Nationals' Reliever Hunter Strickland Suffered Broken Nose in Bizarre Weight Room Accident
By Scott Rogust
The Washington Nationals acquired Hunter Strickland at the trade deadline in order to improve their much-maligned bullpen.
On Tuesday, however, reports indicated that Strickland went for X-rays of his face. Why? While weightlifting prior to Washington's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a barbell fell directly on his face.
Hunter Strickland was lifting weights today when a bar fell and struck him in the face. Nose was bandaged, part of face was discolored. He’s heading out to get X-rays now.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 20, 2019
With his nose bandaged and face partially discolored, x-rays confirmed that he had suffered a broken nose. Even with the injury, Strickland confirmed that he would be available to pitch on Tuesday night.
Broke nose never killed anyone. We have a playoff push so let’s keep it going @nationals This team is special!
— Hunter Strickland (@hstrickland43) August 20, 2019
*side note: barbell=1 me=0 @ PNC Park https://t.co/ewrK5Mc9VO
It's certainly good news for the Nationals, as Strickland's proven to be a solid option out of the bullpen ever since acquiring him from the Seattle Mariners.
In eight games with Washington, Stickland accumulated a 1-0 record and an impressive 1.29 ERA.
Nationals reliever Hunter Strickland avoids serious injury during weight room mishaphttps://t.co/HlJ3ZJiYgR pic.twitter.com/Pzb0Yv2hxP
— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) August 20, 2019
The Nationals dodged a serious bullet, as closer Sean Doolittle was placed on the ten-day injured list with right knee tendinitis, and Roenis Elias is sidelined with a hamstring injury. They could not afford another reliever hitting the shelf, especially from an accident such as this one.
Despite the barbell taking a 1-0 lead over him, Hunter Strickland is 100% committed to helping the Washington Nationals continue on their playoff push.