Verlander, Strasburg duel in Tigers-Nats tie
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Two of the top pitchers in baseball matched up Monday afternoon at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, as the Tigers' Justin Verlander dueled with the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg in a 3-3 tie in 10 innings.
Verlander held the Nats to one hit and struck out four through 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his fourth and most effective Grapefruit League start. Coming in 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA, Verlander allowed only a first-inning walk to Bryce Harper and a fifth-inning bunt single to Adam Eaton in his 66-pitch stint (43 strikes).
• Verlander has best spring outing | Stras brings heat in strong start
"Overall, I felt good," said Verlander, who has a few more spring starts left. "I'm just going to work on being consistent."
Detroit scored twice against Strasburg, on a sacrifice fly from José Iglesias in the third and a towering solo home run to left field in the fourth by J.D. Martinez, his second of the spring.
Strasburg (56 pitches, 40 strikes) was sharp as he continues to grow more comfortable pitching exclusively from the stretch. He surrendered two runs on three hits, struck out five and did not walk a batter in four innings.
In the seventh, the Tigers' Tyler Collins hit his first home run of the spring off Nationals right-hander Joe Blanton, who made his second spring appearance.
Washington tied it with a three-run eighth off Detroit reliever Myles Jaye, as Wilmer Difo got the Nats on the board with an RBI single, scoring Adam Lind. Difo then raced home on Brian Goodwin's RBI double before Neftali Soto tied it on a sacrifice fly, driving in Goodwin.
Tigers Up Next: Left-hander Matthew Boyd gets the start when the Tigers travel to Jupiter on Tuesday for a 1:05 p.m. ET game against the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium. On Gameday Audio, it will be a battle of lefties as Miami counters with southpaw Adam Conley.
Nats Up Next: The Nationals have an off-day Tuesday before they resume play Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. against the Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Gameday Audio. Washington has yet to announce its starting pitcher.
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