So, maybe Stephen Strasburg didn’t have his best day on the mound yesterday. In five innings, he managed to notch eight strikeouts, but only after some shakiness, including a second inning that ended in near-disaster after Bryce Harper dropped a routine fly ball and catcher Jesus Flores let through a passed ball that allowed two Baltimore runners to advance a base. The two runs the Baltimore Orioles scored in that frame were unearned.

Still, Strasburg wound up the winning pitcher yesterday in the Nationals’ 9-3 victory yesterday, much to the credit of not his blistering fastball, but his performance at the plate. Yeah, you read that right. Welcome to the era of Stephen Strasburg: Power Hitter. In the fourth inning, in his second at-bat of the game, Strasburg found a 75-mile-per-hour curveball from Baltimore lefty Wei-Yin Chen and launched it over the left center field wall some 400 feet away. The blast was Strasburg’s first career home run (as a batter) and his second hit of the day. So unused to feats of the bat was Strasburg that Adam LaRoche had to urge him to step out of the dugout for a curtain call, the Post reported.

But Strasburg’s day ended early after complaining of tightness in his bicep. Manager Davey Johnson doesn’t expect it’ll affect the rotation, but better to play it safe when it comes to Strasburg’s reconstructed arm. Despite Strasburg’s .375 batting average, the Nationals don’t need another Rick Ankiel.

Watch Strasburg’s home run: