Stephen Strasburg impressed in his return from Tommy-John surgery.

words // Luis Sanchez

After a brief stint in the big leagues back in 2010 and a year-long recovery from Tommy-John surgery, Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg was finally ready take the mound and showcase all the talent Nationals fans had been patiently waiting on for many years.

In his first Major League start since the surgery, Strasburg was every bit as impressive as he’s ever been in the past. Facing a strong Los Angeles Dodgers line-ip Strasburg was able to carry the load for five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits. Strasburg also retired as many as 11 hitters in a row, had no walks and struck out four batters after throwing 40 out of 56 pitches for strikes.

Enjoy a look at Strasburg’s return below, as well as the rest of the action around the league as part of Eastbay’s latest MLB Watch.

Photography courtesy of Yahoo Sports.

Stephen Strasburg made his return to the mound in some simple Nike baseball cleats.

Strasburg threw 40 out of 56 pitches for strikes, with his fastball topping out at 99 MPH.

Matt Wieters connects for a homerun in his Orioles-inspired Under Armour baseball cleats.

Carlos Beltran gets past the tag in his Giants-inspired Nike baseball cleats.

Eric Hosmer just misses a ground ball in his Under Armour baseball cleats.

Braves’ pitcher Christhian Martinez took the mound in baseball cleats by New Balance.

Ichiro Suzuki makes an amazing leaping grab in his signature baseball cleats by Asics.

The Colorado Rockies celebrate a big win over the division leading Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Baltimore Orioles endured a rain-delay of over four hours, only to end-up losing 5-3 to the New York Yankees.