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In his first start against the Pittsburgh Pirates since striking out 14 in his MLB debut, falling one shy of the MLB record for strikeouts in a debut, Stephen Strasburg fanned 13 in just 6 innings Thursday night.

Strasburg deftly mixed up his fastball and off-speed pitches against Pittsburgh, registering seven strikeouts with a fastball and holding Pirates hitters to one hit with six strikeouts in eight at-bats ending with off-speed pitches.

He also kept the ball away, with 52.4 percent of his pitches (54 of 103) over the outer part of the plate. The Pirates were hitless with five strikeouts in six at-bats ending with pitches away.

And while Strasburg fell one punch-out short of his career high, he did set a personal record with 20 pitches resulting in swings-and-misses.

Strasburg’s start Thursday was the 24th of his career, making him the fifth pitcher to strike out 13 or more hitters twice his first 25 career games in the divisional era and first since Kerry Wood in 1998.

Thursday was the fourth time in Strasburg’s career he struck out at least 10 batters in a game, the most such games by a Nationals pitcher since the franchise moved to Washington in 2005. He also became the first pitcher in the history of the Nationals or Expos to register 13 strikeouts in six of fewer innings.

Elsewhere in the majors Thursday:

• Josh Hamilton homered in his second game since tying an MLB record with 4 HR on Tuesday. Hamilton, who became the first player with 6 HR in a series since Hee Seop Choi in 2005 according to Elias, now has more HR since Monday than Jose Bautista, Alex Rodriguez, Joey Votto and Albert Pujols have all season.

• Josh Beckett allowed 7 runs in just 2⅓ innings as the Boston Red Sox lost to the Cleveland Indians. It was Beckett’s first start since 2008 in which he allowed at least 7 runs in fewer than 3 innings. Boston’s six straight losses at Fenway Park matches its longest home losing streak since losing 12 home games in a row in 1994.

• Elias tells us the Baltimore Orioles became the first AL team to open a game with back-to-back-to-back HR when Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis homered to start the bottom of the first inning. All five of the Orioles hits were HR Thursday, making Baltimore just the third team to have five or more hits with all hits being homers in the live-ball era (since 1920).

Jordany Valdespin's first career hit couldn't have come at a better time. With the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies tied at two in the top of the ninth inning, Valdespin golfed a splitter from Jonathan Papelbon over the fence, snapping a streak of six straight hitless at-bats to begin his MLB career.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Valdespin is the first player whose first career hit was a go-ahead HR in the ninth inning or later since Miguel Cabrera on June 20, 2003. He's the first player to record his first career hit via a pinch-hit go-ahead HR in the ninth inning or later since Steve Sisco for the Atlanta Braves on May 13, 2000 (also against the Phillies). While Cabrera has gone on to hit more than 280 HR in the majors, Sisco's HR was the only one of his short MLB career.

Papelbon earned his first loss as a member of the Phillies and allowed at least three runs in a game for the first time since June 4 of last year. Papelbon had good reason to think that Valdespin wouldn't be able to do much with the splitter that ended up in the bleachers. Entering Monday, opponents were just 2-13 (.154) against Papelbon's split-finger fastball this season.

Roy Halladay's streak of eight straight wins against the Mets came to an end after he allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings. After winning his first three starts of 2012, the Phillies have now lost four straight starts by Halladay for the first time since he came to Philadelphia in 2010. Halladay has a 5.13 ERA in those games after having a 1.17 ERA in his first three starts of the season.

Elsewhere in the majors on Monday:

• Philip Humber struggled for a third straight start, allowing eight runs and failing to reach the fourth inning as the Chicago White Sox fell to the Cleveland Indians 8-6. Since throwing the 21st perfect game in MLB history on April 21, Humber is now 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA in his last three starts. According to Elias, Humber's 20 runs allowed in that span are the most by any pitcher in his first three starts after a perfect game since 1900.

• Brandon Snyder, who entered Monday with five total RBI in 27 career games, drove in a game-high six runs in the Texas Rangers 14-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Snyder became the first player to drive in at least six runs from the eighth spot in the order since Jorge Posada on August 13 last season.

• The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 11-5, improving to 12-16 on the season. Despite their subpar record, Monday was the MLB-leading eighth time the Red Sox scored 10 or more runs in a game this season. Baseball-reference.com tells us Boston is the fourth team to score 10 or more runs eight times in its first 28 games of a season in the live-ball era (since 1920), joining the 1997 Rockies, 1950 Yankees and 1928 Athletics.

One of the hot topics every spring is improved or falling velocity among pitchers. While small sample size caveats apply at this stage, there are a handful of interesting storylines developing on the topic.

Stephen Strasburg
Through two starts this season, the trend of Stephen Strasburg's velocity dipping has continued. When he first came up, he succeeded off of fastballs approaching 100, with a changeup around 90.

However, since his return from Tommy John surgery, he seems to be evolving into more of a pitcher.

His fastball velocity is down more than 2 miles per hour, but his changeup is also down nearly the exact same amount, keeping the separation between the two pitches at 7.0 miles per hour. That's right around his career average.

Ubaldo Jimenez
Much has been made of how Ubaldo Jimenez is not the same pitcher he once was. There’s no question he’s pitching with a different arsenal than 2009 or 2010, as his average and maximum velocities are well down.

However, after a multi-year increase in the use of his diminished fastball, he has decreased the frequency with which he’s throwing it early in 2012.

That formula has worked -- his strike rate with the pitch has increased from less than 61 percent to nearly 64 percent from 2009-11.

Tim Lincecum
What's plaguing Tim Lincecum? It could be his fastball. He’s down several miles per hour from last season -- both in terms of average and maximum velocity -- and the results have been opponents having much greater success against said fastball.

Unfortunately, Lincecum hasn’t compensated the diminished velocity with improved command. His strike rate with his fastball has declined each season since 2009, with a huge drop so far in 2012 -- going from 63 percent last season to less than 54 percent this season.

Brian Wilson
Over the past few seasons, Brian Wilson has been among the best closers in baseball. However, there’s a disturbing trend developing, with both his average fastball velocity (92.4 MPH, down from 96.5 in 2009) and his maximum fastball velocity (95.1 MPH, down from 102.2 in 2009) having dropped each season since 2009. This season has continued that downward trend.

Plenty of pitchers are able to get by with diminished velocity. Unfortunately, it appears that Wilson has had trouble surviving the dip in velocity so far. His overall strikeout and walk rates are headed the wrong way, corresponding with the velocity drop.

Over the past three years, his strikeout rate has been cut almost in half and his walk rate has nearly doubled.

Starting Pitching Overview
The one potential saving grace for these pitchers is the tendency for pitcher velocities to increase after we exit April. In each of the previous two seasons, the number of starting pitchers who averaged 93 MPH or more on their fastballs in April increased by the end of the season.

As you can see, while the league average fastball velocity peaked in July at last season, the single largest month-to-month increase was from April to May.

Stats & Info insights into this morning's top sports stories

1. THE BEST GOLFER WITHOUT A MAJOR? After the opening round of the Masters Tournament, Lee Westwood stands alone at the top at -5. Westwood has never won a major but has been a bridesmaid multiple times. This is the third time he’s opened a major with a 67, and both times he finished the major in second place.

2. TIGER ON THE PROWL Tiger Woods shot an even-par 72 at the Masters and is tied for 29th after the opening round. That might sound like he’s a ways back, but not for Tiger. The last time he was this far back after the opening round was 2005, when he was tied for 33rd. That year he went on to win the Masters, his last win there. Looking ahead to Friday, he’ll hope to repeat that 2005 success. He shot a 66 in the second round en route to his win.

3. PITCHERS DOMINATE OPENING DAY The Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians treated fans to free baseball on their Opening Day. The 16 innings they played made it the longest season-opening game in MLB history. But pitchers stole the show for the day. FROM ELIAS: Justin Verlander, Roy Halladay and Justin Masterson each allowed two hits in eight innings on Thursday while Ryan Dempster surrendered two knocks in 7⅔ innings. It was the first day on which four pitchers threw more than seven innings and allowed no more than two hits since Sept. 27, 1986.

4. NO MAGIC IN ORLANDO Dwight Howard scored just two points through three quarters in an Orlando Magic loss to the New York Knicks and finished with eight points for the game. It was just the third time this season that Howard failed to score in double-digits and two of those have come against the Knicks. His team’s woes continue: the Magic have lost five straight, their longest losing streak since Jan. 12-20, 2007.

5. STAMKOS STALKING 60 Two big happenings in the NHL on Thursday: the eight playoff spots in each conference were decided BUT the seeding of each team is still up in the air. Also, Steven Stamkos moved one step closer to a landmark when he scored his 59th goal of the season. Stamkos has one game left, at the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, and will try to become just the second player since 1996 to score 60 goals in a season.

Pitching was the story of the day as opening week continued with 13 teams playing their first game of the season.

After Kyle Lohse tossed a gem on Wednesday, Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, Justin Masterson and Ryan Dempster all allowed two or fewer hits while throwing at least 7 innings. Even with 13 teams yet to make their 2012 debut, this is the first time in the Modern Era (since 1900) that there have been five season-opening starts to meet that threshold. According to Elias, the previous high was three in 1910.

The New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds all opened their season today by throwing shutouts. Elias points out that the last time there were three shutouts thrown by teams that opened their season on the same day was April 9, 1976. That season, the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals all pitched Opening Day shutouts.

The Miami Marlins became the first team with two losses this season and have managed a single run on seven hits in their two games. From Elias, they are the first team with that low an offensive output in their first two games since 1993. That season, the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies each had one run on six hits after two games.

Not all of the pitching news was good. Justin Verlander was denied a win after pitching 8 shutout innings after Jose Valverde blew a save for the first time since Sept. 2, 2010. Valverde was 49-for-49 in save opportunities last season and had converted 51 in a row dating back to 2010.

Going Long
The highest scoring game of the day was the Toronto Blue Jays' 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians. But that won’t be what the game is remembered for.

The game wasn’t decided until J.P. Arencibia hit a three-run home run in the top of the 16th inning. Elias confirmed that this was the longest season opener in MLB history. The Indians have the dubious distinction of losing two of the three season openers that lasted at least 15 innings. In the other, Walter Johnson threw a 15-inning complete game as the Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics.

Going Deep
The wait for a National League home run is finally over. Jay Bruce hit a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth as the Reds beat the Marlins. Four NL games had been completed before Bruce went deep, and his homer came in the 44th NL inning of the season.

After nearly winning the MVP Award last season, Matt Kemp added to his legend in the season opener this year. Kemp became the first right-handed hitter with two opposite field home runs at Petco Park since the start of the 2009 season.

ESPN Stats & Information continues its weekly stat-based roundup of notable moves from the past week.

Washington Nationals Sign Edwin Jackson
Last season Jackson posted an ERA of 3.79 despite ranking seventh in MLB in hits allowed. How unusual was that combination of run prevention and baserunners? He was the only qualifying pitcher in the majors with an ERA below 4.00 that also gave up at least 10 hits per nine innings pitched.

Jackson managed that feat by allowing an OPS of .869 with the bases empty and a .665 mark with runners on. That was the largest difference among all qualifying pitchers that had a higher OPS with the bases empty versus with runners on.

A 120-point spread in his BABIP allowed with nobody on base compared to all other plate appearances may explain part of that difference.

However, opponents didn't seem to hit the ball much harder versus Jackson in either situation.

According to video review by Inside Edge, batters hit the same percentage of "well-hit" balls (24%) against Jackson regardless of whether there were men on base or not.

So what can Nationals expect out of Jackson in 2012? Only four other pitchers since 2000 finished with an ERA under 4.00 while also giving up 10-plus hits per nine innings.

The good news is that one of those pitchers was Andy Pettitte in 2001, who went on to post a 3.27 ERA the following season and a 3.78 ERA over the final nine seasons of his career.

The bad news is that the other three pitchers were Carlos Silva (2005), Josh Towers (2005) and Aaron Cook (2008) – who combined for zero sub-4.00 ERA seasons following their unusual low-ERA/high-hit total year.
-- Katie Sharp

Cleveland Indians Sign Casey Kotchman
Kotchman, at least last season, fared better than what the Indians had at first base in 2011.

Kotchman upped his on-base percentage from .280 in 2010 to .378 in 2011, with a batting average on balls in play that improved from .229 to .335 and a walk rate that improved slightly.

Kotchman's BABIP went up because his number of ground ball hits nearly doubled, going from 30 to 58, though his ground balls hit only increased by 41 from the previous season.

Kotchman and Texas Rangers catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli led the majors with the largest on-base percentage jump (98 points) in the majors, among the nearly 150 players who had at least 400 plate appearances in each season.

Indians first basemen had an on-base percentage of .302 and .319 over the last two seasons, the latter ranking 23rd among the 30 major-league teams in 2011.

Defensively, the Indians two primary first basemen, Matt LaPorta and Carlos Santana combined for 69 Good Fielding Plays and 41 Defensive Misplays & Errors in 1,367 innings.

That's based on video review from Baseball Info Solutions, which watches and tags plays into more than 80 categories of good/bad. A good play for a first baseman might be something like scooping a throw out of the dirt. A misplay may be for something such as dropping a return throw from a teammate on a double-play attempt.

Kotchman had fewer Good Fielding Plays (55), but had less than half as many Defensive Misplays & Errors (20) in a similar number of innings (1,222).

Kotchman’s average of one Defensive Misplay & Error per 61 innings was third-best among major-league first basemen who played at least 900 innings (approximately 100 games) at first base.
-- Mark Simon

While the Hot Stove season is largely dominated by free agency and trade talks, an overlooked aspect of every MLB offseason is the arbitration process. If a player is eligible, the team and the player submit figures for the upcoming season’s salary. If the two sides cannot agree on a compromise, they advance to a process that is resolved by an arbiter, who picks one of the two figures submitted.

The 2011-12 arbitration season has brought with it two statistical and historical storylines - the potential end of the Cleveland Indians’ streak of avoiding arbitration and the unbeaten run of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Indians & Arbitration: Like Oil & Water

While it looked like it might be snapped any number of times, the Indians have not gone to arbitration with a player since 1991. Thanks to Maury Brown's Business of Baseball website, we can tell you that is the longest such streak in the Major Leagues. The last time the Indians went to arbitration was 1991, when the team did so with Greg Swindell and Jerry Browne.

Why is this relevant? The Indians currently have one arbitration-eligible player unsigned – SS Asdrubal Cabrera. The Indians and Cabrera are continuing discussions on a long-term contract, but without a resolution on that front, the team and player will likely head to arbitration. Cabrera's camp has requested a 2012 salary of $5.2 million, while the Indians have countered with an offer of $3.75 million.

For additional context, the landscape of Major League Baseball was noticeably different in 1991 than it is in 2012. The Indians played their home games in Cleveland Stadium and resided in the AL East. The team's Opening Day payroll was $18,270,000, roughly one-third of what it projects to be in 2012.

The last time the Indians went to arbitration, the highest Opening Day payroll in baseball was held by the Oakland Athletics - $33,632,500. The Athletics have a projected Opening Day payroll for 2012 of $38,765,500.

The last time the Indians went to arbitration, the Opening Day payroll of the New York Yankees was $27,815,835. That represents just 13.7 percent of the $202,689,028 payroll the team had for 2011.

Rays: Great on the Field, Better off it

While the Rays track record on the field has been impressive enough under the Andrew Friedman regime, no team can match the success of Friedman and the rest of the front office at the arbitration table.

The team’s arbitration win over starting pitcher Jeff Niemann earlier this week improved the Rays franchise to 6-0 all-time in arbitration, the best win percentage in MLB.

The Rays have as many arbitration wins in six all-time cases (6) as the Detroit Tigers have in 20 all-time cases (6-14). In all, the Rays have defeated Niemann (2012), B.J. Upton (2010), Dioner Navarro (2009), Josh Paul (2006, 2007) and Esteban Yan (2002).

The Hot Stove season kicked off last week as free agency officially began when the clock struck midnight on Thursday. Let’s take a look at a few notable transactions from the past few days.

Derek Lowe Traded to Indians
The Indians made the first trade of the 2011-12 offseason, acquiring the sinkerballer Lowe from the Atlanta Braves for minor-leaguer Chris Jones. The Braves also agreed to pay two-thirds of Lowe’s $15 million salary for 2012.

With the addition of Lowe, the Indians continue to build a groundball-heavy staff. Three of the Indians starters from 2011 ranked among the top 20 in the AL among starting pitchers in groundball rate. Lowe, who induced grounders 60 percent of the time, topped them all with the Braves last season.

Lowe struggled last year, losing a career-high 17 games and posting a 5.05 ERA, fifth-highest among major-league qualifying pitchers. However, there is reason for Cleveland fans to be optimistic that Lowe may be able to bounce back in 2012.

Lowe last year likely suffered from some bad luck. His .327 batting average on balls in play was well above his career mark of .295, and he stranded fewer than 60 percent of baserunners for just the second time in his career. If those numbers regress to his career norms, Lowe could easily see an improvement in his ERA next season.

Juan Rivera Signs with Dodgers
The Dodgers made the first splash in free agency with their signing of Rivera to a one-year, $4.5 million dollar contract.

It’s somewhat surprising that Rivera received that much money. His OPS of .710 since the start of 2010 is the fourth-lowest among first basemen and corner outfielders over the last two seasons (min. 900 PA).

John McDonald Signs with Diamondbacks
McDonald, who was traded to Arizona in August last year and started 15 games at shortstop with them, signed a two-year, $3 million deal with the Diamondbacks. McDonald brings little to the plate, with a .577 OPS last year that ranked 302nd out of 316 players with at least 240 PA.

McDonald, however, is a skilled defensive player who had nine Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop last year in just 264 innings. Only six shortstops saved more runs with their glove last year, and five of them played over 1,000 innings each.

Jim Thome Signs with Phillies
Thome will be returning to Philadelphia next year after signing a one-year, $1.25 million deal with the Phillies. Thome hit 96 of his 604 career homers in three seasons with the Phillies, and the first two of those seasons were among the most productive of his career. Only one person hit more homers than Thome's 89 dingers in 2003 and 2004: Barry Bonds (90).

With Ryan Howard recovering from an achilles' injury he suffered on the final play of the Phillies season, the team could need an adequate fill-in at first base for part of 2012.

While Thome hasn't played first base since 2007, his bat compares favorably to Howard's. Over the last two seasons, Thome's .939 OPS is seventh-best among players with at least 500 PA, while Howard's .847 ranks 35th.

The Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers play the middle game of their three-game series in Arlington on Wednesday Night Baseball (7 ET on ESPN). The Rangers' 10-4 win Tuesday pushed their record to 19-4 against the Indians since the start of the 2009 season.

On the mound
David Huff takes the mound for Cleveland, his sixth start on the road this season (compared to just two starts at home). The Indians have scored a TOTAL of eight runs in his past six starts combined.

Huff has faced the Rangers only once in his career, and it happened to be his only career complete game. On April 15, 2010, he allowed two earned runs in nine innings to pick up the win.

Derek Holland will make the start for Texas, and unlike Huff, he is receiving run support. In fact, Holland is receiving the third-highest run support in the American League (6.1 runs).

Holland is one of just five AL pitchers since 2000 with four shutouts in a season. With another, he’d be the first AL pitcher with five shutouts since David Wells in 1998. Despite those shutouts, Holland still has an ERA over 4.00. The last pitcher with a 4.00-plus ERA and four or more shutouts was Geoff Zahn (five SO and 4.41 ERA) in 1980 for the Minnesota Twins.

Storyline to watch
Michael Young (.335 BA) is battling Adrian Gonzalez (.340) for the batting title. If he wins, Young will accomplish the following:

•  Oldest player (34) to win the AL batting title since George Brett, who was 37 in 1990

•  First whose primary position was DH since Edgar Martinez in 1995

•  First Rangers player with multiple batting titles (won first in 2005)

•  Most years between AL batting titles since Brett (1980 to 1990)

In addition, Young is five hits away from his sixth 200-hit season. Among active players, Alex Rodriguez has the only other 200-hit season in Rangers history (2001).

Stat of the game
After starting 30-15, the Indians are 42-58 since May 24, the fourth-lowest win percentage in the AL over that span. During their 30-15 start, Cleveland hit .321 with RISP. Since then? Just a .235 BA with RISP.

Justin Verlander didn't waste any time in his quest for 20 wins. In his first start since picking up his 19th win on Monday, Verlander rallied from a rocky outing and picked up his major league-leading 20th win Saturday in a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Verlander threw 120 pitches over six innings and allowed eight hits, four runs (all earned), and three walks.

For the second time this season, Verlander allowed back-to-back home runs. On April 22, Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko did it in the seventh inning for the Chicago White Sox.

Verlander is the first to reach 20 wins before September 1 since Curt Schilling in 2002 and the first AL pitcher to do it since Roger Clemens in 1997. This is the first 20-win season for Verlander.

Verlander has won his last seven road starts. That's the longest road win streak by a Tigers starter since Jack Morris won seven straight road starts in 1981.

A next-level look: Verlander survived a rough day with his fastball. Twins hitters had six hits and three walks in 17 plate appearances ending with Verlander's fastball, the second-most hits Verlander has allowed off his fastball this season.

Verlander threw a season-high 64.5 percent of his fastballs in the strike zone, which resulted in five of the Twins' hits, including Luke Hughes' home run.

Verlander countered his struggles with success with his offspeed pitches. He threw his second-lowest percentage of offspeed pitches in a start this season, but Twins hitters were 2 for 10 in at-bats ending with his curveball, slider and changeup. He threw 32 of his 44 offspeed pitches on the outside part of the plate and the Twins were 1 for 6 with two strikeouts in at-bats ending with offspeed pitches away.

Verlander has now won his last 15 starts in which the Tigers have scored three or more runs.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last pitcher to win at least 15 straight games when his team scores three or more runs was Joaquin Andujar, who won 18 in a row for the Cardinals in 1985.

ELSEWHERE AROUND MLB:

• Matt Kemp hit a walk-off home run, his third of the season and fourth of his career to lead the Dodgers to a 7-6 win in 11 innings over the Rockies. Kemp's three walk-off home runs are the most by a player this season. James Loney helped force extra innings with his game-tying home run in the ninth, his eighth home run this season.

• Jim Thome homered on his 41st birthday to lead the Indians to an 8-7 win over the Royals. According to Elias he is the third Indians player to hit a home run at the age of 41 or older (Dave Winfield and Sam Rice). The only other player in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) to homer on their 41st birthday was the Tigers' Darrell Evans (May 26, 1988 versus the Brewers).

Jacob Nitzberg contributed to this story.

The New York Yankees' three grand slams against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday have been well documented, but what about the team on the losing end of that 22-9 game?

The 22 runs were the most scored by the Yankees in a home game since July 26, 1931, but the A’s pitching collapse was just as rare. Oakland’s relief effort yielded 16 runs, all earned, the most by a bullpen in a nine-inning game in team history according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Bruce Billings was hit the hardest, giving up seven runs in 1⅓ innings. In 2011, that’s tied for the second-most runs allowed by a reliever in a game, behind only Vin Mazzaro, who allowed a staggering 14 runs May 16 against the Cleveland Indians.

On Thursday, Billings threw 57 pitches, including 44 fastballs. Yankees hitters totaled four hits off the heater, a pitch that has been very ineffective this season for Billings. Of his 13 hits allowed in 2011, 11 have come off his fastball, a pitch he has used more than 72 percent of the time. While batters are hitting .524 against his primary pitch (worst in MLB, minimum 100 fastballs), his slider has yielded only two hits and one walk on 33 pitches.

What Could Have Been
Imagine for a minute that the San Francisco Giants were successful in acquiring closer Heath Bell. With the potential for a healthy Brian Wilson in September, the two would have provided a formidable duo. Since Bell became a full-time closer in 2009, he has a major-league leading 124 saves. Just behind him is Wilson with 121. Third is Mariano Rivera with 110.

The Giants already have an elite bullpen. Their 2.88 ERA ranks second in the majors behind the Atlanta Braves. San Francisco’s relievers also have the second-best opponent OPS (.620) and have allowed the fewest home runs (23).

Double Trouble
Minnesota Twins reliever Alex Burnett was a bright spot this week for a bullpen that has struggled this season. In three appearances, Burnett logged four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and no walks.

Burnett has excelled in several areas this season, most notably in his ability to throw consistently throw strikes. According to Inside Edge, Burnett throws his first pitch of an at-bat for a strike 62 percent of the time, 4 percent higher than the league average.

Burnett also has been economical -- 45 percent of his innings have been one-two-three, 10 percent higher than the average pitcher this season.

Facing a Cleveland Indians lineup stacked with eight lefties, Detroit Tigers starter Max Scherzer relied on his changeup more than he has all season, helping the Tigers push their lead in the American League Central to 2 1/2 games over the Indians.

He threw 34 changeups among his career-high 127 pitches (26.8 percent), a season high in both raw number and percentage.

For the season, Scherzer has thrown his changeup 28 percent of the time to lefties and just 9 percent of the time to righties.

Scherzer also commanded it well, keeping his changeup on the outer third of the zone to Indians lefties. He threw 28 of his 32 changeups (87.5 percent) to lefties away, his highest percentage the past three seasons in starts in which he threw at least 20 changeups.

Indians hitters were just 1-for-9 in at-bats ending in a changeup away.

Scherzer did all this despite mostly falling behind Friday.

He started just 12 of 27 hitters (44.4 percent) with a first-pitch strike, his second-lowest percentage in a start this season.

However, he battled back by getting Indians hitters to expand their strike zone.

Despite throwing just five of his 15 pitches in 1-0 counts in the strike zone, Scherzer threw 12 of his 15 pitches in those same counts for strikes, meaning he went to just three 2-0 counts.

Indians hitters missed on nine of their 13 swings when they were ahead in the count, including missing all four times they swung against Scherzer's changeup.

Overall, Scherzer induced a season-best 20 swings and misses, including seven on his changeup.

Meanwhile, despite taking the loss opposite Scherzer, Indians starter Josh Tomlin was still able to continue his run in the record books.

Tomlin (6 2/3 IP on Friday) has thrown at least five innings in all 37 starts of his MLB career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it’s tied with George Winter for the second-longest such streak since 1900; Winter’s streak spanned the 1901 and '02 seasons.

Cleveland Indians starter Fausto Carmona allowed 10 runs to the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day, then gave up eight runs against them on May 19.
His start on Wednesday was far removed from both of those efforts.

Carmona used his sinker to net ground ball after ground ball in the most effective manner possible, coming within two outs of his first complete game of the season in a win that pulled the Indians to within a game of the Detroit Tigers for first place.

Over the last three seasons, Carmona had not had a start in which he induced more than 13 ground balls that were turned into outs. Wednesday, he turned 15 of the 16 grounders he coaxed into White Sox outs.

White Sox right-handed hitters were 12-for-22 against Carmona in his first two starts against them this season. On Wednesday, they were 1-for-17 with all six of his strikeouts. The only ball to leave the infield was Alexei Ramirez’s home run.

One difference for Carmona was in the location of his sinker. He threw nearly half of his sinkers to right-handers on the inner-third of the plate in those first two meetings. On Wednesday, he threw only 10 of his 53 sinkers to righties on the inner-third, choosing to work on the outer-third instead.

Carmona also got three strikeouts with his changeup, giving him seven whiffs with that pitch in his last two starts. He only had six strikeouts with his changeup in his 16 starts prior to that. Carmona threw 20 of 25 changeups for strikes in Wednesday's win.

Carmona’s counterpart, Mark Buehrle, had a rare bad night, with his streak of 18 straight starts of three runs or fewer allowed snapped. Buehrle hadn't allowed more than three runs in a start since April 22.

Elsewhere around the majors

Good Brew
The Elias Sports Bureau reports that the Milwaukee Brewers, with their 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, became the sixth team since 1900 to win five straight games, scoring three runs or fewer in each one. The last team to do that—the 1972 California Angels (six straight).

Kansas City Kings
The Kansas City Royals edged the New York Yankees, 5-4, despite Curtis Granderson hitting his major-league leading 12th home run against a left-handed pitcher. Royals closer Joakim Soria survived a dicey ninth inning. A check of Baseball-Reference.com showed him to be the first pitcher to earn a save of an inning or less, throwing 40 pitches since Ryan Dempster in 2005.

Cliff Jumping
Cliff Lee used an effective changeup to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks. Our pitch-performance data showed Lee registering five outs with the changeup, despite throwing it only 13 times.

Diamondbacks hitters missed on six of their eight swings against Lee's changeup, matching the most misses Lee has gotten with his changeup in a start in the last two seasons.

Ricky not so fine
Ricky Nolasco set a Florida Marlins record for most runs allowed, giving up 11 in his start on Wednesday night. He broke a mark of 10 previously set six times, including the last such occurrence, by Nolasco in 2009.

Nolasco’s teammate, Mike Stanton, tried to make up for it with a 466-foot home run. It was his fourth home run of at least 450 feet, matching Justin Upton for the most such home runs in the majors.

Five teams won in walk-off style Tuesday, tied for the most walk-off wins on a single day this season.

The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in 11 innings on Martin Prado's third career walk-off hit. It’s the second straight night the Braves won via walk-off, their major-league-leading 22nd last-AB win this season. It’s their 10th walk-off win, tied with the Giants for second-most in the bigs (Royals – 11). It's the Giants' eighth walk-off loss, only six teams have more.

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in 11 innings on Garrett Jones’ second career walk-off HR. It’s the 11th last-AB win for the Pirates this season, only four teams have fewer. For the Cardinals, it’s their 11th walk-off loss this season, tied for the most in the major leagues.

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Mark Kotsay's 10th career walk-off hit (second this season, both with the bases loaded). The Brewers have won 18 of their past 20 games for just the second time in franchise history. It’s their 18th final-AB win -- only three teams have more -- and L.A.'s fourth walk-off loss, only three teams have fewer.

The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on a walk-off grand slam from Brian Bogusevic, just his second career home run and first career walk-off hit. The Astros have the fewest wins in baseball, but eight of them have come via the walk-off -- only four teams have more this season. It’s Carlos Marmol’s eighth blown save this season, tied for the major league lead.

And in the night’s final game, the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 14 innings on a Juan Pierre walk-off single, his seventh career walk-off RBI. The White Sox have just four walk-off wins this season, they entered the game tied for last in the majors in that department. It’s the ninth walk-off loss for Cleveland, only four teams have more this season.

The Tigers lost the first two games of their series with the Indians and their division lead dwindled to two games. Thursday, the Tigers looked to their ace to turn things around – and again Justin Verlander delivered.

After being given an early 4-0 lead, Verlander gave up three runs and it was a 4-3 game after three innings. Verlander did not let another Indian get into scoring position and struck out 10 batters in his seven innings as the Tigers held on for a crucial 4-3 win with help from relievers Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde.

Verlander became the first pitcher in the majors to reach 17 wins and pushed his career mark to 100-57. According to Elias, he is tied with Cliff Lee for the fifth-fewest losses at the time of his 100th win among active pitchers.

A next-level look: Indians hitters missed on eight of their 11 swings against Verlander's change, the second-most misses by a Verlander opponent against his changeup in the last three seasons. The only team to miss more against his change was the Indians on June 14, who missed on 15 of their 20 swings. That gives them an astounding total of 23 misses on 31 swings (74.2 pct) against Verlander's change this season in two starts.

Since 2009, Verlander has 54 wins. Only CC Sabathia (56) has more.
It is also his fifth season with at least 17 wins – all before the age of 29. Elias tells us he is the seventh pitcher to accomplish that feat since 1969 – a list that includes Hall of Famers Catfish Hunter and Tom Seaver.

Finally, Verlander is the fourth Tigers pitcher in the Live Ball era to win 100 games in his first seven MLB seasons (Denny McLain, Tommy Bridges, Mickey Lolich).

Elsewhere around MLB:

• Down 5-3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Diamondbacks rookie Paul Goldschmidt belted a two-run, pinch-hit, 450-foot home run off Houston’s Mark Melancon to tie the game. One inning later, Chris Young hit a game-winning, three-run homer as the D-backs captured a dramatic 8-5 win to up their NL West lead to one game over idle San Francisco. It was Young’s fifth career walk-off hit, all of them home runs.

• Albert Pujols entered Thursday’s game 5-for-42 (.119) against the Brewers this season. He responded with a 4-for-4 night, including a first-inning home run as the Cardinals avoided a sweep and cut the Brewers’ division lead to four games. Even with the loss, Milwaukee has won 13 of its last 15 games.