Stretched-out Strasburg works to combat pitch-tipping (Nats, Tigers tie)

NATIONALS QUICK WRAP

Score: Nationals 3, Tigers 3 (10 innings)

Recap: Stephen Strasburg threw four innings - twice the length of each of his previous outings - and yielded two runs on three hits. He walked none and fanned five. ... Ryan Zimmerman went 0-for-2 and is 0-for-17 to start the Grapefruit League. ... Bryce Harper had a three-game homer streak snapped. ... Tyler Collins homered off reliever Joe Blanton in the seventh. ... The Nats tied the game with a three-run eighth on a Wilmer Difo RBI single, a run-scoring double by Brian Goodwin and Neftali Soto's sac fly.

Need to know: Adam Eaton is persistent. He tried to bunt against Tigers starter Justin Verlander in the second, but was unsuccessful. In his next at-bat in the fifth, Eaton did the same, finally laying down a bunt single on a 2-2 pitch. Verlander threw the ball away and Eaton wound up at second, later stealing third.

Up next: Off Tuesday, Wednesday at Astros in West Palm Beach, 1:05 p.m.

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The optimist can look at Stephen Strasburg's Monday start against the Tigers and see positives. Strasburg topped out at 98 mph, consistently pounded the strike zone and recorded five strikeouts.

But despite pitching four innings - twice as long as he'd gone in either of his previous two starts - Strasburg seemed to be most pleased about a mechanical tweak that helped explain how he got shelled for six runs on seven hits on March 8 in Jupiter.

Seems Strasburg was tipping his pitches, which helps explain why the Cardinals feasted on him during his last start. But while he works his way through pitching exclusively out of the stretch, Strasburg continues to learn the intricacies of his new motion.

"I think I always have a tendency to tip pitches," he explained. "It's the way I grip the ball and my hands are pretty big. If I'm not paying attention, I do little things. They've got everything on video, enough that they know all the little things that I do. It did feel really good kind of holding it close today and kind of grabbing it every time. Some of the swings they were taking on it, it didn't seem like the knew it was coming."

But a chat with Nationals pitching coach Mike Maddux led to a new wrinkle: Strasburg is now holding his hands closer to his body, which means a cleaner transition once he grips a pitch. Hopefully, he's shielding what's happening from prying eyes or video.

"I was working with Mad Dog and I did get into a pattern last time of really tipping my pitches," Strasburg said. "So we worked on kind of a little different setup and it felt pretty good today. It's a matter of keeping an eye on stuff, because if they know I'm throwing an off-speed pitch compared to a fastball, it kind of helps them out a lot."

Strasburg worked around a one-out Mikie Mahtook single in the second, but not a one-out double by Brendan Ryan in the third. Ryan stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by José Iglesias. In the fourth, J.D. Martinez turned on a 94 mph fastball and blasted it over the Tigers bullpen in left field for a 2-0 lead.

Matt Albers took over in the fifth for Strasburg, who yielded two runs on three hits and walked none. He threw 56 pitches, 40 for strikes.

Overall, Strasburg was pleased.

"I was definitely glad I was efficient," he said. "All my pitches, mixed in more curveballs today. My changeup was moving really good. ... It was just dropping off the table on some. My last pitch of the game was my best changeup."