be followed up by back-to-back complete games, the latter a 10-inning outing.

The start of Richard's career has the most similarities to that of Strasburg's. He also began his career with a shutout (like Tiant and Marichal), scattering seven hits. Richard then had a Strasburg-like second outing, tossing five innings, yet getting the win.

Richard struck out 15 batters in his debut. He had five K's in his second outing with six walks allowed. Strasburg struck out 14 and then followed it up with eight K's and five walks in his second start.

Is Strasburg destined for a third start that is similar to Richard's? Richard was saddled with the first loss of his career in his third start. He threw seven innings against the Atlanta Braves, but gave up four earned runs. He notched nine strikeouts and walked four in the outing. Houston lost the contest, as the bullpen couldn't bail out a runner who had reached base against Richard in the top of the eighth.

Tiant also gave up four earned runs in his third start to the Washington Senators and was handed his first loss.

We'll have to wait until Friday night to find out how Strasburg will do against the Chicago White Sox. Will he earn his first loss, like Richard and Tiant suffered in their third outings, or will he remain undefeated, as Marichal did in 1960?

Before I let you go, here are the game scores from each of the mentioned pitcher's first two starts.

Strasburg
06/08/10 vs. Pittsburgh, 75
06/10/10 @ Cleveland, 63

Tiant
07/19/64 @ New York (A), 86
07/24/64 vs. Boston, 73

Marichal
07/19/60 vs. Philadelphia, 96
07/23/60 vs. Pittsburgh, 77

Richard
09/05/71 @ San Francisco, 75
09/11/71 @ Cincinnati, 58

Statistics, game scores and other numbers retrieved from http://baseball-reference.com.