WASHINGTON _ Other towns have their curses. But few can claim the brand of baseball bitterness that has resided here for 84 seasons, spread over three different franchises, all of them acquainted with the sting of futility.
The Nationals, the latest heirs to that grand tradition, did nothing to shed that baggage in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Cubs in the opening game of the National League Division Series.
In an era of zero-gravity baseball, Stephen Strasburg engaged in a refreshing pitchers' duel with Kyle Hendricks. Strasburg took a no-hitter into the sixth only to lose the bid _ and the lead _ when the Cubs rallied for two unearned runs.
Hendricks looked far less imposing but proved more effective, holding the Nationals to two hits in seven shutout innings for the Cubs, who began their title defense by stoking the insecurities of a franchise that has never advanced past the first round of the playoffs.
Until Friday night, Strasburg's postseason legacy was that he barely had one. He was deprived at the chance for October stardom in 2012 when he was shut down early by the club. Last postseason, he was a spectator, forced to watch Clayton Kershaw's heroics doom the Nationals because of a partially torn pronator tendon.
His only playoff start came in 2014, a loss in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Giants. He gave up two runs, one earned, in five innings. The outing was described by the local press as "solid yet unspectacular."
Against the Cubs, Strasburg quickly established that he would be anything but ordinary. He needed just eight pitches to turn away the Cubs in the first. By the time he took the mound in the sixth, he had already established a new playoff single-game franchise record for strikeouts (eight of his 10). The only baserunner was second-inning walk. He had allowed no hits.
The Cubs had no answers for the fastballs, changeups and curveballs that Strasburg hurled toward the plate.
"I'm excited for the opportunity to pitch in the playoffs again," Strasburg said before his start. "It's one thing you really can't take for granted, and you've got to make the most of every opportunity you get."
Yet, despite his best efforts to seize command of the stage, Strasburg couldn't control what transpired behind him.
The sixth inning began when Javy Baez reached on an uncharacteristic gaffe by third baseman Anthony Rendon, who lost the handle after fielding a routine ground ball. Baez advanced on a textbook sacrifice bunt by Hendricks. Strasburg nearly worked out of it, getting Ben Zobrist to fly out to center field. But the Cubs flashed their championship mettle.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo had combined for four strikeouts entering the sixth. But as the heart of the Cubs lineup, they responded. Bryant lashed an elevated 97-mph fastball to right field, giving the Cubs their first hit and their first run. Rizzo followed with another run-scoring single.
With that, Nationals Park fell to hushed tones, a harsh realization dawning upon the red-clad throng of 43,898.
