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No team could use a stretch of favorable pitching matchups more than the Minnesota Twins, who entered Sunday with the worst record in the majors at 14-26. But, as teams far better than the Twins have learned the hard way, facing Zack Greinke at Miller Park is anything but favorable for opposing hitters.

Greinke won again at home Sunday, allowing just one run and striking out six as the Milwaukee Brewers smashed the Twins 16-4. It was Greinke’s 18th straight win in a home decision, with the last 14 coming since he arrived in Milwaukee from Kansas City.

With the win, Greinke became the first pitcher to win 18 straight home decisions since Kenny Rogers won 19 consecutive decisions at home with four different teams from 1997 to 2000.

Greinke and Rogers are two of the six pitchers with a win streak of at least 18 in home decisions in the live-ball era (since 1920). They’re joined by Roy Face, Frank Viola, Ray Kremer and Lefty Grove, who had two separate streaks of at least 18 wins in home decisions (18 from 1932-33, 20 from 1938-40).

Greinke hasn’t lost a home start since July 26, 2010, when he allowed eight runs over four innings in a 19-1 loss to the Twins.

Greinke wasn’t the only Brewer to make history Sunday. Jonathan Lucroy drove in seven runs, tying a franchise record. He joined Carlos Ruiz (May 2, 2012) as the only catchers to have at least seven RBI in a game in the last two seasons.

Elsewhere in the majors Sunday, Max Scherzer had a career-high 15 strikeouts, one shy of a Detroit Tigers franchise record, in a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Scherzer induced 26 swings-and-misses, the most by any pitcher this season and the most since Brandon Morrow had 26 on May 5, 2010 vs the Cleveland Indians.

Scherzer became the second AL pitcher to strike out at least 15 in seven or fewer innings in the last 90 years. Baltimore Orioles starter Mike Mussina struck out 15 in seven innings against the Boston Red Sox on September 24, 2000.

In other MLB action Sunday:

" Stephen Strasburg hit his first career home run and earned the win in the Washington Nationals 9-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Strasburg is now hitting .375 this season and has an extra-base hit in four of his last five games.

" Josh Beckett allowed one run on seven hits as the Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1. Beckett has now won consecutive starts for the first time since August 2011 and has allowed one run in his last 14T innings.

" The Phillies fell to 1-5 in Cliff Lee’s starts this season after he allowed five runs, his most since July 2011, to the Red Sox. The Phillies were 22-10 in Lee’s 32 starts last season.

For 8 1/3 innings on Friday night, Detroit Tigers P Justin Verlander was unhittable, thanks largely to a nasty curveball that the Pittsburgh Pirates could not touch. Just when he was on the brink of joining rarified air, though, it was a breaking ball that got in the way of history.

Verlander lost a no-hit bid on a Josh Harrison single with one out in the ninth when Harrison smacked a hanging slider into center field. Prior to Harrison’s hit, which came after he trailed 0-2 in the count, hitters were 3-36 (.083) with 21 strikeouts this season after being down 0-2 to Verlander. It was the only hit he allowed.

As has become the norm with the towering righty, Verlander’s velocity increased as the game went on. Interestingly enough, his fastball averaged just 91.4 mph in the first three innings, the lowest it has been through three in the last four seasons. From the seventh on, not one fastball was below 97 on the gun.

While his heater was strong, it was Verlander’s curve that baffled Pittsburgh. He threw it in the zone early in the count, then got batters to chase by tossing six of the eight curveballs he threw with two strikes out of the zone. Four of his punchouts were via the curve.

Verlander, who threw 109 pitches and walked two batters in the Tigers’ 6-0 victory, struck out 12 Pirates, tying for the second-most strikeouts in his career. With this effort, he joins an exclusive club of pitchers to throw shutouts allowing one hit or fewer with at least 12 strikeouts in interleague play. The only other time it was done? In 2007, by Justin Verlander.

That performance came during his no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers. Had Verlander finished the job Friday, he would have become the first player with multiple no-hitters in interleague play.

According to Elias, Verlander is only the second Tigers pitcher to toss a shutout in which he gave up no more than one hit and fanned 12 or more hitters. Hall of Famer Jim Bunning did it for Detroit against the Boston Red Sox in 1958.

History was right at Verlander's fingertips. He was two outs away from becoming just the sixth pitcher in major league history to throw at least three no-hitters, joining a club that includes Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller, Larry Corcoran and Cy Young. He also would have become the Tigers’ all-time leader in no-hitters, passing Virgil Trucks.

Given the fact that he has taken five no-hit bids into the eighth inning, it would come as a surprise to no one to one day see Verlander’s name on that list.

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

1. HUMBER SIMPLY PERFECT: Chicago White Sox pitcher Philip Humber became the 21st pitcher to throw a perfect game in MLB history. FROM ELIAS: Entering Saturday’s game, Humber had 11 wins in 29 starts. That is the third-fewest starts and second-fewest wins prior to a perfect game in MLB history.

2. YANKEES MAKE IMPROBABLE COMEBACK: The New York Yankees trailed 9-0 against the Boston Red Sox before scoring 15 unanswered runs in a 15-9 win. FROM ELIAS: It is the second time in the modern era that a team trailed by at least nine runs and ended up winning the game by at least six runs. On June 12, 1938 the Detroit Tigers trailed the Washington Senators, 11-1, but rallied to win, 18-12, on the strength of a seven-run ninth inning.

3. BLACKHAWKS FORCE GAME 6: The Chicago Blackhawks stayed alive, winning 3-2 in overtime against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Blackhawks have played in seven consecutive overtime games, the longest streak in NHL playoff history. FROM ELIAS: This is the second playoff series in NHL history in which each of the first 5 games went into overtime. The other was the 1951 Finals when the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs went to OT in all five games.

4. ANDERSON BLANKS RANGERS: Craig Anderson made 41 saves to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2–0 win at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 of their series against the New York Rangers. FROM ELIAS: Anderson was the first NHL goaltender to make at least 40 saves in a road shutout in the playoffs since Ed Belfour of the Dallas Stars made 48 stops in a 1–0 triple-overtime win at New Jersey in Game 5 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Final. Before Anderson, the last goaltender to do that in a road playoff game that did not go to overtime was Toronto’s Felix Potvin with a 42-save, 3–0 shutout at Chicago in 1995.

5. RONALDO SETS RECORD: Cristiano Ronaldo scored the game-winning goal in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Barcelona. It was Ronaldo’s 42nd goal of the season, setting the record for most goals scored in a season in La Liga history.

6. BATTLE OF WESTERN POWERS: The Los Angeles Lakers host the Oklahoma City Thunder at 3:30 ET on ABC. That game will feature the top-2 scorers in the NBA. Kobe Bryant (27.9 PPG) leads Kevin Durant (27.8 PPG) by 0.1 PPG. Durant is trying to become the first player to win three consecutive scoring titles since Michael Jordan from 1996-98. The Lakers have two games remaining while the Thunder have three.

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


1. SAVING THE DAY: FROM ELIAS: Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves to lead the New York Rangers to a 1-0 win in Game 3 of their series against the Ottawa Senators, one day after the Kings’ Jonathan Quick stopped 41 shots in a 1-0 victory at Los Angeles. Since the NHL began officially recording shots on goal more than 50 years ago, the only other goaltender to make 39-or-more saves in a 1-0 shutout in a non-overtime game was Martin Brodeur against Carolina in 2009 (44 saves). The Rangers’ 1-0 victory was only their second playoff win by that score since 1941. Lundqvist accounted for that other 1-0 win as well, beating the Capitals by a lone goal in Washington in 2009.

2. LeBRON FINISHES STRONG: FROM ELIAS: LeBron James scored Miami’s final 17 points in the team’s victory over the New Jersey Nets on Monday night. James is the fourth player to score 17 straight points for his team in a game this season, joining Deron Williams (18 on March 4), Chris Paul (17 on February 22) and Mo Williams (17 on January 22). Prior to James, the last player to score his team’s final 17 points of a game was Denver’s J.R. Smith on April 13, 2009.

3. VERLANDER THROWING HEAT: Last year’s AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander got his first win of the season as the Detroit Tigers won 3-2. Verlander had a complete game on 131 pitches, one shy of his career-high. He threw 19 fastballs in the ninth inning. Of those, seven were over 98 MPH. His final pitch of the night was 100.3 MPH, tied for the fastest pitch he threw ALL GAME. Since 2009, Justin Verlander has the highest average fastball velocity for any starter in the ninth inning. He is also the only starter in that time frame to throw a pitch over 100 MPH in the ninth.

4. HALLADAY OUTDUELS LINCECUM: Roy Halladay won a battle of Cy Young pitchers, allowing two earned runs in 8 innings as the Philadelphia Phillies won 5-2 over the San Francisco Giants and Tim Lincecum. FROM ELIAS: Halladay has registered a win while pitching at least seven innings and allowing two-or-fewer runs in each of his first three starts of the season, something he also did in his first three starts in his first season with the Phils in 2010. In the 36 seasons preceding Halladay’s arrival, only one other Phillies pitcher that started the season with the team registered a win, seven plus innings pitched and two-or-fewer runs allowed in each of his first three starts: Dennis Cook in 1990.

5. WORKING OVERTIME: FROM ELIAS: The Utah Jazz defeated the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 123-121 in a triple overtime contest on Monday night. Utah has now played two games that have gone to at least triple overtime this season, losing a quadruple overtime game in Atlanta on March 25. Over the last 50 seasons, only five other teams have played multiple games that have gone to at least three overtimes in a single season: Phoenix in 1997-98 and 2005-06, New York in 2006-07, New Jersey in 2010-11 and Atlanta in 2011-12.

Justin Verlander found himself in a familiar position after the eighth inning with a two-run lead on Monday night against the Kansas City Royals.

Unlike his two previous starts when he and the Detroit Tigers bullpen blew leads in the ninth inning, Verlander went the distance this time and made sure he got his first win of the season. Verlander threw 131 pitches, one shy of his career high, and now has an MLB-best 33 120-pitch games since 2010.

Verlander this season has allowed one earned run in the first eight innings of his three starts, and five earned runs in the ninth inning. Prior to this year, he had allowed just one earned run in the ninth inning in his first seven seasons combined.

Verlander cranked up the heat in the final frame, averaging 97.5 mph with his fastball. He threw four heaters to Alex Gordon in the last at-bat, and each one hit 100 on the radar gun. Those were the four fastest pitches he threw the entire game.

Since 2009, Justin Verlander has the highest average fastball velocity for any starter in the ninth inning. He is the only starter in that time frame to throw a pitch over 100 mph in the ninth inning.

Verlander also had success getting ahead and finishing off the Royals batters. He allowed just one hit in 17 at-bats that reached a two-strike count, and this season opponents are now hitting .073 (3-41) with two strikes against Verlander.

Big Game shuts out Red Sox
James “Big Game” Shields lived up to his nickname on Patriots Day in Boston, tossing 8⅓ scoreless innings as the Tampa Bay Rays avoided the sweep against the Boston Red Sox with a 1-0 win this afternoon.

Shields allowed just four hits – all singles – as he shut down a Red Sox offense that had averaged more than 10 runs per game in the first three games of the series. This was just the third 1-0 shutout by the Rays over the Red Sox and all three have come at Fenway Park.

Shields heavily featured his slider against Boston, throwing it 41 times, and using it to get 10 outs. Both of those are his most in any start over the last three seasons. He had thrown just 28 sliders in his first two outings this season and recorded only five outs in nine at-bats with the pitch.

Around the Diamond
• The Minnesota Twins beat the New York Yankees for just the sixth time in 34 regular-season games in the Bronx since Ron Gardenhire’s first season as Twins manager in 2002. Justin Morneau homered and now has five home runs in 11 career games at the new Yankee Stadium. He has five homers in 80 games at Target Field.

• Dillon Gee pitched seven innings of one-run ball as the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 6-1. Gee recorded 11 groundball outs, one shy of his career-best, and induced grounders on 65 percent of balls hit into play, the highest groundball rate in a game in his career.

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

1. WATSON LEADS BULLS: The Chicago Bulls defeated the Miami Heat, 96-86 in overtime. FROM ELIAS: Derrick Rose played 25 minutes and 28 seconds, during which the Bulls were outscored, 59 to 32. But in the 27 minutes and 17 seconds with C.J. Watson on the court, the Bulls outscored Miami, 64-26.

2. OVERTIME HOCKEY: FROM ELIAS: The Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks and Phoenix Coyotes all won in overtime. It marked the first time since April 18, 2001 that three NHL playoff games went into overtime on the same day.

3. BRUINS DO IT AGAIN: FROM ELIAS: The Bruins' victory against the Washington Capitals marked only the eighth time in NHL playoff history that a team posted a 1-0 overtime win in the first game of a playoff series. It was the second such win by the Bruins, who posted a 1-0 double-overtime victory in Game 1 of a best-of-five series against the Maple Leafs in 1935.

4. WHAT A RELIEF: FROM ELIAS: The Detroit Tigers improved their record to 5-1 with a victory against the Tampa Bay Rays. Reliever Collin Balester was the winning pitcher. The Tigers are the first team in major-league history to win at least five of their first six games in a season without a single victory by a starting pitcher.

5. PUJOLS BACK IN BRONX: The New York Yankees host the Los Angels of Anaheim in their home opener on Friday. Angels 1B Albert Pujols is expected to play his first game in the Bronx since June 2003. In that three-game series, Pujols went 3-10 with a home run as a member of the Cardinals. The Yankees won all three games.

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


1. FLYERS COME BACK: The Philadelphia Flyers overcame a three-goal deficit in the first period to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime. FROM ELIAS: Philadelphia became the first NHL team since 1996 to start the playoffs with a win in which it overcame a three-goal deficit; 16 years ago, the Capitals won 6-4, also at Pittsburgh, after they had trailed 4-1 late in the second period.

2. HELP ME RONDO: FROM ELIAS: Rajon Rondo posted 20 assists, 10 points and 10 rebounds in the Boston Celtics’ overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks. It was the fourth game in his NBA career (two this season, two last season) in which Rondo had a triple-double that featured at least 20 assists. That ties Magic Johnson for the most such games in the history of the NBA.

3. BYNUM CRASHES THE BOARDS: Andrew Bynum had 16 points and 30 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Spurs in San Antonio without Kobe Bryant. He is just the second player in the last 15 seasons to have a 30-rebound game. FROM ELIAS: Bynum became the fifth Lakers player to collect 30 rebounds in a game, joining George Mikan, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain (who had 16 such games) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The last Lakers player with a 30-board game was Kareem, who had the second of his two 30-rebound games with the Lakers back in 1978.

4. VERLANDER FALLS APART LATE: After allowing just one hit and no runs through eight innings, Justin Verlander allowed four runs in the ninth inning in a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the Detroit Tigers first loss of the season. The reigning AL Cy Young and MVP Award winner has allowed just four runs in 16 1/3 innings but is 0-1 this season. FROM ELIAS: Verlander became only the second starting pitcher in major-league history to fail to earn a win in either of his first two starts of a season after having tossed shutout ball over the first eight innings of each game. The only other pitcher to endure such hard luck was Minnesota’s Pete Redfern in 1980.

5. RONALDO HITS 40: Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals in a 4-1 Real Madrid win. He has 40 goals this season, tying his own record for the most goals in a single season in La Liga history. He is one goal ahead of Lionel Messi who has 39.

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

1. PIERCE AND KG LEAD THE WAY: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett combined for 51 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Heat 115-107 in Miami. Boston shot 60.6 percent from the field, the highest allowed by the Heat in the “Big 3” era (last two seasons). The Celtics lead the league with 18 wins after the All-Star Break. They were just 15-17 before the break.

2. TWO UNDEFEATED TEAMS LEFT: After losses by the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Mets, the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks are the only undefeated teams remaining in MLB. The Tigers are 4-0 for the 1st time since 2006. That season, they made the World Series. The Diamondbacks are 4-0 for the 1st time in franchise history.

3. PETRINO OUT: Bobby Petrino is out as Arkansas head football coach. Petrino was 34-17 in 4 seasons at Arkansas. The 2011 Razorbacks finished with their highest AP Ranking since 1977 and tied a school-record with 11 wins. Their only losses were to the top-2 teams in the nation (Alabama and LSU).

4. PLAYOFF PUCK DROPS: The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday with three games. The Vancouver Canucks won the President’s Trophy for the second straight season and they host the Los Angeles Kings in the quarterfinals. The Detroit Red Wings are in the playoffs for the 21st-straight season, the longest active streak in the four major pro sports. They open at Nashville. The Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins series also begins Wednesday. Pittsburgh is the favorite to win the Stanley Cup according to MGM Resorts International with 7-2 odds.

5. DUELING ACES: Dueling aces square off on Wednesday Night Baseball on ESPN2, 7 ET as Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies host Josh Johnson and the Miami Marlins. Halladay and Johnson have faced each other three previous times since Halladay joined the Phillies. In those three games, a grand total of six runs were scored, including a perfect game from Halladay on May 29, 2010.

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

1. BUBBA WATSON IS MASTERFUL: Bubba Watson defeats Louis Oosthuizen in the second playoff hole to win the Masters Tournament and his first major championship. It was the first time since 2009 and the 15th time overall that a playoff decided the Masters. Watson becomes the 14th different winner in the last 14 majors and the second straight American winner. He moves into fourth in the new Official World Golf Ranking. Watson won the tournament despite not being in the final pairing. It’s the second-straight year that the winner did not come from the final pairing. Prior to last year, the winner came from the final pairing in 19 of 20 years.

2. MELO IS CLUTCH: Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 43 points, making the game-tying three-point FG in regulation and the game-winning three-point FG in OT as the New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls 100-99. FROM ELIAS: He is the fifth player in the last five seasons, and the first since Dirk Nowitzki in 2009 to make a game-tying shot in the last 15 seconds in regulation, then make the game-winning shot in the last 15 seconds in OT. Anthony has gone 24-52 from the field in game-tying or go-ahead situations in the last 15 seconds of fourth quarter/OT over the last 10 seasons. Among players that have taken at least 20 field goal attempts over that span, Anthony ranks first in field goal percentage (46.2). His 24 field goals are second to Kobe Bryant who has 26 (26-86, 30.2 FG pct for Bryant).

3. TIGERS USE RARE COMEBACK TO SWEEP RED SOX: Miguel Cabrera hit a game-tying three-run home run in the ninth inning and Alex Avila hit a two-run walk-off home run in the 11th inning to give the Detroit Tigers a 13-12 win over the Boston Red Sox to complete the three-game sweep. FROM ELIAS: This is the first time that the Red Sox have ever lost a game in which they held multiple-run leads twice in the ninth inning or later and it's the second time that the Tigers have won a game in this fashion, the first since September 28, 1929 against the Chicago White Sox.

4. YANKEES & RED SOX IN UNFAMILIAR PLACE: Jeremy Hellickson pitched 8 2/3 innings of shutout ball as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 3-0. The Yankees join the Red Sox with an 0-3 start. It’s the second time that they’ve both started a season 0-3. The other instance was in 1966 when the Red Sox started 0-5 and the Yankees started 0-3. That season, the Red Sox finished 72-90 while the Yankees finished 70-89.

5. MUCH ANTICIPATED MLB DEBUT: Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish will make his MLB Regular Season Debut Monday. Darvish will face the Seattle Mariners and likely face fellow Japanese superstar Ichiro in the first inning. Darvish was 93-38 with a 1.99 ERA in 7 seasons in Japan.

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

1. FINAL PAIRING AT THE MASTERS: Peter Hanson has a one-shot lead heading into the final round at the Masters Tournament. It’s the first time Hanson has a 54-hole lead at a major. Phil Mickelson is just one shot back after shooting a six-under 66. It’s the first time in his career that he shot six-under or better on the weekend in a major. He’s playing in the last group on Masters Sunday for the fifth time. He’s won the Tournament the previous three times.

2. BECKETT BLASTED BY TIGERS: Josh Beckett allowed five home runs as the Boston Red Sox lost 10-0 to the Detroit Tigers. Beckett didn’t allow his fifth home run last season until June 28. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees lost 8-6 to the Tampa Bay Rays. It is the first time since 1980 that the Red Sox and Yankees both started 0-2.

3. MOYER TAKES PLACE IN RECORD BOOKS: Jamie Moyer pitched five innings for the Colorado Rockies. The 49-year-old hurler was the second-oldest pitcher to start a MLB game. Only Satchel Paige was older (58 years old). He is the oldest player to pitch in a MLB game since Hoyt Wilhelm, who pitched at age 49 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972.

4. HOWARD SEEING 20-20: Dwight Howard had 20 points and 22 rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers. It’s the 41st time that Howard has scored 20 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in game, tying Charles Barkley for the third-most and just one behind Hakeem Olajuwon for second-most since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.

5. STAMKOS SCORES 60: Steven Stamkos scored his 60th goal of the season in the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 OT win over the Winnipeg Jets. Stamkos is just the fifth player to score 60 goals in a season since 1993-94 and the first since Alex Ovechkin scored 65 in the 2007-08 season.

6. LET THE POSTSEASON BEGIN: The NHL Playoff matchups are set with the New York Rangers getting the top seed in the East and the Vancouver Canucks getting the top seed in the West. Vancouver clinched the Presidents’ Trophy for the second-straight season. However, having the most points in the regular season doesn’t guarantee playoff success. The 2008 Detroit Red Wings were the only team in the last nine years to win the Stanley Cup after winning the Presidents’ Trophy.

According to ESPN Home Run Tracker, which spent the 2011 season tracking all of Prince Fielder’s long fly balls (outs and hits), the new Detroit Tigers slugger would have had a significantly different home run total had he played in Detroit last season. Of Fielder’s 24 home runs at Miller Park in 2011, nine would not have been home runs in Comerica Park’s cavernous confines. One could have gone either way and 14 definitely would have been home runs.

For the sake of consistency, weather was neutralized when simulating Fielder’s long drives from Miller Park to Comerica Park. Although Detroit and Milwaukee have relatively comparable weather, Miller Park has a retractable roof and Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark. Wind patterns and cold fronts could play a big factor in Fielder’s home run totals in 2012, but just as important will be his approach at the plate.

In Milwaukee, Fielder took advantage of Miller Park’s short power alleys, hitting for power to all fields: 28.9 percent of his fly balls at home went for home runs, the highest such mark in the majors.

Fielder may become more “pull happy” in an effort to adapt to his new surroundings. A similar case can be seen in Mark Teixeira at Yankee Stadium, and Jason Giambi before him. Even Fielder’s father, Cecil, had to adapt to Tiger Stadium’s cavernous centerfield by pulling the ball more frequently.

That may prove difficult as teams have found a few weaknesses in Fielder’s approach and he’s also going to be changing leagues. Facing lefties in 2011, Fielder hit .067 (2-30) with 19 strikeouts against sliders down and away in the zone. Righties had less success against Fielder, but managed to hold Fielder to a .250 average (16-64, 17 K) against fastballs up in the zone.

That provides little relief when one comes to realize Fielder hit better than .300 against all pitch types from righties, outside of cutters (.273) and splitters (.267).

So who will give Fielder the biggest fits in the AL Central? The Cleveland Indians' Ubaldo Jimenez held lefties to a .125 average (9-72, 32 K) against high heat in 2011. Lefties hit just .254 (15-59, 21 K) against Jimenez’ splitter as well. At least on paper, Jimenez should be Fielder’s AL Central nemesis.

Others could include Francisco Liriano, depending on which version we see in 2011, and his Minnesota Twins teammate Carl Pavano. Lefties hit .335 against Pavano’s heat, but just .212 and .213 respectively against his splitter and changeup.

Fielder's final stat line in 2011 will ultimately come down to how quickly he can make adjustments: adjustments to a new team, city, league and stadium.

Many of Fielder’s long drives that went for home runs in Miller Park will still result in extra-base hits in Detroit. Of Fielder’s nine home runs that did not translate to Comerica Park in our analysis, five would have hit the outfield fence. The average distance among those nine “non-homers” was 415 feet, roughly 11 feet longer than the average MLB home run in 2011.

Trailing 2-0 entering the bottom half of the third inning in Game 6 of the ALCS, the Texas Rangers responded with an unforgettable frame.

The breakdown: nine runs, 14 batters, four Detroit Tigers pitchers (who combined to throw 50 pitches) for a half inning that took 37 minutes to complete. Six innings (and six more runs) later, the Rangers had clinched a return trip to the World Series by way of a 15-5 rout.

The Rangers are the first American League team to win consecutive pennants since the 2000-01 Yankees. Their 15 runs tied the most by a winning team in an elimination game, matching the 1996 Braves, who scored a 15-0 win against the Cardinals in Game 7 of the NLCS.

Powering the way for the Rangers was ALCS MVP Nelson Cruz who hit his sixth home run of the series in the win. His six home runs are the most by a player in any postseason series.

Cruz also added 13 RBI, alsothe most by a player in a postseason series in MLB history. Bobby Richardson had 12 RBI for the Yankees in the 1960 World Series for the Yankees; John Valentin had 12 RBI in the 1999 ALDS for the Red Sox.

The power surge by Cruz is perhaps more interesting considering how he was a non-factor at the plate in the Rangers’ previous series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Cruz managed just one hit in 15 at-bats and failed to drive in a single run.

Texas’ offensive outburst came in support of a starting rotation that saw its postseason struggles continue.

Derek Holland (4 2/3 IP, 4 ER) continued a trend of short outings for Rangers starters; no Rangers starting pitcher has completed more than six innings in any game so far this postseason (10 games).

They became the first team to ever have a streak of 10 such games in a single postseason. The previous record was nine by the 2005 Angels.

The Rangers starters finished this series with a 6.59 ERA, the second-worst starters’ ERA in the ALCS by any team that won the series.

Despite the loss, Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera still shined in defeat. Cabrera hit a pair of home runs and finished the ALCS with a .400/.556/1.050 line in the loss.

His first home run extended his hit streak in LCS games to 13, tied for third-longest in LCS history.

Three games in action on the diamond Sunday, with plenty to digest. Here's the Stats & Info roundup on the Sunday that was:

Tigers 5, Yankees 3 (series tied 1-1)
Detroit starter Max Scherzer became the third pitcher to throw at least six scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits or fewer, in a postseason game against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium (other two are Warren Spahn and Cliff Lee).

Miguel Cabrera became the first Tigers player with three hits and three RBI in a postseason game since Kirk Gibson in Game 5 of the 1984 World Series.

Cabrera is the fifth player in Tigers history with such a game, joining Hank Greenberg (twice), Al Kaline, Alan Trammell (twice) and Gibson.

Looking ahead: The last eight times the Yankees have played in a division series, their Game 2 result matched the series result.

Brewers 9, Diamondbacks 4 (Brewers lead series 2-0)
Milwaukee won Game 2 of a postseason series for the first time in five tries. Their 9 runs tied the second-most they'd ever scored in a postseason game. It also tied the second-most runs allowed by the Diamondbacks in a postseason game.

Brewers pitchers struck out a team postseason-record 13, surpassing the mark of 11 set in Game 3 of the 1982 ALCS against the Angels.

The Brewers bullpen, which had a 1.14 ERA in September, pitched four scoreless innings of relief. They've thrown five scoreless innings this series.

Looking ahead: While the Brewers are now 8-4 at home in postseason history, they're just 3-8 on the road.

Cardinals 5, Phillies 4 (series tied 1-1)
The Cardinals bullpen allowed no runs and one hit in six innings of relief. It's the second time in team history the Cardinals came back from four or more runs down to win a postseason game. The other such rally came in Game 3 of the 1987 NLCS against the Giants, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

It's the second time in Phillies history they blew a lead of four or more runs in a postseason game, with the other coming in Game 4 of the 1993 World Series against the Blue Jays, also according to Elias.

Albert Pujols hit the go-ahead RBI in the seventh inning, his third such RBI in the seventh inning or later of a postseason game. His three go-ahead hits in the seventh or later are the most by a Cardinals player in the postseason.

Cliff Lee lost his third straight postseason decision (started out 7-0), allowing five runs. His four earned runs allowed matched the number he'd allowed in 32 1/3 LDS innings prior to Sunday.

Lee is the first NL pitcher to allow at least five runs and 12 hits in a postseason game since Slim Sallee of the 1917 Giants.

Of note: With this series being even, there are three League Division Series even for the first time since 2003.

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.

Justin Verlander became the first 19-game winner in the majors Monday night with a strong performance against the Tampa Bay Rays. Verlander struck out eight and allowed three hits over seven innings.

He has now won seven straight starts, the second time this season he's accomplished that feat. (He's the first pitcher with a pair of streaks like that since Frank Viola, with the 1988 Minnesota Twins).

In that span, he's gone at least seven innings and posted at least seven strikeouts.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's the first pitcher with a streak that long reaching those parameters since Pedro Martinez did so over the 1999 and 2000 seasons, both years in which Martinez won the AL Cy Young award.

In addition, Verlander reached 19 wins in 127 team games, the fastest a Tigers pitcher has gotten to 19 wins since Mickey Lolich reached 19 wins in 114 team games in 1972.

Verlander joins Martinez and Greg Maddux as the only pitchers in the divisional era to post a WHIP of less than 0.90 (minimum 20 decisions).

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Verlander is 18-0 this season when the Tigers have scored at least three runs in his starts.

The last pitcher to finish a season 18-0 or better in games in which his team scored at least three runs was Martinez (19-0 in 2002 in starts when the Red Sox plated more than two runs).

ELSEWHERE AROUND THE MAJORS:

•Cliff Lee led the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-0 win over the New York Mets, with seven shutout innings and seven strikeouts. Lee has won his past four decisions (allowed two runs in last 31 innings), and 10 of his past 12 decisions overall. He's 10-2 at home this season and is 6-1 against New York teams since 2008 (2-0, 0.43 ERA vs the Mets).

•With a scoreless inning in Monday’s 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves reliever Jonny Venters continued an amazing recent run of success. Venters has now pitched 22 2/3 scoreless innings, a streak that began on July 4. In that span, opponents are 8-for-75 against him with 27 strikeouts (albeit, with 14 walks). Left-handed hitters are 2-for-24.

Left-handed hitters have missed on 33 of their 41 swings against Venters’ slider. He ranks first in the majors in miss percentage against his slider (80.5 percent)

Mark Simon contributed to this story