Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin deserves an All-Star nod

The Washington Nationals don't have any All-Star Game starters this season but when the balance of the roster is released Sunday night, one pitcher from the nation's capital deserves to see his name on the list.

Starting pitcher Jake Irvin underscored his case for an All-Star Game selection when he threw eight shutout innings against the New York Mets on Thursday afternoon.

Irvin allowed just two baserunners all game, a walk and a single, punched out eight batters and retired 17 in a row in the process.

It was the third game this season where Irvin went six or more innings and allowed just one run or less. The only other Washington pitcher to ever achieve the same feat, according to

Thursday's outing was just the latest in Irvin's excellent season to date. He owns a stellar 2.80 ERA , which is ninth best league-wide, and a WHIP of 1.00 flat, good for 11th best in the MLB.

After his performance against New York, his ERA is now good for fifth best in the National League and his WHIP sixth best.

An overlooked stat on Irvin's card this year is batters' average against .

Over 106 innings pitched - the fourth most in the National League - he's allowed just 82 hits, meaning batters are only posting a collective .212 when he's on the mound. That's also the MLB's 11th best and sixth best in the National League.

Irvin certainly doesn't have the name recognition as National League East rival Max Fried, but the 27-year-old places above him in both ERA and WHIP. For a second year pitcher that's pretty impressive.

On the Fourth of July in the nation's capital, Irvin pitched serious fireworks but the truth is self-evident, this season he's made quite the All-Star declaration.