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It took a great pitching performance from Chicago White Sox starter Gavin Floyd to end the Boston Red Sox six-game winning streak.

Sunday marked the fourth time in Floyd’s career that he carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, but he’s yet to finish one off. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that Floyd’s four such bids are the third-most among active pitchers.

How did Floyd pitch so well?

Our pitch-performance data showed that he got five of his nine strikeouts on pitches that were out of the strike zone. He finished off all 15 hitters on whom he got a two-strike count.

Floyd’s curveball was working in those two-strike counts. He threw 11 curveballs in two-strike situations and got five strikeouts with them.

The White Sox were bidding to become the first team with two regular-season no-hitters in the same season since the 1973 Angels, who got two from Nolan Ryan. The 2010 Phillies are the last team with two no-hitters, if you combine regular season and postseason (both by Roy Halladay).

Floyd is 7-0 with a 2.75 ERA in eight career starts against the Red Sox. He’s the first pitcher to win his first seven career decisions against the Red Sox since former Minnesota Twins right-hander Kevin Tapani.

Other notable performances from Sunday included:

The day’s best pitchers
Johan Santana threw six scoreless innings in his Coors Field debut, in the New York Mets wild win over the Colorado Rockies. Santana has now pitched 22 scoreless innings against the Rockies, which (via Elias) is the longest streak by any pitcher to start his career.

CC Sabathia beat the Tigers to remain undefeated this season. The Tigers right-handed hitters were 1-for-21 against him. Sabathia got five strikeouts with his slider. He’s had at least five with that pitch in all five of his starts this season.

Speaking of sliders, Chicago Cubs starter Matt Garza got 10 outs with his, and notched six strikeouts with the pitch, in a 5-1 win over the Phillies.

Also chiming in with impressive efforts were Arizona Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley, who is 6-1 with a 2.47 ERA in his last eight starts dating back to last season after beating the Diamondbacks, and Cleveland Indians starter Derek Lowe, who beat the Los Angels of Anaheim with an efficient effort- he threw single-digit pitch totals in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

The day’s best hitter
Rightfielder Jay Bruce homered for the fourth straight game, the longest streak by a Cincinnati Reds player since Adam Dunn homered in five straight games in May, 2008.
The streaky Bruce has had another hot week, hitting .476 with an OPS of 1.685 since Tuesday. His last three home runs have come on pitches over the outer-third of the plate. Bruce has 40 home runs on outer-third pitches since 2009, sixth-most in the majors in that span.

The New York Mets, the recipient of so much bad news over the past couple of seasons, got some good news on Tuesday with the return to the mound of ace starter Johan Santana.

Santana, who did not pitch for the Mets in 2011 due to a shoulder injury , threw 29 pitches and allowed one hit in two scoreless innings in the Mets win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Here’s a quick statistical snapshot of his performance, based on video review data from Inside Edge.

• Santana threw 23 fastballs, ranging from 86 to 89 miles-per-hour, averaging 87. In 2010, Santana’s fastball averaged just over 89 miles-per-hour.

• Santana threw 15 of those 23 fastballs for strikes, including 8-of-9 to left-handed hitters.

• Santana’s other six pitches were four changeups and two sliders and he threw two of his six offspeed pitches for strikes. He typically threw those pitches for strikes about two-thirds of the time in 2009 and 2010.

• Santana got a pair of swings-and-misses- one on an 88-mile-per-hour fastball to Matt Holliday, the other on a 77 mile-per-hour changeup to Yadier Molina that Molina told the media looked like a vintage Santana changeup.

Santana’s changeup historically has been a huge key to his past success. In 2009 and 2010, Santana got 286 swings-and-misses on his changeup, fourth-most of any pitcher in baseball.

There's no shortage of statistical superlatives when describing the season of Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander.

He’s the first Tigers Cy Young Award winner since reliever Willie Hernandez won in 1984, and only the second Tigers starting pitcher to win the award, joining Denny McLain, who won in 1968 and shared the award in 1969. Verlander and McLain are the only pitchers in Tigers history to finish a season with a WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) under 1.00 (minimum 20 decisions). McLain did so in 1968, when he won 31 games.

Verlander led the AL in wins, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and innings pitched. He was the first pitcher to win the AL pitching Triple Crown since Johan Santana for the 2006 Twins.

He was the first pitcher to win at least 24 games and throw a no-hitter in the same season since Sandy Koufax won 26 games and pitched a no-hitter for the 1965 Dodgers. He’s the first AL pitcher to accomplish the feat since Bob Feller for the 1946 Indians.

Verlander was able to turn the velocity up on his fastball as the game went longer. He averaged around 96 mph with it in the seventh through ninth innings, about 1.5 mph greater than in the first three innings.

Only five starting pitchers threw a fastball clocked at 99 mph or greater this season. Verlander did so 71 times, 44 more than the next closest, Dodgers pitcher Rubby De La Rosa.

But it was Verlander's other pitches that made him so good in 2011. Over a two-year period, Verlander increased the number of successful options he had with a two-strike count.

In 2009, he threw fastballs nearly 60 percent of the time with two strikes. He reduced that to 46 percent in 2011, increasing how often he threw his curveball, changeup and slider (see chart on right).

His strikeouts on fastballs went from 134 to 2009 to 88 in 2011.

Verlander’s strikeouts from his other pitches increased from 130 in 2009 (ninth-most in the majors) to 162 this year (fourth-most in the majors).

He cut 20 points off his opponents’ batting average with two strikes (from .154 to .134) and 41 points off his opponents’ OPS (from .436 to .395).

Some think that Verlander may win MVP honors. He would be the first starting pitcher to do so since Roger Clemens in 1986. If he does win, he may want to pay extra thanks to his teammates. He may have gotten some statistical help from the Tigers defense.

With the exception of centerfielder Austin Jackson, Detroit's defense didn't perform at a high level statistically this season. But when Verlander pitched, things went right.

Our pitch-performance data shows that opponents got 66 hits on the 106 line drives they hit against him. That .623 batting average sounds impressive, but it is 94 points below the major league average of .717. The average pitcher would have given up 10 more hits than Verlander did.

Zack Greinke made waves with his comments regarding St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter heading into Game 1 of the 2011 NLCS.

The Milwaukee Brewers pitcher will have a chance to back those words up at Miller Park, a place he has not tasted defeat since being acquired by the team this offseason.

Greinke went 11-0 at home this season. You have to go al the way back to Billy Pierce of the San Francisco Giants in 1962 for the last time a National League pitcher had 11 or more wins at home without a loss.

In fact he was one of only four pitchers since 2000 to go undefeated at home with a minimum of 10 decisions, joining Cliff Lee in 2008 (10-0), Johan Santana in 2006 (12-0) and Jamie Moyer in 2005 (10-0) as the only pitchers to do so. Lee and Santana were awarded the Cy Young in the years they accomplished the feat.

While Greinke won't be walking away with a Cy Young this year, his acquisition was a key move in the Brewers reaching the LCS for the first time since 1982, when they were still in the American League.

He is the perfect guy to start Game 1 as among the Brewers top four starters, only Greinke posted an ERA against the Cardinals (3.15) that was lower than his season ERA (3.83).

Greinke has made three starts against the Cardinals this season and lost just once, his last start against them in September.

In that start, the Cardinals were aggressive early in the count, swinging at the first pitch 43 percent of the time, the second highest by any opponent against Greinke in a start this season.

Four of the Cardinals' eight hits and both runs they scored that game were driven in on the first pitch. When Greinke has been able to get deeper into the count against the Cardinals this season, he's been dominant.

Today’s Trivia: For the first time since 2002, Roy Oswalt will not be the Opening Day starter for the Houston Astros. Who was the Opening Day starter for the Astros in 2002?

Quick Hits: A quick look at more Opening Day longevity.

* With Vladimir Guerrero gone, the Texas Rangers will have a different Opening Day designated hitter for the 12th straight season. The last to go back-to-back was Rafael Palmeiro in 1999-2000.

* The most storied position in franchise history, the Boston Red Sox may have finally found their man in left. Carl Crawford will be the fourth different Opening Day starter in as many years. That hasn’t happened in Boston since 1973-76 when the team was transitioning from Carl Yastrzemski to Jim Rice.

* The Chicago White Sox appear set to start the same outfield trio that began the 2010 season. In the past 35 years, the White Sox have had the same Opening Day outfield in back-to-back seasons just once. That was in 2003-04 with Carlos Lee, Aaron Rowand and Magglio Ordonez.

* Here's a glimmer of hope for New York Mets fans: the Mets have won five straight games on Opening Day, the longest active Opening Day win streak. Of course, Friday starter Mike Pelfrey may not evoke memories of Johan Santana or Tom Glavine, the starting pitchers in those five Mets wins.

* Conversely, no team has a worse recent Opening Day history than the Oakland Athletics. The A's have lost six straight times on Opening Day, the longest current streak in baseball. Oakland's most recent win was 2004, which was the last Opening Day start that Tim Hudson made in an A's uniform.

* Apart from first base, the entire Minnesota Twins infield falls into this category. In its Opening Day lineup, Minnesota will have its fifth second baseman in five years and eighth shortstop in eight years. It also will be the ninth straight year that the starting third baseman is different from the year before.

* Evan Longoria will be the only player in the Tampa Bay Rays lineup who started each of the last two opening days.

* Yunel Escobar will be the Toronto Blue Jays sixth different Opening Day shortstop in six years. Russ Adams was the last to start back-to-back openers in 2005-06.

* Similarly, Josh Willingham will be the A’s 12th Opening Day leftfielder in 12 years. Ben Grieve was the last to go back-to-back.

* Carlos Beltran is expected to be the 13th different person to man right field on Opening Day for the Mets in the past 15 years. Only Ryan Church and Jeromy Burnitz managed two such starts in that span, which included the likes of Eric Valent and Butch Huskey.

* The Colorado Rockies have only had two Opening Day first basemen: Todd Helton and Andres Galarraga. Jose Lopez will be the 14th to start at second in the opener. The last to do so in back-to-back seasons was Mike Lansing (1998-2000).

* Kevin Correia will be the 15th different Opener Day starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 19 years. That’s the period since Doug Drabek left via free agency.

Trivia Answer: Wade Miller was the last Astros pitcher not named Roy Oswalt to start on Opening Day.

Roy Halladay won the National League Cy Young Award Tuesday, receiving all 32 first-place votes, the first time he’s won in the NL and the second Cy Young he’s won in his career. He is the fifth pitcher ever to win the award in both leagues, joining Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry.

He’s the fourth Philadelphia Phillies pitcher to win the award and the first since reliever Steve Bedrosian won it in 1987. After winning six times in the 16 seasons from 1972-1987, this is the first time in 23 years that a Phillies pitcher won the award.

Halladay went 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA, with 219 strikeouts and just 30 walks in 250 ⅔ innings. He’s just the fourth National League pitcher since 1994 to throw at least 250 innings with an ERA of 2.50 or below, joining Johnson, Greg Maddux and Kevin Brown. Halladay led the league in wins, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and K/BB ratio. He was second in the league in strikeouts and WHIP (1.04), and third in ERA, and he threw the 20th perfect game in major league history when he beat the Florida Marlins on May 29.

The superior start is a statistic created by Stats & Information designed as an enhanced version of the quality start. For each start a pitcher is assigned a probability he gave his team of winning based on his innings pitched and earned runs -- the same statistics used to determine a quality start.

A superior start is deemed to be any start where the pitcher gave his team at least a 75 percent chance to win. The four pitchers who tied for the lead finished in the top five of the Cy Young voting.

Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals finished second, his second top-three finish in the last three seasons. Wainwright went 20-11 with a career-low 2.42 ERA and a career-high 213 strikeouts in 230 ⅓ innings pitched. He won 20 games for the first time in his career and had five complete games, after throwing three combined in his career entering this season.

xWIN is another statistic created by Stats & Information that measures how many wins a pitchers team should get based on his combination of innings pitched and earned runs allowed in each start. It eliminates the adverse effect of a having a bad offense on a pitcher's win total. Wainwright barely outpaced Halladay to lead the National League this season.

Ubaldo Jimenez finished third after having one of the best seasons in Colorado Rockies history. He went 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 214 strikeouts in 221 ⅔ innings. That’s the second-best ERA by a starting pitcher in Rockies history and his 214 strikeouts set the all-time franchise mark.

Jimenez was counting on the fact that the NL Cy Young winner had fewer than 20 wins for four straight seasons before this one. With Halladay’s win, just twice in the last eight years has the winner registered 20 wins or more.

The Washington Nationals' Adam Dunn hit a 479-foot home run Tuesday at Atlanta -- the third longest HR this season behind Josh Hamilton (485 feet on June 27) and Colby Rasmus (483 feet, also on June 27). Dunn owns the third- and fifth-longest home runs of the season. Interestingly enough, the five longest home runs this season have all been hit by left-handed batters.

More significant is the fact that it's the seventh straight season Dunn has hit at least 35 home runs, which is tied for the fifth longest streak in baseball history. Only one left-handed hitter has a longer streak than Dunn: Rafael Palmeiro hit at least 35 HR in nine straight seasons from 1995-2003.

Also in the Nationals' 6-0 over the Atlanta Braves, pitcher Livan Hernandez hit his 10th career HR and drove in two runs. He now has 77 career RBI, two shy of the Arizona Diamondbacks' Mike Hampton for the most among active pitchers.

• The Philadelphia Phillies' Cole Hamels struck out a season-high 13 batters in 6⅔ innings against the Florida Marlins. From the Elias Sports Bureau: Hamels is the first Phillies pitcher since 1900 to strike out 13 batters in fewer than seven innings.

• The New York Yankees' Jorge Posada hit his first career pinch-hit, go-ahead home run in the 10th inning or later to give the Yankees an 8-7 win against the Tampa Bay Rays. From the Elias Sports Bureau: The last Yankee to hit a go-ahead, pinch-hit HR in extra innings was Matt Nokes on May 8, 1993 at Detroit. Posada had been 0-for-10 this season as a pinch-hitter prior to hitting the home run.

• From 2005 to 2008, there were three left-handed pitchers who won at least 45 games and an ERA under 3.60: Johan Santana, CC Sabathia and Scott Kazmir. That seems like a distant memory for Kazmir, who is now 0-5 in his last seven starts and 1-9 in his last 12.

Today’s Trivia: The St. Louis Cardinals' Adam Wainwright (18-10, 2.38 ERA), who pitches tonight, and the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay (18-10, 2.44 ERA) have a good chance at 20 wins and an ERA below 2.50. Can you name the last National League pitcher with both of those qualifications who did not win the Cy Young?

On Monday, we took a peek at the American League Cy Young contenders. Today it’s the National League’s turn.

• There are currently four NL pitchers with an ERA below 2.50. The last time that happened was 1998. In three of the previous four seasons, there wasn’t one.

• It would not be unrealistic for Halladay to reach all of the following milestones: 20 wins, 250 innings, 200 strikeouts and an ERA below 2.50. Since 1975, only seven pitchers have done that. All won the Cy Young.

• Though wins and losses are certainly not great indicators of a pitcher’s effectiveness, the fact remains that they are key components in the minds of many voters. So too are losses. Consider that of the last 32 Cy Young winners in both leagues, only Pat Hentgen in 1996 had 10 or more losses.

• Wainwright and Halladay both have 18 wins and an ERA under 2.50. Both also have double-digit losses. So how does 18-6 with a 2.30 ERA sound? Well, that’s what Josh Johnson could be if the Florida Marlins bullpen hadn’t blown seven of his wins this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that’s the most in the majors.

• Both Wainwright and Halladay should probably have 20 wins already. Each has only two no-decisions, but all four of them should have been wins. Wainwright has a 0.62 ERA in his two no-decisions, while Halladay’s is 1.17. Amazingly, Johan Santana has a 2.10 ERA in nine no-decisions.

• At 18-6, the Colorado Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez leads the NL in winning percentage (.750), though he is just 3-5 since the All-Star break. However, the last four pitchers with at least 18 wins and six or fewer losses have won the Cy Young. The last to miss out was Mark Prior is 2003, a year in which closer Eric Gagne won the award.

• Will the stretch run eliminate the Cardinals’ candidates? Over the last month, Chris Carpenter has a 3.96 ERA, while Wainwright checks in at 4.50. Similarly, Jimenez is just 1-3 with a 3.51 ERA despite Colorado’s surge. Meanwhile, Halladay is 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA.

• In 2008, Tim Lincecum had the lowest opponent OPS in the majors. He did so again last year. Both seasons brought home the Cy Young. So who is it in 2010? Mat Latos’ .561 opponent OPS ties Lincecum’s 2009 number for the lowest by a qualifying starter since Roger Clemens (.544) in 2005. Clemens finished third that year with Chris Carpenter winning.

• Carpenter leads the NL with 24 quality starts, but five pitchers are just one behind. However, if you make the qualifications seven innings and two earned runs of fewer, a clearer picture emerges. Halladay has 18 such starts, while no other pitcher has 16.

Key Matchups: The Colorado Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez has nine career hits against the San Diego Padres' Jon Garland, three more than he has against any other pitcher. In fact, six of those nine hits are doubles. That means he has as many doubles off of Garland as he has hits off any other pitcher. He doesn’t have more than two doubles off any other pitcher. In his last eight at-bats against Garland, “CarGo” has four doubles and a single.

Facing a must-win series against the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox send John Danks to the mound. Though he leads the team with 13 wins, the White Sox are just 2-6 in his last eight starts. The lefty will have to contend with Michael Cuddyer on Tuesday. He’s hit .467 against Danks with five home runs in 45 at-bats. That’s two more home runs than he has against any other pitcher. However, all five came last season, as Danks has kept him in the park in all 15 at-bats this season.

Trivia Answer: The last five NL pitchers with at least 20 wins and an ERA below 2.50 have won the Cy Young. The last to come up short was David Cone in 1988, despite a 20-3 record and 2.22 ERA. Of course, the man he lost out to, Orel Hershiser, also had those marks with a 23-8 record and 2.26 ERA.

Today’s Trivia:
Felix Hernandez is 11-7 in 27 quality starts this season after going 19-1 in them last season. Who is the only pitcher this season with at least 15 quality starts and a losing record in those games?

Quick Hits:
With David Price and CC Sabathia set to face each other on Monday, what better time to dive into the numbers of American League Cy Young contenders?

• With four starts likely remaining, Felix Hernandez has a fair shot at 250 strikeouts (he needs 36). Yet, he’s still just 11-11. The fewest wins for a pitcher with 250 strikeouts and an ERA below 2.40 is 15 by Sam McDowell in 1968. He went 15-14 for the Indians despite a 1.81 ERA and 283 strikeouts. That was 16 fewer wins than Cy Young winner Denny McLain.

• King Felix is 5-0 against AL East teams with a 0.55 ERA. That includes two wins apiece against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, three coming on the road. However, he plays in the AL West, a division against which he is 1-6 with a 4.42 ERA. Amazingly, if you take away his divisional games, Hernandez is 10-5 with a 1.33 ERA.

• When allowing two or three runs, Hernandez is 2-6. Meanwhile, Sabathia is 8-3, while Price is 8-5.

• The poor defense behind Hernandez has resulted in 17 unearned runs, which is the most in the AL. Price and Sabathia have seen just eight unearned runs scored against them.

• Since June 1, Sabathia is 15-3 with a 2.62 ERA. No other pitcher has even 13 wins in that span.

• With 19 wins, Sabathia could be looking at 22 or 23 wins if all goes to plan. The last AL pitcher with 22 wins to lose out on the Cy Young was Dave Stewart in 1990, but he had to contend with teammate Bob Welch (27 wins). The last player to lead the AL with at least 22 wins and not take home the award? Ron Guidry, a fellow Yankee, went 22-6 in 1985, but Bret Saberhagen (20-6) won.

• Sabathia may be getting better support than Hernandez, but 18 of his 19 wins have come in quality starts. He is 1-4 in non-quality starts.

• But what if Price has something that Sabathia and Hernandez don’t? Namely 20+ wins and an ERA below 3.00. Over the last 30 years, only once has an AL pitcher with both of those lost the Cy Young to an AL starter who did not. In 2003, Esteban Loaiza (21-9, 2.90) lost out to Roy Halladay (22-7, 3.25).

• Meanwhile, opponents are slugging .303 against C.J. Wilson, the lowest for an AL starter since 2002 (Derek Lowe). The .590 OPS against Trevor Cahill is the lowest since Johan Santana (.565) in 2004.


Today’s Leaderboard:
Not only does he lead the league with 27 quality starts, but Hernandez has 20 starts of at least seven innings and allowing two ER or fewer. Jered Weaver (16) is the only AL pitcher with more than 15. Sabathia has 13, while Price has 9. Over the last two seasons, Hernandez has 41 such games, which is 13 more than the next AL pitcher (Sabathia).

Key Matchups:
A pair of the top AL Cy Young contenders square off on Monday, as CC Sabathia tries to wake up the Yankees against David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays. According to Elias, it’s the first time in seven years that two AL pitchers with at least 17 wins and 150 strikeouts have faced each other.

Sabathia is looking to become the first 20-game winner in the majors. The last Yankees pitcher to do that was Ron Guidry in 1978. Sabathia is 8-4 with a 3.08 ERA in his career against the Rays. However, since joining the Yankees, he’s just 1-3 with a 4.23 ERA. Let’s see how he stacks up against some of the Rays’ top bats:

• Carl Crawford has a hit in four of his last six at-bats against Sabathia after hitting .238 against him before that.
• Over the last two seasons, Carlos Pena is 0-for-11 against Sabathia with nine strikeouts.
• Of Evan Longoria’s five career hits off Sabathia, two are doubles and two are home runs.

Price is 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA against the Yankees this season. Against everyone else he is 16-5 with a 2.55 ERA. In his first start after the break, he allowed seven earned runs against New York. However, it should also be pointed out that Price has won both career starts at home against the Yankees. Let’s take a look at some key matchups:

• Derek Jeter has hits in three of his last four at-bats against Price. He was just 1-for-13 prior to that.
• Jorge Posada is just 1-for-13 against Price with six strikeouts.
• Mark Teixeira is just 2-for-13, but Price has never struck him out.

Trivia Answer:
Hiroki Kuroda is just 6-8 in his 19 quality starts this season. Overall, the Los Angeles Dodgers are 10-9 in those games.

Today’s Trivia: Happy 27th Birthday to Joey Votto. Can you name the only two players to win the Triple Crown after turning 30?

Quick Hits: Let’s check in on some eye-popping pitching stats being put up since the All-Star break.

• In his last six starts, Felix Hernandez has a 0.20 ERA (Side note: All 11 of his wins have come in games where he allowed two runs or fewer). Since the break, King Felix has a 1.32 ERA. Over the last 25 years, only two AL pitchers have had a lower post-ASB ERA: Roger Clemens (0.97 in 1990) and Johan Santana (1.21 in 2004).

• Lost amid Chris Nelson’s straight steal of home Thursday was the fact that Cincinnati Reds’ reliever Nick Masset actually gave up an earned run on Troy Tulowitzki’s home run. (Nelson’s run was unearned). It was just the second earned run allowed by Masset in 29 innings since the All-Star break. That 0.62 ERA is best among relievers.

• Barry Zito’s eight losses since the break are the most in the majors. The last San Francisco Giants pitcher with 10 losses after the break is sitting in the opposing dugout tonight. Back in 1992, Bud Black went 3-10 in the second half after starting the season 7-2.

• Minnesota Twins starting pitchers are 28-9 with a 3.14 ERA since the break. Oakland Athletics starters are 22-21 with a 3.06 ERA.

• The Chicago Cubs have issued 44 more walks than any other MLB team since the break. Their 4.44 BB per nine would be the worst over the second half by an NL team since the 2000 Pittsburgh Pirates.

• Which team has held opponents to the lowest batting average since the break? Here’s a hint: They are just 20-33 since the All-Star Game. Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers have held opponents to a .229 average. That would be the lowest in the NL since the 1986 Houston Astros held opponents to a .218 average post-ASB.

• Meanwhile, the New York Mets offense is hitting just .226 since the break. That would be the lowest since the 1974 San Diego Padres hit .212.

Today’s Leaderboard: Hiroki Kuroda takes the hill against the Astros on Friday. No pitcher has held opponents to a lower OPS since the All-Star Break.

Key Matchups:
• Texas Rangers’ starter C.J. Wilson has been a lefty killer this season, holding them to .132 average and .381 OPS, both best in the majors. To find a starting pitcher who was this effective against lefties, you have to go back 10 years. In 2000, Al Leiter held them to a .119 average while with the Mets. But as he gets ready to face the New York Yankees, it’s a right-handed hitter that he has really dominated. Oh, and it’s not just any righty. Alex Rodriguez is 0-for-12 in his career against Wilson. That’s the most he’s faced any pitcher without a hit.

• James Shields would certainly like to forget his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays. On August 8, he tied a modern MLB record by allowing six home runs. Shields has allowed 30 homers on the season, most in the AL. Of the 11 active Blue Jays to face Shields, eight have hit home runs. That includes J.P. Arencibia, who went deep on the first pitch he saw as a major leaguer in that last meeting. Shields is 7-3 when he doesn’t allow a home run this season, compared to 6-9 when he does.

Trivia Answer: Frank Robinson was 31 in 1966 and Lou Gehrig was 31 in 1934 when they won their Triple Crowns.

Despite having thrown just 95 pitches, CC Sabathia was pulled after eight scoreless innings in the New York Yankees win vs the Oakland Athletics Thursday. Joe Girardi's move ended Sabathia's bid to become the first Yankees pitcher to throw a one-hit shutout since Mike Mussina had his perfect game bid end with two outs in ninth inning against the Red Sox on September 2, 2001 - or exactly nine years prior to Thursday.

However, Sabathia and the Yanks still managed to make history when Jonathan Albaladejo came in to complete the one-hit shutout. It was the 21st game this season where a team allowed no runs and fewer than two hits. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that ties 1910 for the most such games in a season in league history.

Sabathia also claimed a bit of personal glory Thursday, tying a pair of Yankees records. With the win, Sabathia is now 16-0 in 21 starts at Yankee Stadium since taking the loss in the Yanks game against the Mariners on July 2, 2009. His 21 straight home starts without a loss are tied with Whitey Ford (1964-65) for the longest such streak in club history. Sabathia's 16 straight home decisions won also tie a team record. Ron Guidry (1985-86) and Johnny Allen (1932-33) also won 16 straight home decisions for the Bombers. Sabathia is expected to get a chance at setting both marks Tuesday when the Yankees welcome the Orioles to the Bronx.

Other notes from Thursday's limited MLB action:

• Adrian Beltre's 25th home run of the season opened the scoring for the Boston Red Sox in their 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Beltre is the first Red Sox third baseman to register 25 home runs in a season since Butch Hobson in 1979. Beltre is now hitting .321 and has 92 runs batted in this year. He could become the first Red Sox infielder to hit .320 in a season while recording 25 homers and 90 RBI since current ESPN MLB analyst Nomar Garciaparra in 1999.

• The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 12-11 despite allowing 20 hits. It's the first win for the Phillies in a nine-inning game in which they allowed at least 20 hits since May 26, 1932, when they beat the Boston Braves 17-13. Philadelphia had lost 58 straight nine-inning games in which they allowed at least 20 hits entering the night.

• Johan Santana had to leave the New York Mets 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves early with a strained pectoral, but not before allowing one runs over five innings to secure his 11th win of the season. It was the 16th start Santana has allowed fewer than two runs in a start this year. That's one ahead of Josh Johnson for the most in the majors.

Today’s Trivia: With all the talk of Triple Crown races, Rodrigo Lopez’s chase is flying under the radar. He’s allowed the most home runs (32) and runs (111) of any pitcher in the majors, while opponents are hitting .287 against him (ninth worst). Who was the last pitcher to achieve the MLB Triple Frown - being worst in the majors all three categories?

Quick Hits: Over his last nine games, Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .515 with five home runs, 13 runs batted in and 12 extra-base hits. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that nine-game stretch has only been equaled by three players over the last 40 years. Gonzalez is so hot he can just step up to the plate and get a hit. Consider this great note from Kenny Kendrena of Inside Edge: Gonzalez went 3-for-4 Wednesday night while seeing only five pitches. Elvis Andrus is the only other player in 2010 to pick up three hits on a night where he saw only five pitches. Here are some other fun notes on pitches seen via STATS LLC and Inside Edge:
• If Gonzalez and Andrus represent the successful end of the one-pitch spectrum, Alex Avila stands on the opposite side. On August 4, he went 0-for-3 on three pitches including a GIDP.

• Vernon Wells leads the majors with 111 at-bats lasting only one pitch. He won’t reach Lance Johnson status though. In 1995 and 1996, Johnson had 168 AB ending on the first pitch, most of any player over the last 20 years.

• On the flip side is Daric Barton, who has seen 125 full counts this season. He has 50 walks compared to 20 strikeouts.

• Rickie Weeks has been hit by the first pitch six times. That’s the most in the majors, but still just half of Craig Biggio’s total of 12.

• Austin Jackson has seen 10 of his plate appearances last 10 pitches or more. That’s one more than Ichiro Suzuki for most in the majors. Amazingly for a player with 139 K, only one of those plate appearances ended in a strikeout.

• The league batting average is .259. But on a 0-0 count it jumps to .334 thanks in part to the impossibility of striking out. Just don’t tell that to Tigers rookies Scott Sizemore and Will Rhymes. They are a combined 0-for-31 in one-pitch at-bats.

• How about Chris Snyder? He’s hitting .722 (13-for-18) on the first pitch, and just .181 on at-bats that go beyond a 0-0 count.

• Mike Pelfrey has suffered through the most 10-pitch plate appearances with 10.

• Jose Mijares has held opponents hitless in 17 full-count at-bats, issuing only two walks. Contrast that with Dustin Nippert, against whom hitters are 14-for-23 (.609) in full counts. They are hitting just .267 in all other counts.

Today’s Leaderboard: Skip Schumaker has 19 home runs, but enters September having never homered in that month. His 297 plate appearances without a homer in September are the most of any active player. Dodgers third base coach Larry Bowa can probably sympathize. He never hit a home run in 1,566 September plate appearances.

Key Matchups: There are 102 players who have faced Johan Santana at least 20 times. With a .533 batting average against the Mets ace, no one can top Matt Diaz’s success. He has a hit in all 10 games in which he’s faced Santana, and is 16-for-30 overall. But is it possible Johan finally figured him out? He fanned Diaz in each of their last two meetings, after having done so just once in the first 29.

On the other side of that Braves-Mets matchup, we have David Wright and Tim Hudson. Wright has struck out about once every five at-bats over the course of his career. This season, it’s a career-worst one per 3.5 AB. The strikeouts haven’t been a problem against Hudson though. In 49 at-bats, he has just three strikeouts – or one per 16.3 AB. Hudson last struck him out in 2007. That’s not to say Wright’s had success against Hudson. He’s just a .204 hitter with only one extra-base hit against Hudson.

Trivia Answer: In 2000, Jose Lima allowed 48 home runs and 152 runs, while opponents hit .313. All three were worst in the majors, giving him the most recent Triple Frown.

• The Seattle Mariners' Luke French chose to intentionally walk the New York Yankees’ Mark Teixeira and face Robinson Cano with the bases loaded in the 5th inning.

Bad idea.

Cano responded by hitting his second grand slam of the season. It was the fourth time in 2010 that Teixeira was intentionally walked, and each time it loaded the bases. The Yankees have now hit a grand slam in three of the four plate appearances following a free pass to Teixeira.

• The Yankees have hit 10 grand slams this season, which ties the franchise’s single-season record set in 1987.

• Cano is the first Yankee second baseman with six RBI in a game since Gil McDougald in 1951.

• The last team to beat the New York Yankees' CC Sabathia at home was the Mariners (July 2, 2009), but on Sunday they were no match for the Yankees' ace. Sabathia is now 10-0 at home in 2010 and has made 20 consecutive home starts without a loss -- one shy of the franchise record held by Whitey Ford, who went 21 straight home starts without a loss during the 1964-65 seasons.

FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: Sabathia now has made 16 consecutive quality starts, the longest such streak by a Yankees starter in franchise history (since earned runs became official in 1913).

• After allowing a eight runs in his first five starts, Cleveland Indians' rookie Jeanmar Gomez allowed eight runs in just three innings Sunday against the Detroit Tigers. He’s the first Cleveland starter to give up 11+ hits and at least eight runs in three innings or less since Johnny Miljus in 1929 against the Philadelphia Athletics.

• In a 2-1 losing effort to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Johan Santana became the first New York Mets pitcher with consecutive complete-game losses since Jerry Koosman in 1977. Santana is the first Mets pitcher with complete games in three straight appearances since David Cone in 1990.


• In losing 6-4 to the Texas Rangers, the Baltimore Orioles' Kevin Millwood is now winless in 21 starts this season (0-13, 5.36 ERA) against American League opponents.

• FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: Millwood allowed three first-inning runs in Sunday's start. He's now allowed 38 first-inning runs allowed this season, the most by a pitcher since Don Sutton's 39 in 1970 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Today’s Trivia: A Pittsburgh Pirates loss tonight would be loss No. 82 for the team, assuring them of an 18th straight losing season – an historic record across the four major sports. Flash back to 1992, the last time the Pirates had a winning year. Here’s your three-part trivia question:

Which manager (still managing today) led them to a 96-66 record that year?

Which pitcher (still pitching today) went 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA for them that year?

Which batter (now MANAGING today) managed just a .196 BA for them before being released in May?

Quick Hits: More on the Pirates and their amazing string of futility:

In the 17 seasons of the Pirates' drought, the New York Yankees have NEVER had a losing season. In fact, in a tremendous coincidence, the last time the Yankees had a losing season was the last time the Pirates had a winning season – 1992.

The Atlanta Braves have finished with only two losing seasons during that span, both of them happening in the last five years (2006 and 2008).

One big change for the Pirates between the winning season of 1992 and the losing season of 1993? No Barry Bonds. A free agent, Bonds left for the San Francisco Giants and the Pirates haven’t topped .500 since.

But if you’re going to call it “The Bonds Curse” you might need to call it “The Drabek Curse” too. Doug Drabek finished fifth in Cy Young voting for that 1992 Pirates team, then bolted in free agency to the Houston Astros. Unlike Bonds, Drabek was never the same. He never reached the 15 wins or 2.77 ERA he had with the 1992 Pirates.

How about a milestone to cap it off: during the streak of futility, the Pirates have lost 1,599 games – tonight would be loss No. 1,600. Johan Santana has a .663 career win percentage, best of any active pitcher. For Santana to rack up as many losses as the Pirates have in their losing span, he’d have to pitch and get a decision in every single game for more than 29 straight regular seasons (4,744 games).

Finally, during the Pirates' losing span, Pittsburgh fans have been used to counting down the days until the NFL and NHL seasons start. In those 17 years, the Steelers have 13 winning seasons and two Super Bowl wins. The Penguins also have 13 winning seasons and a Stanley Cup.

Today’s Leaderboard: We’re dedicating today’s leaderboard to the unofficial MLB leaders in bouncing back from a team slump this season. The award thus far goes to the Cincinnati Reds, who shook off getting swept at home by the St. Louis Cardinals by simply running off two sweeps of their own. That continues a trend all year for the Reds. They’ve only been swept four times, but each time, they’ve bounced back to either sweep or win their next series.



Since 2000, the longest team win streak after getting swept (min. three-game sweep) belongs to the Boston Red Sox, who reeled off 12 straight in June 2006 on the heels of getting swept in Minneapolis.

Key Matchups: Of all the pitchers in MLB whom Jimmy Rollins is familiar with, would you guess that Jason Marquis is his biggest nemesis? There are 23 pitchers that Rollins has faced at least 35 times, including such aces as Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Pedro Martinez. But it’s Marquis whom Rollins has the lowest BA (.139) and slugging percentage (.167) against.

Brian Duensing has to be psyched to throw against the Angels tonight – he’s faced nine of them in his career and they’ve had little-to-no success. Those batters, from Bobby Abreu to Reggie Willits, are a combined 4-22 (.182 BA) with three strikeouts against Duensing. None of them have an extra-base hit off him.

Every Cardinal who bats against Giants starter Madison Bumgarner will be making his first career plate appearance against Bumgarner. So let’s take a look at what might be in the scouting report: he’s even better out of the stretch. Bumgarner has buckled down and pitched better when runners are on base this season – a .319 opponents BA with the bases empty and just a .208 with runners on.

Trivia Answer: Current Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland was at the helm of that 1992 Pirates team.

Current Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield had that blistering record and ERA, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting.

And current Arizona Diamondbacks manager (and former MVP) Kirk Gibson had a cup of coffee with the Pirates that season. He was released and then temporarily retired before signing with the Tigers for the next season to begin the twilight of his playing career.

The Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander allowed two runs in the first inning against the New York Yankees.

Verlander has now allowed 21 1st-inning runs this season, that’s second in the AL, behind the Baltimore Orioles’ Kevin Millwood, who’s allowed 35 runs in the first in his 24 starts.

About an hour after Verlander took the mound, the New York Mets’ Johan Santana allowed three 1st-inning runs against the Astros. Santana has now allowed 23 runs in the first, tied for second in the National League this season.