Some have wondered why the Nationals would have Stephen Strasburg start with them long out of the playoff race. The right-hander will start for Washington on Tuesday night. "We want him to get a baseline of innings pitched in 2011 to set the foundation for 2012," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo says. "We just don't want him coming in cold in 2012 and have to say, 'Here, you haven't pitched at all. Now we want you to pitch in 2012. And we want you to hit. And we're going to stop you at X amount of innings.'" Washington could have sent Strasburg to Instructional League or the Arizona Fall League to make some starts. "But ultimately," Rizzo says, "we'd like to test him at the big league level, for him to mentally, physically and psychologically prepare for 2012."