The Nationals send Stephen Strasburg to the mound on Wednesday, as they look to secure a series victory over right-hander A.J. Burnett and the Phillies at Nationals Park.

Rick Porcello will head to the mound when the Tigers take on R.A. Dickey and the Blue Jays on Wednesday at Comerica Park. Toronto won the first game of the three-game series.

If there’s one thing the Astros have learned about having the first pick in the First-Year Player Draft for an unprecedented third year in a row is that they don’t want to have to do it again for a long time.

The closest races from last week’s National League All-Star ballot update took a turn over the course of the past six days, with shakeups occurring at the top outfield spots and in the race at first base.

The sites of the eight NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Super Regionals — four of which begin Friday, and the other four on Saturday — were announced Monday morning.

It’s Brady Aiken’s fastball that draws the flocks of scouts to Cathedral Catholic High School. And it’s that fastball that has thrust Aiken directly into the national spotlight as a projected top Draft choice and a potential ace.

The 2014 First-Year Player Draft begins on Thursday, but before this year’s selections get underway, let’s see how last year’s first-rounders are doing.

Conventional thinking in baseball over the years says that the leadoff man sets the table, and everything else follows — and the numbers indicate that even leadoff hitters without disruptive speed can have a greater impact than might be anticipated.

Beyond NCAA Regional play and postseason in other smaller divisions, the amateur baseball season is pretty much over. So what’s a team to do if it wants to see a player just one more time? The answer is simple: Invite them over. As the Draft rapidly approaches, teams have been flying in many players to put them through their paces in a larger setting.

This past weekend, a good number of college players very much in the first-round mix were still playing in NCAA Regionals. One scouting executive was quick to point out that not too much weight should be put into a game or two at the very end of a long evaluation process.

Jordy Mercer went 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and four runs scored, Neil Walker had three hits and three RBIs and Charlie Morton had nine strikeouts as the Pirates drubbed the Padres for their fourth win in five games on their swing through Southern California.

Clayton Kershaw worked eight efficient innings, striking out nine, and the Dodgers capitalized on a pair of errors during a five-run sixth inning as Los Angeles earned a 5-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Regional round of the NCAA Tournament came to an end with a late-night shocker, as UC Irvine eliminated No. 1 national see Oregon on Monday to advance to the Super Regionals.

Since his best start of the season May 11, Nationals No. 1 prospect Lucas Giolito hasn’t pitched in a game. The Nationals want to limit his innings this season, as he is still less than two years removed from his Tommy John surgery. Giolito’s respite will end Tuesday when Class A Advanced Hagerstown continues its series against Delmarva.

Left-hander Danny Duffy was in his invincible mode, and the Royals followed his lead to strike first in this year’s I-70 series. Duffy reeled off six innings of one-hit ball as Kansas City bested St. Louis, 6-0, on Monday night at Busch Stadium.

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman made perhaps his final rehab start for Class A Advanced Potomac on Monday night, going 2-for-4 while playing left field in a 5-4 victory over Salem.

Entering Monday night’s game, the Mariners have supplied Felix Hernandez with an average of 5.3 runs in games he starts. The blemishes he makes on the hill have no longer felt irredeemable. That observation was proven to full effect in the Mariners’ 10-2 victory over the Yankees on a beautiful June evening in the Bronx.