Jun 6, 2013 3 min read

SECAUCUS, N.J. – The Houston Astros selected Stanford pitcher Mark Appel with the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball draft Thursday night.

Appel was considered a possible top pick last year, but Houston passed on the hometown kid and instead chose 17-year-old shortstop Carlos Correa from Puerto Rico. Appel slid to Pittsburgh at No. 8 but turned down a $3.8 million offer and returned to Stanford for his senior season.

The move paid off for Appel, a hard-throwing righty with a fastball in the mid-90s (mph). After going 10-4 with a 2.12 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 106 1-3 innings this season for the Cardinal, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Appel is expected to fetch about $2 million more than he passed on with the Pirates.

The deadline for teams to sign draft picks is July 12, but that doesn’t apply to Appel because he is a college senior.

The draft, which is held over three days and 40 rounds, started Thursday night with the first two rounds at MLB Network Studios.

The Pirates drafted Austin Meadows, a high school outfielder from Grayson, Ga., with the ninth pick of the first round. The left-handed center fielder (6-3, 200) hit .535/.633/.930 with 14 doubles, four home runs, 28 RBI and 17 stolen bases as a senior.

Five picks later, Pittsburgh took catcher Reese McGuire, another high schooler from Kentwood Senior High School in Washington. McGuire (6-1, 190), who’s committed to play college baseball for the University of San Diego, was named the 2012-13 Gatorade Washington Baseball Player of the Year in May after hitting .436 with 13 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 20 RBI.

Nationals star Bryce Harper will see a specialist next week because the swelling in his knee hasn’t improved.

Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson said Thursday that Harper will visit Dr. James Andrews on Monday for a second opinion on the young slugger’s left knee. Harper hasn’t felt quite right since running into the wall at Dodger Stadium on May 13.

Harper has been diagnosed with bursitis in the knee, but none of his treatments has been successful in easing the swelling and inflammation. Johnson said the knee was swollen Thursday after Harper did some light jogging in a pool.

Baltimore 3, Houston 1: J.J. Hardy got a season-high four hits and Adam Jones added an RBI double, leading Miguel Gonzalez and the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday.

Gonzalez (3-2) yielded five hits and a run in six innings, and matched his season-best with seven strikeouts.

The Orioles won their third straight series by taking two of three from Houston.

Detroit 5, Tampa Bay 2: Max Scherzer struck out nine in seven innings to remain unbeaten, and Victor Martinez homered and drove in three runs to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.

Scherzer (8-0) allowed a run and four hits, walking two. He is the first Detroit pitcher to start the season 8-0 since Jeremy Bonderman in 2007.

Martinez went deep in the fourth for his fourth home run of the year, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead. Miguel Cabrera drove in a run the following inning with a single.