Nats Talk to Strasburg About Shutting Him Down

WASHINGTON (AP) - A day after announcing that Stephen Strasburg will start only twice more this season, Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson met with the star right-hander to explain the decision.

Johnson was joined by general manager Mike Rizzo and pitching coach Steve McCatty.

Strasburg, who is 15-6 with a 2.94 ERA and leads the National League with 195 strikeouts, had Tommy John surgery to replace an elbow ligament two years ago.

"I'm not sure any of us understand," Johnson said. "But it's the right thing to do."

The Nationals enter Monday with the best record in the majors and lead the NL East by 6 1-2 games over Atlanta.