Everyone else has been building outsized expectations for Stephen Strasburg. This time, maybe he was the one hoping for too much. Returning from his first trip to the disabled list, Strasburg turned in the worst start of his sometimes-spectacular rookie season, allowing a career-high six earned runs in a career-low 4 1-3 innings Tuesday night, and his Washington Nationals lost to the Florida...

Mike Pelfrey stood tall on the mound, aggressively challenging the Colorado Rockies with fastballs. From the start, he looked like a pitcher determined to put an emphatic end to a slide. And, boy, did he. Pelfrey returned to early season form, outpitching All-Star Ubaldo Jimenez for seven innings, and Jose Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to help the New York Mets kick off a crucial homestand with a 1-0...

Jeremy Hellickson is making pitching in the majors look easy. He and two other Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a four-hitter and the Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 8-0 on Tuesday night. Hellickson (2-0), making his second major league start and appearance after being recalled Monday night from Triple-A Durham for the second time this month, gave up three hits and struck out seven without walking a...