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With the All-Star break almost over, and as we await the resumption of baseball on Thursday, let’s take a break from the typical chatter of second-half storylines, and shift our focus to the players on the field and the defensive All-Stars of the first half.

Baseball Info Solutions is a company specializing in determining the best (and worst) defensive players in more than 100 different metrics, from barehanded plays to home run robberies.

Using their data, here’s our take on the players in the first half that have been good enough to be called a Defensive All-Star. (Note: ranks are for the player at his position, unless otherwise noted)

Pitcher: Anibal Sanchez, Marlins
Most Barehanded Plays For Outs (5)
Sanchez is averaging more than a strikeout per inning, but he gets on this list because of his defense while on the mound.

Catcher: Yadier Molina, Cardinals
Most Catcher Blocks (401)
Yadier is known for a strong arm, having thrown out over 40 percent of baserunners during his career. This season he also leads everyone in catcher blocks, defined as plays when runners are on base or if the pitch was the third strike.

First Base: Carlos Pena, Cubs
Most Difficult Throws Handled (32)
Pena can likely thank Starlin Castro for this award, as the shortstop already has 18 errors this season. Handling difficult throws applies to throws in the dirt or throws wide of the bag.


Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Reds
Most Double Plays Turned Despite An Aggressive Slide (6)
Brandon Phillips has wowed many fans with his defensive Web gems, he’s also one of the best at turning double plays.

Third Base: Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
Most Barehanded Plays For Outs (10)
Ramirez has not only been one of the Cubs best offensive players, hitting .298 with 15 home runs and a team leading 51 RBI, but he’s also been a star on the diamond, converting 10 barehanded plays into outs.

Shortstop: Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians
Most Web Gems (11) and Web Gems Points in MLB (41)
Asdrubal Cabrera has been a familiar face on Baseball Tonight, as a four-time Web Gem champ. Between two behind the back flips, a bare-hander on a short hop, and a diving stop and throw in a defensive shift, Cabrera has done it all defensively this season.

Left Field: Sam Fuld, Rays
Most Web Gems Either 1st or 2nd in MLB (9)
Despite being second in both Web Gems and Web Gem points, Fuld has more Web Gems rated as first- or second-best than any other player.

Center Field: Carlos Gomez, Brewers
Tied for Most Home Run Robberies in MLB (2)
Taking away a home run might be the most exciting play in baseball, and Gomez has done it twice, once with the bases empty and once with Carlos Beltran on first base, saving three potential runs.

Right Field: Nick Swisher, Yankees
Most Times Holding Players to a Single Among OF (6)
Swisher has recently begun to heat up at the plate, with seven homers and a .986 OPS since June 1, but his strong arm in the outfield has been an asset for the Yankees all season.

For more defensive stars, check out Baseball Tonight’s Web Gems Mid-Year Special (11:30 ET, ESPN2).

After scoring only 14 runs combined in four games entering Wednesday's contest with the Cleveland Indians, the Boston Red Sox have now hammered out 14 runs in each of their last two games, with Thursday's victim being the Detroit Tigers.

This marked the eighth time since 1919 that Boston scored at least 14 runs in back-to-back games, and first time since July of 1998.

Much to the relief of Red Sox fans, at the forefront of this offensive outburst is Carl Crawford, who had two triples as part of his second straight four-hit game. He's just the fourth different Red Sox player (joining Dustin Pedroia, Jim Rice and Wade Boggs, who did it three different times) with consecutive four-hit games in the divisional era.

Crawford's also the first Red Sox player with at least four hits and at least two extra-base hits in consecutive games since Del Pratt did it in back-to-back games on August 23-24, 1921.

In the last two games alone Crawford has raised his average from .212 to .244 and seen his slugging percentage jump from .293 to .368 during that same stretch.

While all the talk following the game centered on Boston's offense, entering Thursday's contest the buzz surrounded the man tasked with shutting it down. Heading into the game, Max Scherzer was 3-0 in five home starts with a 0.77 ERA, the lowest ERA for a Tigers pitcher in his first five home starts of a season since 1945, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Scherzer's home ERA is now 2.43 following the Tigers' 14-1 loss to the Red Sox.

Scherezer faced three batters in the second inning without recording an out before exiting. Almost all the damage was done by the seven left-handed hitters in Boston's lineup. Nine of the 15 batters Scherzer faced reached base, and six of the seven hits he allowed were to left-handed batters.

Elsewhere around the majors:

• After using eight different relief pitchers on Wednesday in their 19-inning win over the Cincinnati Reds, Cliff Lee gave the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen a much-needed day off, throwing eight innings. But it was his bat that contributed almost as much as his arm. Cliff Lee had two hits and three RBI, without the benefit of a home run. He's just the fifth Phillies pitcher since Divisional Play began in 1969 to do that.

Jay Bruce did hit a two-run home run off Lee. It was Bruce's 10th home run in the month of May, currently tied with Jose Bautista for the most in the month of May.

• The Florida Marlins defeated the San Francisco Giants 1-0 behind Anibal Sanchez who pitched the third shutout of his career. It marked just the fifth time in franchise history that a pitcher threw a 1-0 shutout. Sanchez has allowed zero earned runs in four of his last seven starts.

As for the Giants, their first game without Buster Posey displayed their offensive deficiencies that could prevent them from reaching the playoffs. According to 10,000 simulations done by Accuscore.com, the injury dropped the Giants' chances of making the playoffs to 44.4 percent if he is out for the entire season.

Francisco Liriano's no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox was the 248th in major league history and 246th in the regular season. Liriano walked six and struck out two, becoming just the second pitcher since 1900 to have four more walks than strikeouts in a no-hitter according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Pittsburgh’s Cliff Chambers walked eight and struck out four when he no-hit the Braves in 1951.

Francisco Liriano’s no-hitter last night is a great example of a statistical oddity in baseball. Looking inside the numbers at the no-hitter, Liriano did not do much differently than in his previous 5 starts that yielded a 9.13 ERA. In fact in some cases, his numbers were worse.

His miss pct on his “out pitches” (changeup and slider) were actually worse than his season total

On top of that, Liriano's no-no wasn't all that special. Last year, Edwin Jackson, Liriano's opponent on the mound Tuesday, threw a no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays also in a 1-0 game. In fact, the strike percentage, called strikes and three-ball counts from both of those games were nearly identical.

Although it's the first no-hitter of this season, Liriano's was the seventh this decade. From 2000-2009, there were a total of 15 no-hitters.

Here's more on how Liriano was able to no-hit the White Sox:

• He adjusted to the White Sox as the game went on. Chicago swung at just 34.1 percent of Liriano's pitches, the lowest percentage against the Twins' left-hander over the last three seasons. From innings 1-3, Liriano threw just 38.7 percent of his pitches in the strike zone. That number increased to 43.6 in innings 4-6 and 48.6 in innings 7-9.

• The White Sox did not hit the ball out of the infield in the last four innings, as Liriano threw 59.6 percent of his pitches down in that span, compared to 46.5 in the first five innings.

• Twenty-one of Liriano's 26 changeups were low. He got five outs with his changeup in the last four innings (including a double play), and none left the infield.

• Liriano had six innings of 12 pitches or less. It's even more impressive considering that he threw first-pitch balls to 19 of the 30 White Sox hitters he faced.

While Liriano got the no-no, one could argue that he wasn't even the best pitcher in U.S. Cellular Field Tuesday. Jackson and reliever Matt Thornton outpitched Liriano in several categories.

Finally, Liriano was just the second active starting pitcher to throw a no-hitter after previously undergoing Tommy John surgery joining Anibal Sanchez of the Marlins.

Forget the Year of the Pitcher. How about the Week of Pitcher?

The week that ended on Sunday featured some of the most dominating starts of the first three weeks of the season. There were no-hit bids, big-strikeout games and a host of impressive performances from pitchers both well-known and unknown.

How good was last week? Let’s use the advanced metric Game Score, a statistic devised by Bill James that rates a pitcher’s start based on: innings pitched, runs allowed, hits allowed, strikeouts and walks.

A Game Score typically is scaled from zero to 100, with the average start rating just below 50. (The higher the number the better the Game Score.)

During the first three-plus weeks of the season, there were 26 starts that featured a Game Score of 75 or higher. Those are upper-echelon starts, meaning: low-run, low-hit efforts in which the starter usually went deep into a game.

Last week, there were 23 such starts.

What were the best pitching performances from last week?

April 22: Anibal Sanchez, Florida Marlins -- Game Score: 89
Sanchez came within three outs of his second career no-hitter, settling for a one-hit complete game in a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies.

April 21: Kyle Lohse, St. Louis Cardinals -- Game Score: 87
Lohse struck out six in a two-hit shutout against the Washington Nationals.

April 23: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox -- Game Score: 86
Matsuzaka had two starts and both were fantastic. He allowed one hit in eight innings in a 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. Earlier in the week, he allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings in a 9-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. There were five games last week in which a pitcher allowed no more than one hit in six or more innings, and Matsuzaka had two of them.

Honorable Mentions
Roy Halladay struck out a career-high 14 in 8⅔ innings on Sunday, April 24, to beat the San Diego Padres (Game Score: 83). James Shields had a pair of complete-game wins for the Tampa Bay Rays on April 19 (Game Score: 83) and on Sunday (84). Felix Hernandez beat the Oakland Athletics 1-0 on Thursday, in a game in which both he and Oakland starter Brandon McCarthy finished with Game Scores of 75 or higher. Hernandez had a 76, one point better than McCarthy.

Not only was 2010 the Year of the No-Hitter (six including the postseason), but it also was the Year of the Near No-Hitter. Five other potential no-nos were broken up in the ninth inning, the highest number since 1990.

On Friday night, Florida Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez recorded the first near no-hitter of the 2011 campaign, losing his bid after Colorado Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler led off the ninth inning with a single.

How did Sanchez shut down the Rockies? He was dominant with several pitches.

Sanchez's fastball averaged 92.1 mph, only the eighth time since the 2009 season he averaged 92 or faster in a start. He recorded eight misses on 26 swings on his fastball (30.8 percent), the third-highest miss percentage on his fastball in the past three seasons.

While the heater was superb, Sanchez also used his off-speed pitches to get hitters out, especially with two strikes. Sanchez retired 13 Rockies hitters with off-speed pitches, despite throwing just 17 off-speed pitches with two strikes the entire game. He recorded 12 outs on his slider, including nine with two strikes -- the most in a start since September 2009.

The Marlins have three of the five longest no-hit bids so far this season. Sanchez’s is the longest of the season, and Josh Johnson has taken one into the eighth inning and another into the seventh.

The Marlins are tied with the Red Sox and Yankees for the most no-hitters since 1993 (Marlins’ inaugural season) with four. Al Leiter, Kevin Brown, A.J. Burnett and Sanchez have tossed the Florida no-hitters.

Had Sanchez finished off the no-hitter Friday, the 27-year-old would have become the sixth-youngest pitcher at the time of his second no-hitter (Johnny Vander Meer is the youngest at 23 years, 225 days).

Another weekend day game between AL East foes at Rogers Centre, some more history for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Brandon Morrow struck out 17 Tampa Bay Rays and was just one ground ball away from one of the more dominating no-hitters in MLB history on Sunday. Alas, Evan Longoria's grounder bounched off of Aaron Hill's diving attempt at it and Morrow was forced to strike out Dan Johnson to secure the 1-0 win.

Morrow joins an elite club of Blue Jays pitchers to lose a no-hitter when they were just one out away. Roy Halladay gave up a hit to Bobby Higginson of the Detroit Tigers back in 1998 when he was one out away. But Morrow has nothing on Dave Stieb, who lost three no-hitters in a two-season span between 1988 and 1989, including two in back-to-back starts.

The only Blue Jays no-hitter ever thrown was by Stieb on September 2, 1990 at the Indians.

Maybe we should have seen an effort like this coming from Morrow. On September 5, 2008, Morrow threw 7.2 hitless innings against the New York Yankees in his first MLB start. It was broken up by a Wilson Betemit double that actually scored a run. Morrow is now the ONLY pitcher to take a no-hitter through five innings three times this season.

The Tampa Bay Rays seem to have no-hitters on their brain as they narrowly escape becoming the first team in MLB history to be no-hit three times in a season. In fact, of the last six no-hitters across the bigs, the Rays have been involved in four of them (one by Matt Garza while three have come against them).

Instead of wallowing in what might have been, we should celebrate what Morrow did achieve. 17 strikeouts is one shy of the club record that Roger Clemens set against the Royals back in 1998. The list of pitchers with a one-hit shutout along with 17 Ks in the live-ball era (since 1920) is just three names deep. Curt Schilling in 2002 with the Diamondbacks, Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game back in 1998 and now Morrow.

Some other crazy facts:

•Home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg was also behind the dish for Anibal Sanchez and Ubaldo Jimenez's no-nos. The last umpire to have home plate for two no-hitters in a season was Drew Coble in 1990.

•On July 26 (two weeks ago tomorrow), Morrow turned 26 years old. Check out the ages of the pitchers who threw the five no-hitters this season: Ubaldo Jimenez (26), Dallas Braden (26), Roy Halladay (33), Edwin Jackson (26) and Garza (26). From July 30, 1973 until the end of last season, there were just five total no-hitters thrown by a pitcher who was exactly 26 years of age.

•According to Bill James' metric "Game Score," which is a one-number summary of how good a pitcher's single-game performance is, Brandon Morrow's 17-strikeout, 2-walk, one-hitter got a score of 100. That is tied for the 4th-best single-game pitching performance since 1920. It was the highest by any pitcher in a single game since Randy Johnson scored 100 in his perfect game back in 2004.

Two of the best young arms from the Sunshine State were bright on Thursday afternoon. Anibal Sanchez shook off his recent struggles to one-hit the Giants in a 5-0 Marlins win. David Price countered with nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings as the Rays beat the Tigers, 4-2.

The two young hurlers were both very effective, doing so with a different arsenal of pitches.

How Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez one-hit the Giants:
" Threw 40 sliders out of 118 pitches (33.9 percent; second-highest this season); set season highs with 12 outs recorded, eight swinging strikes and six strikeouts.
" Despite season-low 11 first-pitch strikes (41.4 percent), threw 72.2 percent strikes when behind in the count and induced six groundball outs (seven total) when behind.
" Threw nearly a third of his pitches (30.5 percent) in the down-and-away zone, which yielded eight of his 14 swinging strikes and four of eight strikeouts; hitters were 0-10 in this zone and are 2-27 over his last six starts.

How Rays starter David Price defeated the Tigers for his 14th win:

" Dominated with fastball: Threw 98 of them out of 115 total pitches (85.2 percent), the second-highest rate of the season. Four of the Tigers' big hitters (Austin Jackson, Miguel Cabrera, Johnny Damon, Brennan Boesch) saw 53 fastballs and only five off-speed pitches between them.
" Threw 43 pitches on the outside edge of the plate, including 38 fastballs. Detroit hitters missed with 32.8 percent of all swings (a season-high for Price's opponents) and 30 percent against fastballs away.
" Went to only four 2-0 counts, and no 3-0 counts, the entire game. The Tigers managed only two singles with two strikes against them, and were 1-for-11 with runners on base.

It was a star-studded evening on the mound Friday.

Seven of the night's starting pitchers had no-hitters and/or perfect games under their belts (Roy Halladay, Dallas Braden, Clay Buchholz, Jonathan Sanchez, Anibal Sanchez, A.J. Burnett, Carlos Zambrano). The septet combined to go 3-3 with a no-decision.

Here's a look at how a few of them - and some others - won:

Why Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright beat the Brewers:
- As usual, his curveball. The Brew Crew was only 1-13 (.077) against the pitch Friday - that lowers the opposition's average to .138 (15/109) vs Wainwright's deuce this season.
- Put hitters away. Wainwright got two strikes on 15 hitters - he retired all 15 (100 pct; MLB average: 72 pct).
- Attacked. Of the 30 batters he faced, Wainwright went to 3-ball counts on only two hitters (7 pct; MLB average: 19 pct).

Why Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz beat the Orioles:
- Hitters were 0-5 with a strikeout against Buchholz's slider. The right hander only threw 13 sliders, but recorded 11 strikes and 3 fly outs.
- The Orioles swung on the first pitch nine times, putting six in play for outs. Buchholz has not allowed a hit on the first pitch in his last three starts (0-10) and is holding opponents to a .062 batting average in the last five starts.
- Did not allow a hit with runners in scoring position for the second straight start and opponents are now hitting .209 in that situation
- The 3.26 pitches per plate appearance was the lowest in Buchholz's 11 starts, allowing him to get his first complete game shutout since his no-hitter on September 1, 2007 against the Orioles.

Why Astros starter Felipe Paulino beat the Cubs:
(He's not exactly used to the winner's circle. It's his first win this season and he had only won 1 of his previous 14 decisions, dating back to June 27, 2009)
- He battled. In 2-0, 2-1 and 3-ball counts, he retired 67 percent of hitters (MLB average: 54 pct). Heading into the game, he allowed a .327 average on "non-2-strike counts." Friday, hitters were 2-11 (.182) in such spots.
- He was efficient. Of his 8 innings, 4 were of the 1-2-3 variety (50 pct; MLB average: 31 pct).
- Effective with fastball. Heading into game, hitters were .306 against Paulino's fastball. Friday, the Cubs were 2-13 (.154).

Why Phillies starter Roy Halladay beat the Padres:
- Got ahead of hitters, throwing a first pitch strike to 78 percent of batters faced (25 of 32, which is a season high. "Doc" also threw a strike on the one of the first two pitches to 94 percent (30 of 32).
- Had good command of his fastball, throwing a strike on 74 percent of pitches with the heater. Halladay also showed good command with his slider and curve, registering a strike on 74 percent of those pitches as well.
- Although it's his most infrequently used pitch, Halladay threw more sliders today (11) than in any start this year, recording 2 strikeouts to give him 10 with the pitch this season.
- Threw 50 pitches in the lower region of the zone, recording 30 strikes and 6 strikeouts. Of Halladay's 18 K's in his last two starts, 12 have been in the lower third of the zone.
- As he did in his perfect game, six of Halladay strikeouts were on pitches out of the zone.

Why Blue Jays starter Brett Cecil beat the Yankees:
- Continued dominance with off-speed stuff. Friday, Cecil held Yankees hitters to a 1-14 (.071) mark against non-fastballs. For the season, Cecil has limited hitters to a .118 average (12-102) against non-fastballs.
- They couldn't lay off it, either. His chase pct on non-fastballs was 52 (MLB avg. - 31 pct).
- Lots of air. Of his 70 strikes, 18 were swings and misses (26 pct). The MLB average is only 14 percent.
- Over his last 4 starts, Cecil is 4-0 with a 1.52 ERA. He has 19 strikeouts and only 4 walks over that stretch.

Hit Tracker
- Mets outfielder Angel Pagan's 4th-inning inside-the-park home run against the Washington Nationals traveled 396 feet and hit the center-field wall. Despite being a solid shot, only Coors Field's friendly confines (and atmosphere) would have yielded an out-of-the-park home run.

- The longest home run of the night came off the bat of Arizona's Adam LaRoche, whose second shot of the game traveled 435 feet to center field. Surprisingly, the blast wouldn't have been a home run in every MLB park. The cavernous center field of Minute Maid Park in Houston would have gobbled it up.



Why Tigers Starter Justin Verlander Won:
- Controlled the count. Verlander only went to a 2-0 count once in Wednesday's game against Oakland. It was to Daric Barton in the bottom of the seventh inning who then flied out to center on a 2-2 pitch.
- Finished off Athletics hitters efficiently. Verlander retired 15 of 19 A's hitters with two strikes (78.9%), including five strikeouts.
- Used his fastball early and often. Verlander threw 25 first pitch fastballs to the 30 batters he faced, and 21 of them were strikes. Oakland hitters only swung at one first pitch fastball all night, a third-inning pitch Adam Rosales flied out on.


Why Red Sox Starter Clay Buchholz Won:
- Deadly with two strikes. Buchholz held the Twins to 1-13 (.077) in two-strike counts, and seven of the Twins 14 plate appearances that reached two strikes ended in a strikeout (50.0 K pct). Buchholz especially controlled Minnesota hitters with the slider in two-strike counts, holding Twins hitters to 0-5 and four strikeouts on the pitch.
- Started innings strong and maintained efficiency. Buchholz retired seven of the nine leadoff men he faced, and ended 15 of 28 (53.6%) plate appearances against him in three pitches or less (MLB avg - 47%). Buchholz also went to a three-ball count only four times all game, holding the Twins to 0-3 and one walk.
- Grounded the Twins. Buchholz recorded 11 of his outs on groundouts, tied for his second-highest total this season. Buchholz also recorded seven outs on groundballs from the fifth to the seventh inning, with only a Justin Morneau single preventing them from being consecutive. The batter after Morneau (Michael Cuddyer) grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.


Why Marlins Starter Anibal Sanchez Won:
- Retired the first batter of the inning in all seven innings pitched.
- Hitters were 1-10 against the slider (opp BA against slider is now .098).
- 76 percent of sliders went for strikes (MLB average: 63 percent).


Looking Ahead
- Clayton Kershaw has held the Padres to a .186 batting average since the start of the 2009 season, but has been especially good against San Diego lefties, who are just 1-17 against him. Lefties do not have a single well-hit ball against Kershaw (0-for-17). Also, he's allowed just six hits in 39 at-bats when he is ahead in the count.

- Alfonso Soriano is scheduled to face Joe Blanton on Thursday, a pitcher he’s had success against in his career (5-14, 2 extra-base hits). Soriano has been hot in May, batting .357 with four home runs while Blanton has struggled in three starts since coming off the DL (1-2, 5.49 ERA). Opponents have jumped on Blanton’s first pitch (6-14, 2 HRs), a count Soriano has feasted on this season (6-11, HR, 2 doubles).

Hitters of the Night

Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones, PIT: 10-for-11, 2 HR, 7 R, 7 RBI, 2 SB

McCutchen and Jones, batting three-four in the Pirates' order, both had five-hit games, the first Bucs to do that since 1970. It was the first career five-hit game for both players.

Only one of the 10 hits was on an inside pitch, while five were on the outside-- including two out of the strike zone away. Cubs pitchers were reading the scouting report by keeping balls out there. Prior to Friday, the two had combined for a .321 average on inside balls-- with Jones' .344 propping that up-- and only .223 on outside offerings.

Prior to Friday, the two combined Pirates hit only .127 against sliders and .111 against changeups, while striking out on those pitches over one-fourth of the time. Today they went 3-for-4, although the only blemish on their record-- Jones' fourth-inning strikeout-- was on a slider.

McCutchen and Jones saw 23 pitches in the strike zone, and swung at 18 of them (78.3%, much higher than their previous rate of 63.9). They fouled off 10 and had ZERO swings-and-misses. The eight strikes they put in play all went for hits, including both homers.

Two-strike hitting was also key. The two Pirates entered the game with a batting average of only .219 in two-strike counts. On Friday they got five hits and five RBI, including Jones' homer, in those situations. Both players have also had great success against the Cubs so far this season, combining to bat .679 with an OPS of 1.745. Against all other opponents, they're hitting just .255.

Why They Won

Why Giants starter Todd Wellemeyer won:
- Got ahead: 65.5 pct first-pitch strikes (51.5 entering the game), including no hits in four at-bats when the first pitch was put in play (.385 entering the game)
- Pounded away with his fastball: 74.5 pct of his pitches and 65.8 pct strikes, both highs for the season
- Allowed just two hits in 16 at-bats ending on the heater, which averaged a season-high 90.5 MPH

Why Angels starter Joe Saunders won:
- Got ahead: 68.8 pct first-pitch strikes (58.0 entering the game)
- Allowed no hits in 10 at-bats when ahead in the count (.340 entering the game)
- Went to 3-ball counts on just four hitters (0-2, 2 BB)

Why Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie won:
Used his fastball:
- Threw it on 66.4 pct of his pitches, his most in a start this season
- Allowed no hits in 18 at-bats (.296 entering the game)
- Induced misses on 13.3 pct of swings (7.6 pct entering the game)

Why Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez won:
Used his fastball:
- Threw it a lot and threw it for strikes (65.7 pct and 69.0 pct, most in a start this season)
- Allowed only 3 hits in 14 at-bats (.214 -- .379 entering the game)
- Got 3 strikeouts (4 strikeouts total entering the game)

Why Mets starter Oliver Perez lost:
- Couldn't finish off hitters. Florida batters got two hits and drew three walks when Perez already had two strikes on them. Previous opponents hit only .125 in two-strike counts.
- Threw his fastball 56.8 pct of the time, way down from the 67.5 pct rate entering the game.
- Left too many pitches in the strike zone. Earlier this season, Perez left only 45.6 pct of his pitches IN the zone, forcing hitters to chase more. On Friday, 53.4 pct hit the zone, and Florida hitters went 9-for-17 against them. Only two Marlins concluded their at-bats on a pitch outside the zone, and both were swinging strikeouts.
- Left the ball up in the zone. More than a third of his pitches were high, and the Marlins went 5-for-9 including two homers against those.

Home Run Notes

David Ortiz ended up seeing five straight fastballs from Max Scherzer, thanks to the first three missing the zone. He then fouled off a 3-0 pitch before launching his three-run homer.

Since the beginning of the 2007 season, Ortiz has swung at nearly 17% of 3-0 pitches-- almost TRIPLE the major-league average of 5.9%.

However, only seven of his 90 previous homers over that span have come on 3-0 or 3-1 counts.

Ortiz's 459-foot blast was the longest home run of the night, and not surprisingly, would have been a home run in all 30 MLB parks.

As noted above, Andrew McCutchen had a tremendous game at the plate, going 5-for-5. But his 382-foot solo shot at was hit in the lone MLB park (Wrigley Field) where it would clear a fence. That's right, out of all 30 MLB parks, McCutchen's home run wouldn't have cleared the fence in any of the 29 other parks.

Ubaldo Jimenez just recorded the first no-hitter in Rockies history as Colorado blanked the Braves, 4-0.

• This leaves the Mets (48 seasons), Padres (41 seasons) and Devil Rays/Rays (12 seasons) as the only franchises to not throw one. The Indians have gone 29 seasons since their last -- Len Barker's perfect game in 1981.
• The last time the Braves were no-hit was Randy Johnson's effort on May 18, 2004. The Braves' franchise has now been no-hit 16 times in its history, trailing only the Phillies' 18.
• Jimenez is the first pitcher whose first name begins with "U" to throw a no-hitter.
• It's the earliest no-hitter thrown in a season since Hideo Nomo on April 4, 2001.
• Jimenez is the fourth pitcher from the Dominican Republic to throw a no-no. He joins Juan Marichal, Ramon Martinez and Jose Jimenez. Other non-United States countries/territories to boast multiple no-hitters are Venezuela (Wilson Alvarez, Anibal Sanchez, Carlos Zambrano), Puerto Rico (Juan Nieves, Jonathan Sanchez), Ireland (Tony Mullane, One Arm Daily) and Japan (Hideo Nomo, 2).
• Saturday is far and away the leading day of the week for no-hitters. Jimenez's was the 49th thrown on a Saturday. Wednesday (39), Friday (38) and Sunday (35) round out the top four.
• The catcher and umpire from Saturday's no-hitter (Miguel Olivo and Jeff Kellogg) were BOTH behind the plate for Anibal Sanchez's no-hitter on Sept. 6, 2006.