With the eyes of a large crowd, dozens of scouts, a media horde and TV audiences back in Washington and around the country looking on, Stephen Strasburg took the mound March 9 for his first-ever appearance against major league hitters. The highest-paid player in draft history didn't disappoint, tossing two scoreless innings against the Tigers and flashing his entire arsenal of impressive pitches.

Strasburg, the former San Diego State ace selected first in last summer's draft, was admittedly nervous when warming up in the bullpen at Space Coast Stadium, with a few hundred fans watching over the railing along the right field line. But once he reached the mound, he looked plenty comfortable, allowing a pair of two-out singles in the second inning to go along with four groundouts and...

This type of outing was what St. Louis was hoping for when it signed Brad Penny to a $7.5 million, one-year contract in the offseason. Penny threw four shutout innings to help the Cardinals beat the winless Washington Nationals 6-4 on Wednesday. "He was nails," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.

Stephen Strasburg battled some nerves and location issues during his spring training debut. Other than those minor hiccups, the top prospect was pretty impressive. Strasburg threw two scoreless innings in the Washington Nationals' 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, responding well to the hoopla surrounding his first exhibition start.

Oliver Perez threw strikes, and that was enough for the New York Mets for now. Perez was hit hard in his first spring start, but Omir Santos' inside-the-park grand slam helped the Mets beat the Washington Nationals 6-5 on Sunday. The Mets are looking for a big year from Perez, who finished last season on the disabled list after undergoing right knee surgery September 1.