Stephen Strasburg has scratched from his start Monday night against the Orioles and placed on the 15-day disabled list, the Nationals announced Monday afternoon. Right-hander A.J. Cole has been promoted from Triple-A Syracuse to start in his place.
The Nationals insisted they did not have any health concerns after Strasburg's last three starts, including perhaps the worst outing of his career last time outagainst the Rockies where he allowed nine runs in 1 2/3 innings. He had been a serious contender to win the National League Cy Young award before those last three starts,where he posted a 14.