Before the first pitch was thrown, Stephen Strasburg saw home plate umpire Jeff Nelson walk toward the mound and begin preparing for a pine tar search. "I thought he was going to check my glove," Strasburg said. As it turned out, the ump only wanted to see the ball, which had bounced in the dirt on the throw to second after Strasburg's final warm-up toss. The Washington Nationals ace was free to work his usual magic, which on Wednesday consisted of 10 strikeouts over seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in a 3-2 win that stopped a four-game losing streak.
