Stephen Strasburg’s 11-Strikeout 1-Hit Start leads US to shutout against Holland

Netherlands – USA 0-7 (8)

USA 010 400 11  7 10 0
NED 000 000 00  0  1 0

Box score
Recap on USABaseball

Baseball fans all over Europe already knew what to expect from Stephen Strasburg, when he stepped to the mound this morning. The young right-hander of the San Diego State University was on the roster of the unbeaten collegiate team, which won the Haarlem Baseball Week and the World University Championships in July.

This time Strasburg dominated the Netherlands in an Olympic National Team jersey. He threw seven brilliant innings to lead Team USA to a 7-0 shutout on Thursday to bring their record to 1-1. He allowed just one hit and a walk in his start, while striking out eleven.

The American offense came through in the second, when Matt Brown hit a solo shot over the fence for a fast 1-0 lead. Matt LaPorta added three more runs with a homerun in the four-run fourth. A pair of insurance runs in the seventh and eighth sealed the win. Jason Donald got the start at short and had three hits. Terry Tiffee and John Gall each scored twice.

The Dutch team never really got a chance until the ninth, when they loaded the bases. But then came the rain for a second time and the game was called after a 90-minute delay. Since the ninth inning wasn’t completed, the game officially ended after the eighth. It was already the second delay of the match, as rain stopped play after the seventh for one hour and 35 minutes.

Shairon Martis started for Holland. He gave up six hits, five runs and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. Diegomar Markwell, Pim Walsma, Michiel Van Kampen, Dave Draijer and Leon Boyd also got into the game.