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A look at five statistical storylines for today's doubleheader between the Dodgers and Yankees in the Bronx (1 p.m. ET; 7 p.m. ET, ESPN/Watch ESPN).

The Dodgers finally come to New York
These will be the Dodgers' first regular-season games in New York after a pair of interleague series in Los Angeles, in which the teams split six games.

Their most recent meeting was June 27, 2010, a game in which the Yankees rallied from four runs down in the ninth inning against Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton, then won in the 10th inning on Robinson Cano’s two-run homer.

The Dodgers, among their many woes this season, are dealing with some significant issues closing games. Their 15 blown saves are the most in the majors, and they recently moved Brandon League out of the closer role in favor of Kenley Jansen.

The teams have a long and storied postseason history. The most memorable moments are listed in the chart on the right.

Phenom in the Bronx: Yasiel Puig
Dodgers rookie outfielder Yasiel Puig leads the majors in batting (.479) and OPS (1.271) since his June 3 call-up.

With 23 hits already through 13 games, he’ll need four more through the doubleheader to match Terry Pendleton and Joe DiMaggio for the second-most hits through 15 games since 1900, and five more to match the most hits through 15 games.

Puig’s 23 hits since debuting equal what Travis Hafner (5), Vernon Wells (7), Mark Teixeira (7) and Lyle Overbay (4) have combined for in the same span.

Puig has gotten hits everywhere but one area -- the upper-third of the strike zone (or above). He’s 0-for-6 when an at-bat ends up there.

That’s something that Phil Hughes may be able to work to his advantage. Hughes throws pitches to that area against right-handed hitters at a rate of 36 percent, fifth-most often of any right-handed starting pitcher.

Yankees' offense trying to find its way
The Yankees' offense has stalled during an 8-13 stretch. The team is batting .220 with a .281 OBP, averaging only 3.0 runs per game in that span. They’ve scored more than four runs only four times in their past 21 games.

With a .306 OBP and .397 SLG, the Yankees are on pace for their lowest OBP since 1990 and their lowest slugging percentage since 1991.

They finished 67-95 in 1990, their worst season since 1913. The 1991 team finished 20 games below .500.

Phil Hughes' home struggles
Hughes has been hammered at home this season. His 6.52 ERA is third-worst in the AL among pitchers with at least six home starts. Jason Hammel (7.09) and Ubaldo Jimenez (6.82) have been worse.

No pitcher has allowed more homers at his home park in the past two seasons than Hughes (29).

Hughes’ slider has been by far his most effective pitch. Opponents are hitting only .145 in at-bats ending with the pitch, and most importantly have hit just one homer against it in 234 pitches this season, his lowest rate of all his pitches.

Capuano's struggling, too
Chris Capuano is making his first start since May 29, returning from his second DL stint of the season. He enters with a 5.45 ERA and 1.52 WHIP.

Capuano is 0-2 in two career starts against the Yankees with a 10.61 ERA. That ERA is his worst against any team he has faced in at least two starts. The Yankees are also the only team Capuano has started against at least twice without recording a win.

But June has been the month for Capuano in his career. His 16-9 record is his best of any month, as is his 3.55 ERA.

The Yankees have thrived against lefty starters this season (despite hitting only .228 against them). Their 14-7 mark against them is the best in the majors.

Unlike his other four surgeries since November, Tuesday’s back surgery could sideline Rob Gronkowski through much of training camp if not the beginning of the regular season. If Gronkowski isn’t ready for Week 1, here are three reasons the Patriots should be worried.

The Brady-Gronk Connection
Over the last two seasons, Tom Brady has almost eight times more touchdowns than interceptions when throwing to Gronkowski. To all other targets, Brady has only about 2.5 times more touchdowns than picks.

The Brady-Gronkowski connection doesn’t just produce touchdowns. Since his rookie season in 2010, Gronkowski has caught 72.2 percent of his passes from Brady, tying the duo with Jason Witten and Tony Romo for the best completion percentage of ANY QB-TE or QB-WR combo over the last three seasons.

Gronkowski is by far the most productive receiving option returning to a Patriots team that has already lost Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Danny Woodhead and Deion Branch this offseason. Even if Gronkowski is back for Week 1, Brady will start the season season missing teammates who accounted for more than 62 percent of his completions from last season.
League Leader
In just three seasons, Gronkowski has already totaled 38 receiving touchdowns, the most in the NFL over that span. In league history, only two players had more touchdown catches in their first three years: Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.

Gronkowski does most of his damage in the red zone, where he leads the league with 29 touchdowns since 2010. The only players with more red-zone targets than Gronkowski since his rookie year are All-Pro wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Roddy White.

But Gronkowski isn’t just a threat near the end zone. Since his rookie year, Witten is the only tight end with more receiving yards than Gronkowski, but Gronk ranks first at his position in yards per reception and yards after the catch.

Getting Physical
While Gronkowski’s back and forearm issues shouldn’t affect his size or his hands, his offseason surgeries threaten his physicality, which is arguably unmatched among the league’s current tight ends.

At 6’6” and 265 pounds, Gronkowski is an important part of the Patriots ground game. Last season, New England averaged 4.4 yards per rush with Gronkowski on the field compared to 3.9 yards per carry with him on the sideline.

And Gronkowski’s size and speed make him one of the game’s most difficult targets to bring down in the open field. In his three NFL seasons, Gronkowski has averaged 2.54 yards AFTER contact per reception. The next-best figure by a wide receiver or tight end is Jermaine Gresham’s 2.30.

Two players involved in recent notable trades are scheduled to make their major-league debuts on Tuesday.

Both players, Zack Wheeler and Wil Myers, are highly-touted prospects from the 2009 draft class and both will make their debuts in day-night doubleheaders.

ZACK WHEELER
On July 28, 2011, the New York Mets traded outfielder Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants for Wheeler, a minor-league pitching prospect who was the sixth overall pick in 2009. (Wheeler will start the second game of the Mets doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves.)

The only players from the 2009 draft class taken higher than Wheeler who have already reached the major leagues are Stephen Strasburg (No. 1 overall pick) and Dustin Ackley (No. 2 pick).

In 38 Double-A and Triple-A starts for the Mets, Wheeler went 16-10 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Wheeler has been pitching better of late after a shaky start.

In his first five starts, Wheeler’s ERA was 5.70 with 15 walks in 23 ⅔ innings pitched. In his last eight starts, Wheeler has a 2.98 ERA and has walked just 12 batters in 45 ⅓ innings.

Wheeler will be trying to accomplish a first for a big-league newcomer:

Visiting starters are 0-7 with three no-decisions when making their major-league debut at Turner Field. In fact, none of the 27 visiting relievers who made their major-league debut won there either.

WIL MYERS
Myers was acquired in the offseason by the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade that sent James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals.

In 2012 and 2013, Myers has played 163 Triple-A games for the Omaha Storm Chasers and Durham Bulls. He hit .297 with 38 home runs, 136 RBI, and had a .910 OPS.

He also struck out 169 times. However, Myers’ strikeout rate has dropped and the rest of his numbers have increased recently.

In his first 41 games this season, Myers hit .244 with four home runs, and struck out 51 times in 185 plate appearances (27 percent). In his last 23 games, Myers is hitting .354 (with a 1.145 OPS) with 10 home runs and his strikeout rate is just under 20 percent.

Myers has the potential to do something only done once previously in Rays history -- get a base hit in the first game of his career, with that game played at Fenway Park. Only Brent Abernathy in 2001 was able to accomplish that feat.

If Myers happens to hit a homer, he would be the first opposing player to homer at Fenway Park in his MLB debut since Brent Abernathy in 2001.

(The St. Louis Cardinals host the Chicago Cubs, Monday at 7 ET on ESPN and WatchESPN.)

Ten rookies on the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff have combined to throw 221.2 innings this season, and are 17-8 with a 3.17 ERA. That’s one reason the Cardinals’ 3.29 team ERA is second this season only to the Atlanta Braves (3.23).

The Cardinals' crop of rookie arms has been led by Shelby Miller, who ranks sixth in the National League with 91 strikeouts. He has struck out 29 percent of batters faced, which is the highest rate in the National League this season.

He has been most successful when he climbs the ladder with the fastball. More than 40 percent of his strikeouts (39 of 91) have come on high fastballs. When Miller throws his fastball up in the zone, opponents are hitting .079 (6-for-76) and have missed on 36 percent of swings (league average is .232). When his fastball is down or in the middle of the strike zone, opponents hit .270 with a miss rate of 15 percent.

The last time Miller took the mound for the Cardinals, he allowed four earned runs – the first time in 14 career starts that he allowed more than three earned runs.

Wood Channeling His Inner Greg Maddux
Opposing Miller will be Travis Wood, who has a 2.65 ERA and has made a quality start in 12 of 13 appearances this season.

If Wood has a quality start on Monday, he’ll be the first Cubs pitcher since Greg Maddux in 1988 with 13 quality starts within the team’s first 68 games.

What’s fueling his hot start? He’s dominated left-handed hitters. Lefties are hitting .155 against Wood, that’s the fourth lowest opponent batting average this season.

He’s also done a much better job this season of keeping the ball in the ballpark. In 2012, he allowed 25 home runs, and gave up 1.44 home runs per nine innings pitched. This season, he’s allowed six home runs, and 0.64 per nine innings.

Wood has also benefited this season from the lowest opponent batting average on balls in play (BABIP) among all qualifiers at .218 (league average is .295). The low average is not because he's generating weaker contact. According to Inside Edge, which tracks well-hit balls, Wood has allowed hard contact on 16 percent of at-bats, a rate not significantly lower than the 16.5 percent league average.

Wood has recorded 21 outs on what were deemed hard hit fly balls or line drives. That's the fifth-highest total this season. Opponents have hit .524 against Wood when generating a hard hit fly ball or line drive. That sounds like a nice clip, but it's actually the lowest rate among qualifiers and well below the league average of .712. Going forward, Wood shouldn't expect to convert outs that efficiently on hard-hit balls.

Sometimes a baseball game will produce the ultimate matchup and Sunday’s Yankees-Angels series finale gave us that-— bases loaded, two outs in a one-run game in the ninth inning with a pair of legends going head-to-head: Albert Pujols versus Mariano Rivera.

Let’s go inside the matchup:

The setup
The Yankees had nearly completely frittered away a 6-0 ninth-inning lead after a terrific start by CC Sabathia. Rivera had allowed three hits and a walk in one-third of an inning prior to Pujols' turn.


Entering the at-bat, Rivera had faced a hitter with the bases loaded, two outs and a one-run lead one out from a win on 10 previous occasions. He’d gotten the batter out eight times, including five straight over the last 10 seasons.

Pujols had only been in this situation once before in the regular season and popped out. He also was 0-for-1 with a hit by pitch in two regular-season turns against Rivera.

First pitch
Rivera’s first pitch was a strike called, one deemed on the inside corner, though the Pitch F/X pitch-tracking system disagreed (as you can see above).

A lot of pitchers have high batting averages allowed on the first pitch of an at-bat, but Rivera does not.

Over the last four seasons, Rivera has thrown a first pitch to 316 right-handed hitters. Batters who swung made 24 outs (three of which became double plays) and netted only four hits.

Rivera also has among the highest first-pitch strike rates over the last four seasons when the pitch is thrown outside of the Pitch F/X strike zone (36 percent), attributable to getting hitters to chase bad pitches and to getting a lot of borderline pitches called strikes.

Pujols is one of those hitters who hits well in the first pitch of an at-bat (.373 batting average since 2010, about 30 points above major-league average), but he’s very discerning.

Pujols typically swings at a rate of about one of every six first-pitches. The average major league hitter swings at about one of every four.

Second pitch
The advantage that comes for Mariano Rivera when he gets up 0-1 in the count is this: If he throws an inside pitch, the hitter becomes very eager.

When Rivera is in that situation and throws a pitch out of the strike zone, but “inside” (defined as: over the inner-third, or off the inside corner), hitters swing more than half of the time.

His 54 percent chase rate on those pitches (dating back to 2010) is nearly 20 percentage points above what an average pitcher would get.

With regards to chasing, Pujols has been an aggressive hitter in the first 60-plus games of the season when he has one strike against him. He swings at nearly half the pitches out of the strike zone in those instances. The typical hitter swings at about a 28 percent rate.

Rivera came inside again and Pujols dinked the ball foul. Now he’s behind 0-2.

Third pitch
Earlier in the inning, Rivera had given up a hit on an 0-2 pitch to Peter Bourjos. The pitch was off the inside corner, but Bourjos was able to bloop it to left center.

Bourjos was the first batter all season to get a hit against Rivera after falling behind 0-2. The first 22 hitters Rivera faced in that situation this season, he retired. Bourjos got him, but no one else would.

Since joining the Angels last season, Pujols has not fared well in a situation in which a pitcher comes inside with an 0-2 pitch.

He’d seen 56 such pitches, managed one hit, and made 18 outs.

This 0-2 would again come spinning inside and Pujols could do nothing but try to check his swing.

No luck, strike three. Rivera and the Yankees were winners this time.

Last week we brought you everything grand-slam-related. This week we'll stop at third base in our weekly look at interesting and unusual stats.

Theme of the week: Triples, Triples, and More Triples

The Brewers triple-fest
The Brewers hit three triples in Wednesday's victory over the Marlins, two by Carlos Gomez and one by Jonathan Lucroy. There have been five three-triple games by teams this season, and two are by the Brewers.

That makes the Brewers the first team to have a pair of multi-triple games by June 12 since the 1983 Cardinals.

The three on Wednesday brought an end to a stretch where Milwaukee had at least one triple in six straight games and 11 of their previous 12.

For the season the Brewers have 29 three-baggers. That six-game streak was the longest by any team since the same Brewers went seven straight in August of 2007.

Their team total of 29 triples is 10 more than any other team in the majors (the Rockies have 19), and nearly matches the other four teams in the NL Central combined (31).

Although they probably won't reach the all-time team record of 129 (set by the 1912 Pittsburgh Pirates), the top two marks by any team since World War II are both held by the Royals, who (oddly) hit 77 triples in 1977 and 79 in 1979. They're halfway to the Brewers' team record of 57 set in 1983.

Gomez and Jean Segura have eight each, tied for the major-league lead. Eight entire teams don't have eight triples yet, and no other player has more than six.

Schierholtz in good company
Nate Schierholtz of the Cubs tripled twice on Thursday, walked twice and scored three runs. The last Cub with two triples and three runs scored? Andre Dawson against the Padres on May 4, 1989.

And the last to have two triples be his only hits of the game and still score three times? That also happened against the Reds ... by Roy Smalley Sr. on April 27, 1949.

Galvis for three
Freddy Galvis of the Phillies rounded out the week's trifecta of multi-triple games when he hit two in Colorado on Friday. Galvis was the first Phillies player with a multi-triple, four-RBI game since Mickey Morandini in 1993.

And in summary
What is the significance of having a multi-triple game on Wednesday, another on Thursday, and a third on Friday?

Although there was an instance two years ago of three such games on the same day (so we can't technically say "three in three days"), it's the first time it's happened on each of three consecutive days since 1973. Mike Phillips of the Giants, longtime Tiger Mickey Stanley, and Fred Kendall of the Padres (that's Jason's father) lined up multi-triple games on August 20 through 22 respectively.

Phil Mickelson came oh-so-close to ending his U.S. Open drought on Sunday, but could not finish off the lead he built on the first three days.

Instead it was Justin Rose winning as the best of the field against an extremely tough course at Merion.

Here’s a run-through of all the statistical storylines.

Sweet for Rose
Rose finished the tournament at one shot over par, making this the second straight year that a U.S. Open champ finished over par (Webb Simpson did last year). From 2009 to 2011, there were no instances of a major winner finishing over par.

He’s the first Englishman to win a major since Nick Faldo won the 1996 Masters and the first to win a U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970.

Since 14-time major winner Tiger Woods last won one at the 2008 U.S. Open, there have been 14 first-time major winners, including Rose.

Rose is the third straight top-10 player to win a major, joining Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott. It’s only the third time since world rankings have been in existence that three different players in thetop 10 won three straight majors (1988, 1993).

Rose made five birdies in the final round on the way to the win. He's the first U.S. Open champ to make that many since Angel Cabrera in 2007.

The money holes for Rose were the seventh through 13th. He had nine birdies and a bogey on those holes and his -8 score was tied for the best on these holes with Luke Donald.

Always the bridesmaid
This marked the sixth time that Mickelson finished runner-up at the U.S. Open, the most of any golfer. It is Mickelson’s eight career runner-up finish at a major, tied for the third-most all-time. Only Jack Nicklaus (19) and Arnold Palmer (10) have more.

Mickelson’s 37 putts on Sunday were the most of any golfer on the course for the day.

Tiger’s worst round
Woods finished 13-over and tied for 32nd. His score to par was his worst at a major as a professional golfer.

Woods had 21 holes in which he shot a bogey or worse, his most-ever at a major as a pro and his second-most in any PGA Tour event.

This comes after Woods shot an 8-over at the Memorial. It’s the first time since 1997 that he shot 5-over or worse in back-to-back tournaments.

Day-O!
Jason Day now has three runner-up finishes (2011 Masters, 2011 U.S. Open; 2013 U.S. Open) and a third-place finish (2013 Masters) in the last 10 majors.

Stricker's struggles
Steve Stricker entered the final round even par, one shot back. He finished with a 6-over 76. It's the fourth time he has entered the final round of the U.S. Open in the Top 5. He has shot 3-over or worse in the final round each time.

Here are the numbers behind the storylines heading into Sunday's final round of the U.S. Open.

Can Phil Mickelson finally win a U.S. Open?
Mickelson has five runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open, the most in tournament history.

This is his first 54-hole lead at a major since 2006 U.S. Open (finished tied for second) and the fifth time he's led a major entering the final round (won three of previous four times)

Mickelson is trying to join Rory McIlroy (2011) as the only wire-to-wire winners since 2003.

Can 46-year-old Steve Stricker finally win a major?
If Stricker wins, he’d be the oldest first-time major winner and the oldest champ in U.S. Open history (currently Hale Irwin, 45 in 1990)

Will there be another first-time champion?
Of the nine players within five strokes of the lead, eight have never won a major.

Among them is Hunter Mahan, whose current tied-for-second standing is his best-ever position at a major.

Tiger Woods: out of contention
Saturday marked the first time as a pro that Tiger Woods had at least seven bogeys and one birdie or fewer in a round at the U.S. Open.

The only other round at a major in which Woods had at least 7 bogeys (or worse) and 0 or one birdies (as a professional) was the 3rd round at Muirfield in the 2002 Open Championship. Much of that round was played in a torrential downpour.

Sunday is five years to the day (June 16, 2008) of the playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open won by Woods.

Woods has not won a major since that one. This would be his 16th straight major without a victory.

What will happen on the 18th hole?
The 18th hole is currently playing as second-hardest hole at U.S. Open over the last 25 years. There were no birdies on the 18th hole in the third round, when it played as the longest Par 4 in U.S. Open history.

The 18th hole hasn’t been the only score-wrecker. The 73 players that made the cut are a combined 691 strokes over par through three rounds.

Five stats you’ll likely hear quite a bit more about on the matchup between the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN/WatchESPN):

1-- Braves pitchers have a 2.40 ERA at home this season, which ranks best in the National League and if maintained through the full season would be the team’s lowest since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966.

Braves starter Julio Teheran has a 2.97 ERA at home, much better than his 4.12 ERA on the road. The biggest difference for him in his home/road splits is his home run rate (three homers allowed in 33 1/3 innings at home, 7 in 43 2/3 innings on the road).

2-- Giants starter Tim Lincecum turned 29 on Saturday.

Lincecum is part of a group of Giants starting pitchers having significant issues on the road. Lincecum has a 5.40 ERA away from AT&T Park this season. Giants starters have a 5.62 road ERA and are allowing opponents to hit .350 on the road with runners in scoring position.

Elias also noted that Lincecum has the second-most strikeouts of any Giants pitcher prior to turning 29 (1,395), trailing only Christy Mathewson’s 1,738.
Lincecum beat the Braves on Mother’s Day, and now tries to do it on Father’s Day. Only one starting pitcher over the last 50 years beat the same team on Mother's Day and Father's Day in the same year: the Braves’ John Burkett beat the Phillies on May 14 and June 18, 2000.

3-- Maybe Saturday will be what B.J. Upton needs to come out of his season-long slump. Upton hit a pair of home runs in the Braves’ win. Each homer came on a pitch in his sweet spot- knee-high on the inside corner.

The heat map above shows that to be Upton’s one “hot zone” this season. Dating back to the start of the 2011 season, he has a .439 batting average on pitches to that “square” within the strike zone. That’s about 140 points above the major-league average.

4--Hunter Pence is in the middle of a hot streak for the Giants. He’s 12-for-30 with two homers and eight RBI in his last seven games, pushing his season slashline to .298/.343/.517.

The early jump for Pence’s numbers this season is attributable to something that Pence had success with in 2011—hitting the outside pitch.

The chart on the right shows Pence’s numbers in at-bats that ended with a pitch on the outer-half of the plate or off the outside corner, with the key difference being an increase in extra-base hits.

5-- Should the Braves need a late-game weapon, they can hope for Evan Gattis to get a shot at getting a tying or winning hit. Gattis entered Saturday night tied for the major-league lead in home runs in the seventh inning or later with six. Each of the three players he was tied with has at least 20 more at-bats in those situations than Gattis does.

Mark Simon also contributed to this post

Last season, we saw Bryce Harper and Mike Trout represent the small segment of Major League players unable to legally purchase alcoholic beverages as the only two All-Stars under the age of 21.

This year, we could very well be in line to see a new pair of bright young stars represent that same demographic at the All-Star game.

Fernandez coming into his own
20-year old Jose Fernandez broke camp with the Miami Marlins without any Minor League experience beyond A-ball, but the first 13 starts of his MLB career have been nothing less than stellar.

He's posted a 3.11 ERA to go along with 9.6 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, fourth-most in the NL.

But he reached a new high on Friday, racking up a career-high 10 strikeouts against the best team in baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals entered ranked first in the NL in batting and runs per game, and notably, they were the NL's second-hardest team to strike out (behind the San Francisco Giants).

Fernandez became the first pitcher under the age of 21 to record 10 strikeouts since Felix Hernandez did so in 2007.

Known for a blistering fastball (94.7 avg MPH, 4th in MLB), the Cuban defector picked up each of his strikeouts via the breaking ball (highlights here).

To put that into context, Justin Verlander and Yu Darvish are the only other pitchers to have racked up 10 or more strikeouts with breaking pitches in a single start this season.

What makes Fernandez' breaking ball, nicknamed 'The Defector,' good enough to hold batters to a .146 BA in at-bats ending with pitch? Horizontal movement.

The pitch has averaged nearly a full 10 inches of movement from right to left (pitcher's perspective), an amount only exceeded by Clay Buchholz' curveball among ERA qualified starters.

Machado piling up the doubles
In the AL, Manny Machado has not stopping hitting after a hot start. With three more hits on Friday, he increased his MLB-leading total to 95 on the season. And two of those hits were doubles, his 29th and 30th of the year.

He has eight more doubles than Gerardo Parra (22) who ranks second in MLB.

No player in the Live-Ball era (since 1920) has ever knocked more two-baggers through his team's first 68 games under the age of 22 (see chart).

Machado's current rate of double production puts him on pace for 71 this season, a mark that would break Earl Webb's all-time mark for a single season of 67 which he set in 1931.

In Michigan, starting position is essential.

There are only six starting-grid positions on the entire Sprint Cup circuit in which the drivers who start there have an average finish in that exact spot.

In Michigan Cup races since 2005, drivers who started 18th have an average finish of 18.0, and those who started 22nd have an average finish of 22.0 (the other ultra-consistent positions are 17th at Atlanta, 18th at New Hampshire, 27th at Kentucky and 28th at Watkins Glen).

In fact, during that span five starting spots at Michigan (13th, 15th, 18th, 20th and 22nd) have an average finish within one place of their starting position.

Wednesday night’s opening game of the Stanley Cup finals, a 4-3 victory for the Chicago Blackhawks over the Boston Bruins, was a three-overtime instant classic.

Here are six notes off the game, one for every period that was played:

1.) Going the Distance
Andrew Shaw's game-winner for Chicago came 12:08 into the third overtime, ending 52 minutes, eight seconds of overtime after the traditional 60 minutes in regulation, making it the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup finals history.

It was just the eighth triple-overtime game in final history, but the first won by the home team.

2.) Blackhawks Shine in Multi-OT
There have been 18 games to go into multiple overtimes in Stanley Cup finals history, and the Blackhawks have won six of those. No other team has won more than two.

This is the second time the Bruins have been involved in a multi-overtime finals game. Their record dropped to 0-2 in those games.

3.) History Not on Boston’s Side
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Bruins are the third team in history to lose Game 1 of a Cup finals despite holding a two-goal lead in the third period.

The others were the 1956 Detroit Red Wings and 2006 Edmonton Oilers. Both of those teams went on to lose the series.

4.) Glove Save ... And a Beauty!
The Bruins shot 14 times to Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford's glove side in regulation, and scored three times, all to the high side.

However, in overtime, Boston took 16 additional shots to the glove side (out of 29 total shots), but Crawford made the save on all 16.

5.) Losing Horton Slows Lucic

After scoring Boston’s first two goals for his first multi-goal game this season, regular season or playoffs, Milan Lucic didn’t even attempt a shot in the three overtime periods.

Lucic’s linemate, Nathan Horton, left the game in the first overtime period, breaking up Boston’s most productive line.

The line of Lucic, Horton and David Krejci was on ice for all three Bruins goals -- and 20 of the team’s goals in the first three rounds, most of any Bruins linemates.

6.) Chicago a Sure Thing?
This is the third time since 1927 that Game 1 of the Cup finals went into multiple overtimes, but the second time for each of these teams. In 1934, the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings, and in 1990, the Oilers beat the Bruins.

In both of those previous series, the team that won Game 1 went on to win the Cup.

Thursday afternoon, two of the early National League Cy Young favorites go head-to-head as Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals face rookie Matt Harvey and the New York Mets.

Wainwright has finished in the top three of the NL Cy Young voting twice but is on pace for the best season of his career.

He has 91 strikeouts and just seven walks in 96 innings pitched and is on pace to set the Modern Era record (since 1900) for K-to-BB ratio (13.0), set by Bret Saberhagen (11.0) in 1994.

It’s more than twice as good as the next-closest starter this season, Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma (6.2 K-to-BB).

Last season Wainwright ranked 35th among starters in walk rate, issuing just 52 free passes in 32 starts. At his current pace this season, he'd need to pitch 713 innings and make 96 starts before he walked his 52nd hitter.

How Wainwright is Doing It
We know that Wainwright's curveball is one of the best weapons in the game, with the fifth-biggest vertical break among starting pitchers this season (9.5 inches).

But he mixes things up, not relying on one pitch. When he was at ESPN this week, Wainwright told us that he works hard to avoid falling into a pattern. And he’s done a good job of that this season.

He’s thrown curveballs at least 30 percent of the time in three of his starts, and fewer than 21 percent in five others.

Three times, he’s thrown changeups at least 10 percent of the time, but in three others he hasn’t even thrown one.

Another thing he told us is that he’s throwing his cutter harder this season and the numbers back that up. His cutter is maxing out at 92.2 MPH this season, up from 91.0 last season.

And with that, the effectiveness of the pitch has increased greatly. Opponents are hitting almost 90 points lower against his cutter this season and are swinging-and-missing almost twice as often against it.

Primetime Matchup
Opposing Wainwright for the Mets will be the young phenom Harvey. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 of his 13 starts this season (only three pitchers have more).

But has the league started to figure him out?

His ERA and opponents’ batting average has risen each month this season -- it's early in June but in two starts he has a 3.75 ERA and opponents are hitting .340 against him.

The Detroit Tigers are at an impasse with their bullpen, specifically with closer Jose Valverde.

After another gem by Justin Verlander, Valverde surrendered a game-tying two-out, two-strike home run to Lorenzo Cain in the ninth inning in an eventual loss to the Kansas City Royals. How special was this start for Verlander? What exactly did Valverde do to spoil this effort?

How Justin Verlander Should Have Got the Win vs the Royals

Verlander had an overpowering fastball, fueled by superb movement. He got batters to swing at 38 percent of his fastballs thrown out of the zone, his highest fastball chase rate this season. Verlander’s fastball had its most movement of the season, setting season highs in both horizontal break (-7.4 inches) and vertical break (11.8 inches).

Verlander also kept hitters off balance, allowing zero "hard-hit" balls in play for the first time this season.

It’s the third time he has done that in a game over the last five seasons (also in 2009 and 2012).

To further illustrate how special this Verlander effort was, he did not face a batter with a runner in scoring position for the first time this season.

Royals were 0-for-8 and had five strikeouts with a man on first base against Verlander.

How Jose Valverde Blew the Save vs the Royals

Valverde pitched as pooly as Verlander pitched great. Cain's game-tying homer came on a splitter from Valverde, the only non-fastball he threw today.

Valverde has thrown 20 splitters in his last six games and allowed four homers among those 20 pitches. He allowed zero homers on the 21 splitters he threw in his first 12 appearances of the season.

Cain's homer also came on a pitch on the outer third of the strike zone. Righties were 1-13 (.077) vs Valverde in at-bats ending in a pitch thrown to that location this season before the homer, including a flyout by Salvador Perez for the first out of the ninth inning.

Trends

This was the sixth walk-off loss for the Tigers this season, tied with the Marlins and Mariners for most in the MLB.

Jose Valverde continues to struggle, as Wednesday marked his eighth blown save in last two seasons. In 2011, he was a perfect 49-for-49 on save opportunities.

This is the fifth time in his career that Justin Verlander has pitched at least seven scoreless innings and got a no-decision. No other Tigers pitcher in the Live Ball era (since 1920) has more than two such career games.

Verlander now has three losses in quality starts this season, already more than the two he had all last year.

The 113th U.S. Open gets underway Thursday at Merion Golf Club. Here are the top things to know this week:

• The U.S. Open returns to Merion Golf Club for the fifth time (first time since 1981). Merion Golf Club enjoys the distinction of hosting more USGA championships (the 2013 U.S. Open will be its 18th) than any other club in the country.

• Tiger Woods has not won a major championship since the 2008 U.S. Open. The Sunday of this year’s U.S. Open will be five years to the day since he defeated Rocco Mediate in a Monday playoff to claim his 14th major title.

• Only one player has ever won more than four major championships after their 37th birthday: Ben Hogan, who won six. That included the 1950 U.S. Open, when Hogan was 37. Strangely enough, the 1950 U.S. Open that Hogan won came at Merion.

• The last reigning Masters champion to win the U.S. Open that same year was Woods in 2002. Masters champ Adam Scott is one of eight players who have made the cut in each of the previous five majors. Scott is a combined minus-15 in those five events -- Tiger Woods is second best in that group at plus-2.

• Webb Simpson is the defending U.S. Open champion. Simpson will attempt to become the first player to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles since Curtis Strange did it in 1988-89.

Tiger Woods
Since winning the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, 19 majors have been played without a Woods victory, although he has competed in just 15 of them.

Despite not winning since the U.S. Open in 2008, Tiger has had his share of close calls. Tiger has eight top-six finishes in majors since the 2008 Open Championship -- two more than any other player in that span.

Tiger still trails Jack Nicklaus by four majors (18-14). It’s worth noting that only three players have won four or more majors after their 37th birthday.

Phil Mickelson
Mickelson has been over par in 12 of his past 14 rounds at majors. He has been over par after the first round in 10 of the past 12 majors. In fact, the most recent major other than the Masters in which Mickelson has been under par after the first round was the 2009 U.S. Open (finished second). In the past three U.S. Opens, Mickelson has been T-93, T-62 and T-66 after the first round.

Mickelson hasn’t finished in the top 10 in any of the past four majors. The most recent time he had a streak of four majors without a top-10 finish, he nearly won the 2011 Open Championship, finishing tied for second (with Dustin Johnson) behind Darren Clarke.