Pitcher to Draw 9,000 Fans

Woodbridge, Va. — The man behind the most hyped pitching debut in baseball will play Friday night in Woodbridge.

Its Washington National’ s Steven Strasburg’s second rehab start since undergoing Tommy Johns surgery in September, and the stands at Pfitzner Stadium off Prince William Parkway in Woodbridge are expected to be filled with fans to see a pitcher whom Washington paid a record $15 million to sign.

“I would guess between 8-9000 fans Friday Night,” said Potomac Nationals General Manager Josh Olerud.

The gates to Pfitzner Stadium will open at 5 p.m. and the first 2,000 fans in the doors will get a raffle ticket to win a Strasburg autographed game jersey.

Additional police will also be on hand to direct traffic and for crowd control, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

The 23-year-old Strasburg made his first rehab start Sunday with the Hagerstown Suns, where he allowed one earned run on three hits over an inning and two thirds and tossed 31 pitches, 25 of which were strikes, said Olerud.

During his opener with the Washington Nationals on June 8, 2010, Strasburg pitched seven innings with no walks and 14 strikeouts, allowing two earned runs. It set a new team record, and he was the first pitcher ever to strike out at least eleven batters with no walks in his professional debut.