Stephen Strasburg gave up two runs in the first inning of Game 6 of the World Series, and then locked in for the rest of the night. After the game, he admitted he was tipping pitches and credited teammate Yan Gomes for pointing it out. Strasburg explained he started shaking his glove before each pitch so hitters couldn’t pick up on his grip changes. This tweak may have flown under the radar, but it helped neutralize Houston’s early edge.
Kevin Frandsen, a former MLB player, noted that Strasburg had been tipping pitches in earlier games. He pointed to differences in glove positioning and finger tension that could signal the pitch type. In the first inning, Houston’s hitters jumped on Strasburg—Springer homered on the first pitch, Altuve waited back on a curve, and Bregman crushed a fastball. The glove wasn’t moving much then, and hitters might have been reading the grip or finger positioning. By the third inning, Strasburg started shaking the glove regularly, masking whatever cues he had been giving off.
Whether the tip was obvious or a minor tell picked up by elite hitters, the mental shift mattered. Strasburg found a way to reset and pitch without giving anything away. The Astros were sharp enough to notice something early, and Strasburg adjusted quickly. That combination of observation and response shaped how the rest of the game played out.