Stephen Strasburg not pushing to make opening day

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Stephen Strasburg doesn’t intend to push his recovery from thoracic outlet surgery to be ready for opening day.

"I think for me it’s about sticking to the program," the Washington Nationals pitcher said Tuesday after facing hitters for the first time since the operation last summer. "My routine is having a six-week spring training. I think of all years to try and be aggressive, I don’t know if it’s necessarily the right year or the right time to do it. My goal is to be ready when I’m ready and be there the rest of the way."

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He threw two- and four-seam fastballs, curveballs and changeups to Victor Robles, Lane Thomas, Juan Soto and Josh Bell.

"I thought he looked really, really good," catcher Riley Adams said. "Good command of all his pitches."

Strasburg came off the mound smiling.

"It was definitely exciting," he said. "You can throw bullpens all you want, but as soon as you get a hitter in there, the competitive juices start to flow. That’s kind of one thing I’ve been lacking for a bit. It’s nice to get that feeling back and get accustomed to it again."

Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg throws live batting practice during the team's spring training baseball workout, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The 33-year-old right-hander was MVP of the 2019 World Series for the Nationals after going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA. He was 0-1 in two starts during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, then 1-2 with a 4.57 in five starts in 2021, the last on June 1.

Dr. Greg Pearl operated on July 28.

"I was actually really excited to see him finish his 25