Major League Baseball

LEADING OFF: Velasquez, Garcia coming off dominant outings

Published Apr. 19, 2016 4:28 a.m. ET

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A look at what's happening all around the majors today:

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KID STUFF

The Mets aren't the only NL East team with promising young pitching. Philadelphia right-hander Vince Velasquez is coming off a dominant outing in which he struck out 16 Padres during a complete-game shutout. He has 15 scoreless innings to begin the season. Velasquez and fellow youngsters Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff have a combined 78-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 60 innings. Velasquez faces Logan Verrett and the Mets in Philadelphia.

GET WELL SOON

Chris Colabello is hoping to get back in action after being beaned by Steven Wright on Sunday, and the Blue Jays first baseman might have to wait to dig into his get-well gift from Wright, too. The Red Sox pitcher sent a bottle of liquor to Colabello, saying ''it's just more of a token of saying I'm sorry. ... I didn't really want it to be a public thing because it was really between me and him.''

ENCORE

Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia tries to follow up the best start of his career when St. Louis hosts the rival Chicago Cubs. Garcia pitched a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts - three more than his previous high - last Thursday in a 7-0 win over Milwaukee. Eight of Garcia's strikeouts were looking, and the 13 Ks were the most by a Cardinals left-hander since Steve Carlton fanned 16 Phillies on May 21, 1970. Jason Hammel (1-0) starts for the Cubs.

THE OTHER GUY

Stephen Strasburg (2-0, 1.98 ERA) pitches for the Nationals against Marlins lefty Adam Conley (0-0, 3.86), who threw six scoreless innings in his most recent outing against the Mets and impressed his new manager, Don Mattingly. ''He pounded the strike zone,'' Mattingly said. ''He's going to come in there. He's not going to back off. He's going to pitch inside. It's interesting to watch how hitters react to him.''

EXTRA STORY

Colorado's Trevor Story tries to extend his splurge of extra-base hits. The rookie shortstop doubled in his second at-bat against the Reds on Monday night. He has at least one extra-base hit in eight of his 13 games this season.

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