Stephen Strasburg kicked ass last night, striking out 12 Cardinals hitters in seven innings of work and leading his team to an 8-1 Game 3 victory. As you can see in the image above, all that hard work was repaid when he entered the dugout after recording his final out of the night and received a group hug from his teammates.
But did Strasburg enjoy the hug? He grinned through it, but after the game he told reporters, “I’m not much of a hugger, but they kind of just surround me. So I just have to take it.”
This is not the first time that Strasburg has been met by the loving clutches of his teammates and pals after a strong start. On Sept. 21, after recording his 250th strikeout of the season, he was also treated to a group hug:
Based on his facial expressions, it seems clear that Strasburg enjoyed that first hug quite a bit less than he did last night’s hug. Which is good news! It means that Gerardo Parra and the rest of the hug crew are making progress, and they are teaching Strasburg about the simple pleasure of being embraced by your buds.