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Don’t look now, but the Washington Nationals have zoomed to the top of the NL East following their 3-2, extra-inning win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon.

The Nationals improved to 5-2, their best start since moving to Washington, and also win their first home opener since 2008. This is just the second time in the last 15 seasons the franchise has won five of its first seven games. In 2001, the Montreal Expos were 6-1 after seven games.

The Nats took a 2-0 lead into the ninth inning but Brad Lidge blew the save, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks. Lidge had allowed just one run over his previous 16 appearances dating to August of last year.

The Nationals won it in the 10th inning thanks to a wild outing by Reds reliever Alfredo Simon. Simon hit Ryan Zimmerman to lead off the inning and Zimmerman eventually came around to score four batters later on Simon’s wild pitch with Roger Bernadina at the plate.

This was the Nationals’ fifth win on a game-ending wild pitch since moving to Washington in 2005. Entering Thursday, the Nats had lost their last six extra-inning games against the Reds and were 0-5 in one-run games versus Cincinnati over the last two season.

Gio Gonzalez got a no-decision but deserved the win, tossing seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just two hits allowed.

Gonzalez had success going low as Reds hitters went 0-for-11 in at-bats ending with pitches down in the zone or below. Gonzalez also did a good job finishing off batters, allowing zero hits in 13 at-bats that reached a two-strike count.

Around The Diamond
• The Minnesota Twins came back from a six-run deficit against the Los Angeles Angels thanks to home runs from both Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. It was the first time that Morneau and Mauer homered in the same game since July 6, 2010.

• Matt Garza fell one out short of a shutout when he was pulled after 119 pitches in the ninth inning of the Chicago Cubs 8-0 win. Garza had his slider working, throwing 31 of them, as the Milwaukee Brewers were hitless including five strikeouts in nine at-bats ending with the pitch.

• The Detroit Tigers improved to 5-1 this season with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Austin Jackson scored a run and has now crossed home plate in all six games this season, the longest streak to start the season by a Tiger since Darrell Evans scored in the first eight games in 1986.

• Madison Bumgarner took a no-hitter into the sixth inning as the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2. Bumgarner recorded a career-high 14 ground-ball outs (including a double play) with eight of them coming in at-bats ending in sliders.

The San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves open a four-game series in Atlanta at 7 ET on Monday Night Baseball on ESPN.

San Francisco makes its first trip to Atlanta since clinching the 2010 National League Division Series over the Braves, which began the Giants' march to the World Series title.

Chances are if this game is close late in the game, the winning team just might close out the game in its final at-bat. Among all National League teams, the Braves (20) and Giants (18) have the most wins in their last at-bats this season.

On the mound

Madison Bumgarner takes the mound for San Francisco, hoping this turn on the hill is much better than the last time he faced the Braves. On April 22, Bumgarner allowed four runs (three earned), four hits, two walks and two strikeouts in only 2⅔ innings of work in a 4-1 loss.

A major key to success for Bumgarner has been getting through the third inning without too much damage, something he didn’t do back in April (allowed all four Atlanta runs to score). In innings 1-3, Bumgarner has allowed 42 ER in 69.0 IP (5.48 ERA). But in innings 4-9, he has allowed just 15 ER in 76⅓ IP (1.77 ERA).

Tim Hudson will take the mound for Atlanta. In his past six starts against the Giants, Hudson is 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA, and in his past three starts against San Francisco, he’s allowed only four earned runs in 23⅔ innings.

Hudson thrives with David Ross behind the plate, winning nine of 10 decisions this season. Ross has served as Hudson’s personal catcher since June 15, well before Brian McCann was injured, and the numbers demonstrate exactly why that move was made.

Matchups

As a member of the Philadelphia Phillies from 2006 to 2007, Aaron Rowand hit .315 with a .368 on-base percentage and .454 slugging percentage in 29 games against Atlanta. However, since joining the Giants, Rowand is hitting only .250 with two HRs with a .316 OBP and .426 slugging percentage in 21 games against the Braves.

Dan Uggla went 0-for-3 in the Braves' 6-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, snapping his 33-game hitting streak. Uggla was struggling before the streak began, hitting only .173 (he raised his average to .232 before the streak ended). Since 1900, among single-season hit streaks of at least 30 games that did not begin the season, Uggla had the fourth-lowest BA.

Stat of the game

This stat comes courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau: Atlanta’s Chipper Jones has not walked in his past 53 plate appearances. That’s the longest such streak of his career; his previous high was 49 plate appearances without a walk in June 1995 (his rookie season).

The San Francisco Giants go for the sweep of the Cleveland Indians tonight at 8 ET on ESPN. The Giants won the first two games by just one run each, improving to 22-11 in games decided by a single run, which is easily the best mark among NL teams and tied with the Rays for tops in MLB.

Despite being under .500 at the beginning of May, and enduring a recent five-game losing streak which had dropped them out of first place in the NL West, the Giants are 43-34 heading into tonight’s game. That means they are already ahead of last year’s World Series-winning pace, when they were just 40-37 in their first 77 games.

The Indians got off to a blazing start this year, winning 30 of their first 45 games. The team’s success was built on a starting rotation that had a 3.60 ERA during the first 45 contests, combined with an offense that averaged more than five runs per game and hit .321 with runners in scoring position.

However, the Indians have struggled of late, losing 20 of their last 30 games. During this losing stretch, the starters have posted a 5.19 ERA, while the offense is averaging just 3.1 runs per game and hitting .190 with runners in scoring position.

The pitching matchup features two players trying to bounce back from recent struggles. Fausto Carmona is 1-6 with a 9.73 ERA in his past seven starts, and has allowed at least four runs in eight straight starts. His 8.55 ERA in June is the worst among qualified starters.

Carmona has been hit hard over his past seven starts, with more than 25 percent of his balls in play resulting in line drives, compared to only 10 percent in his first nine turns.

Carmona enters the game with a 4-9 record, looking to avoid becoming the fifth Indians pitcher in the past 25 years to have double-digit losses before the All-Star break, and the first since Paul Byrd in 2008.

Madison Bumgarner made history -- in a bad way -- in his last start on June 21 against the Twins, becoming the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1900) to allow nine hits and record less than two outs in a game.

Bumgarner, with a 3-9 record, is also trying to avoid his 10th loss this season. He would be the fifth Giants pitcher over the past 25 seasons to have 10 losses before the All-Star break, and the first since Barry Zito in 2008. He’ll have to overcome his struggles in San Francisco, where he is 0-5 this season and has just one home win in 16 career starts.

If the game is close in the late innings again, the Giants might have the edge, but not by much. They lead the majors with 14 wins in their last at-bat, while the Indians have 12 last-at-bat victories, ranking second in the AL. The Giants have the third-best bullpen ERA in the majors (2.96), while the Indians’ relievers are just behind them with a 2.97 ERA.

--Jeremy Lundblad contributed to this post

After going at least six innings and allowing no more than three runs in each of his previous 10 starts, Madison Bumgarner allowed eight runs and didn't even make it out of the first inning Tuesday. The red-hot Minnesota Twins, who have won eight straight games after their 9-2 victory, tagged Bumgarner for nine hits including eight straight to start the game.

The Twins alternated singles and doubles on those first eight hits until Bumgarner recorded his first and only out with a strikeout of pitcher Carl Pavano.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's tied for the most consecutive hits with no outs in the first inning in MLB history. Prior to Tuesday, six other teams accomplished the feat -- the Cubs did it against the Pirates on September 8, 2009, the only other occurence this century. The previous five occurences came during a 17-year span from 1973 to 1990.

Of those previous six teams to accomplish the feat, only the Phillies against the Cubs on August 5, 1975 had as many extra base hits as the Twins did as part of their first eight hits. The Phillies also had four.

Elias also tells us that Bumgarner is the first pitcher since 1900 to allow nine hits AND record less than two outs in a game. Furthermore, he's also the first Giants starting pitcher since 1900 to allow eight or more runs without getting out of the first inning.

The Twins meanwhile improve to an MLB-best 15-3 in June after going a combined 17-36 in April and May. The eight-game win streak is their longest since they won eight from July 24 to August 1 last season.

The Giants loss is their fifth straight and their longest losing streak since they lost seven from June 26 to July 2 last season.

Through four starts, San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner has given up 25 hits and 15 earned runs in 17⅓ innings pitched. His walk rate also is higher and strikeout rate lower than last season.

Coming off a rookie season where he threw 214⅓ innings between Triple-A Fresno and San Francisco, it would be easy to blame his early struggles on arm fatigue. However, his average fastball is actually up from 91.2 mph in 2010 to 92.1 mph.

If velocity isn’t the problem, what is?

For starters, his slider has been hittable. Opponents are hitting .471 (8-for-17) against it, compared to .248 last season. Bumgarner’s changeup was his second-best pitch in terms of opponent batting average in 2010 (.206), but he hasn’t used it much this season (3.9 percent of pitches this season compared to 9.6 percent in 2010).

Last season, Bumgarner pitched well to both sides of the plate. This season, he has been successful working away (.182 opponent batting average), but has struggled inside (.333).

Bumgarner experienced the shortest outing of his career on Friday when he allowed four runs (three earned) in the third inning before being pulled. It was not the first time this season he struggled in that inning. Opponents are hitting just .143 against him in the first and second innings, but .611 (11-for-18) against Bumgarner in the third inning. These numbers aren’t skewed by one bad start, either. He’s given up three or more hits in the third inning in each of his four starts.

Other factors to consider are independent of Bumgarner. At .377, his opponent batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is up more than 60 points from 2010, which can be attributed to bad luck and/or poor fielding, or hanging more pitches inside the zone.

According to Fangraphs, his fielding independent pitching (FIP) this season is 5.24, more than two points lower than his ERA (7.79). FIP provides a more accurate way to measure a pitcher's talent level based on things he can control, such as strikeouts, walks, home runs and hit by pitches.

While his poor start is disappointing for the Giants, he showed last season he can bounce back from a rough month. In August, he recorded one win in five starts and posted a 5.29 ERA, but followed that with a 1.13 ERA in five September starts and a 2.18 ERA in the postseason.

According to The Elias Sports Bureau, Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey were the first all-rookie starting battery in a World Series game since Spec Shea and Yogi Berra started for the New York Yankees in Game One of the 1947 World Series.

How did they do?

Bumgarner became the fourth-youngest starter to win a World Series game as the Giants took a 3-1 series lead over the Rangers. The lefty went eight innings and didn’t allow an earned run becoming the youngest to ever accomplish that feat.

Bumgarner consistently got ahead of Rangers hitters as he threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 27 batters faced (78.0 pct). That's his highest percentage in any of his starts this season.

He also threw a season-high 25 changeups, smashing his previous high of 18. Bumgarner used his changeup most often early in the count to keep hitters that were looking for fastballs off balance. Overall, hitters finished one-for-eight against his changeup, and the seven outs he recorded with that pitch were the most all year.

Bumgarner’s dominance gave the Giants their fourth shutout this postseason. That ties the 1998 Yankees and 1905 New York Giants for the most in a single postseason in major-league history. To put that in perspective, from 1903 to 1966, 16 teams threw at least two shutouts in a World Series. The Giants are the first team since the 1966 Orioles (three shutouts) to pitch multiple shutouts in a World Series.

Bumgarner’s battery-mate, Posey, wasn’t bad either. In the top of the eighth inning he took Darren O’Day deep to center field for a 419-foot bomb that would have also been a home run at AT&T Park.

Posey is the 4th rookie catcher to homer in a World Series and first since Rod Barajas (2001 Diamondbacks).

At 23 years, 219 days (born March, 27, 1987), Posey is the youngest Giants player to homer in a World Series game. The previous youngest was Matt Williams (23 years, 333 days) in Game Three of the 1989 World Series.

Posey is also the fifth-youngest catcher to homer in a World Series game behind Yogi Berra (22 years, 143 days), Johnny Bench (22 years, 308 days), Bill Delancey (22 years, 313 days) and Tim McCarver (22 years, 362 days).

For the series Posey has two RBI and two runs scored. As a team, the Giants have scored 26 runs while the Rangers have only mustered 26 total HITS! Things will have to change for the Rangers if they hope to be the first team since the 1985 Royals to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series.

San Francisco’s dominant pitching staff and timely hitting propelled the Giants into the World Series for the fourth time since moving to San Francisco and the first time since 2002. Entering Game Six of the NLCS, the Giants starters had an ERA of 2.84 so it was not a particularly good sign when Game Six starter Jonathan Sanchez became the 14th starter in Giants postseason history to pitch two innings or fewer.

Sanchez’s short stint however, did not do the Giants in as manager Bruce Bochy made a historic call to the bullpen that helped the Giants advance to the World Series.

According to the Elias Sport Bureau, Saturday was the first time in postseason history that a team used four straight left-handed pitchers in a game (Jonathan Sanchez, Jeremy Affeldt, Madison Bumgarner and Javier Lopez). When it was all said and done, five Giants relievers combined to hold the Phillies without a run over the final seven innings. It was the most innings pitched without allowing a run by the winning team’s relievers in a postseason series-clinching game that did not go to extra innings since Game Five of the 1984 NLCS (Padres’ bullpen combined for 7 ⅔ scoreless innings against the Cubs).

Closer Brian Wilson sealed the deal by getting five outs to earn his third save of the series. Wilson posted a win and three saves in this year’s NLCS. According to the Elias Sport Bureau he became the fourth pitcher to win or save four games in one postseason series since saves became an official major-league statistic (in 1969). He joins Dennis Eckersley (1988 ALCS), Mitch Williams (1993 NLCS) and John Wetteland (1996 World Series) as the only four pitchers to accomplish that feat.

Besides stingy pitching, Juan Uribe's tiebreaking solo HR off Ryan Madson in the eighth inning was the difference in the game. The bomb by Uribe was his first postseason homer since his first postseason game, Game One of the 2005 ALDS (for White Sox). He went 23 postseason games without a home run, but once the streak was snapped Uribe became the fifth Giants player with a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later of a postseason game.

Outfielder Cody Ross was named NLCS MVP after batting .350 with three HR and five RBI. Ross became the fifth player in MLB history to start the season with a different team and win the LCS or World Series MVP award. He also extended his postseason hit streak to seven and hit a double for the third straight game. The latter is tied with Willie Mays for the second-longest such streak in Giants franchise history (Edgardo Alfonzo holds the record with a double in four straight games).

The Giants victory was their sixth, one-run win this postseason as they become just the third team in MLB history with that many one-run wins in a postseason.

Looking ahead, the Giants and Rangers have gone a combined 104 seasons worth of baseball without a World Series win. The Giants have not won a title in 55 seasons while the Rangers have never won a title in their 49 seasons as a franchise. It's the second World Series in the last 50 years (non-strike season) in which both teams had 92 wins or fewer. The other was 1997 (Marlins vs Indians).

In the San Francisco Bay Area fans describe Giants baseball as "torture". The Giants picked up their sixth win this postseason Wednesday; this time by a narrow 6-5 margin. That is San Francisco's fifth one-run win this postseason. They finished tied for second in the National League with 28 one-run wins during the regular season. Who led the NL? The Phillies with 29.

After going 6-16 during the NLDS against the Braves, Buster Posey was mired in a 1-11 slump through the first 3 games of the NLCS. He picked a good time to break out. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Buster Posey is just the fifth rookie to have four hits and two RBIs in a postseason game. The others are Jacoby Ellsbury (2007 Red Sox), Miguel Cabrera (2003 Marlins), Joe Garagiola (1946 Cardinals) and Freddie Lindstrom (1924 Giants).
Pablo Sandoval came up with a key 2-run double for the Giants. Last season that wouldn't have surprised many, but this season Sandoval hit .208 with runners in scoring position. That was the 3rd-worst among NL hitters with at least 100 AB with RISP. He was 0-1 in the postseason entering Game 4. He had just 2 hits in his last 12 at-bats with RISP to end the regular season.

From the Elias Sports Bureau: Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner was lifted with a 2-1 lead with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, and then in the bottom of the inning, Phillies starter Joe Blanton was removed from the game with two out and Philadelphia holding a 4-3 lead. That marked the first time in major league history that both starting pitchers were lifted from a postseason game one out away from being eligible for a victory.

This is the third time the San Francisco Giants have been up 3-1 in a Best-of-7 LCS. The two previous times (1989 against the Cubs and 2002 against the Cardinals), they closed out the series in five games. As for the Phillies, they are down 3-1 for the fifth time in franchise history. They've won Game 5 twice (2009 World Series, 1993 World Series), but they have never won a series when down 3-1.

Juan Uribe's sacrifice fly was the fourth game-ending postseason RBI in franchise history and the first since Kenny Lofton in the 2002 NLCS. Fred Merkle is the only other Giant with a walk-off sac fly (Game 5 of the 1911 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics).

The last time the Phillies lost a postseason game by walk-off was in one of the most dramatic games in history -- Game 6 of the 1993 World Series. Joe Carter hit a home run off Mitch Williams to win the game and the series.

A quick preview of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants have won eight of their last 11 home games against the Phillies, combining regular season and postseason.

The Phillies have won five of their last six postseason Game 4s (lost their last one to the Yankees in 2009 World Series). They’ve won eight straight postseason Game 4s against NL teams, last losing one in 1978 to the Dodgers. The Giants, on the other hand, have won four of their last five postseason Game 4s.

The Phillies trailed 2-1 in a best-of-7 NLCS only one other time (1993) and managed to win that series. However, they’ve trailed 2-1 in four other best-of-7 series (each in the World Series), and lost all four.

The Phillies have lost three of their last four postseason games against left-handed starters, beating Jonathan Sanchez earlier in this series. Prior to losing the three of four, they had won six straight postseason games in which the opposing team started a left-hander.

Madison Bumgarner, who starts for the Giants, has never faced the Phillies and has never faced a current Phillies hitter. And the Phillies have a decision to make with left fielder Raul Ibanez, who is slumping. He is 0-11 in this series and 0 for his last 15 overall. He hit .268 against lefties in the regular season and struck out in 23 percent of those plate appearances (.277, 14.4 percent against righties). His replacement would likely be Ben Francisco, who hit .284 with all six of his home runs against lefties, and .253 against righties.

The Phillies are 7-for-44 (.159) with runners in scoring position in this postseason (including 0-5 in Game 3) after hitting .327 with RISP in the postseason last season. They’re hitting .203 overall this postseason, .194 in this series.

The Phils counter with Joe Blanton, who is 2-0 with a 3.89 career ERA in eight postseason appearances. However, in his five career starts with Wally Bell calling balls and strikes, he’s 1-4 with a 5.70 ERA and a K/BB ratio less than two. Bell will be behind the plate tonight.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy will have a decision to make in center field tonight against the right-handed Blanton. Aaron Rowand, who hits right-handed, is 2-for-4 with two doubles in his career against Blanton, while Andres Torres, the lefty who was benched in Game 3, is 1-for-3 with a home run.

Red-hot Giants outfielder Cody Ross is 3-for-11 with a home run and six strikeouts in his career against Blanton and has struck out in his last four plate appearances against Blanton. Teammate Pat Burrell is 3-for-12 against Blanton, with three HR and five strikeouts.

Ross has an RBI in each of the last four postseason games in which he had a plate appearance. The last Giant to do that is Edgardo Alfonzo in 2003 (many Giants have done four straight). With an RBI in Game 4 tonight, Ross would tie Barry Bonds for the Giants record.

It was all about the starting pitching for the San Francisco Giants, who advanced to the NLCS with a win at Turner Field over the Braves.

Madison Bumgarner (age 21) became the youngest Giants pitcher to win a postseason game and the second-youngest starting pitcher to win a series clincher, behind only Fernando Valenzuela.

The Giants starting pitchers -- Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Bumgarner -- combined for an 0.93 ERA, the third-lowest by an NL team in a postseason series, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Elias also noted that this was the first postseason series ever in which all of the games were decided by one run.

Bumgarner was a difference-maker. He was fantastic in his last nine regular-season starts and was again great in Game 4. On Monday, he had his highest average fastball velocity (93.4 MPH according to our Inside Edge video data), and got hitters to chase his fastball more frequently in any start in his brief career.

The determining factors were four players, none of whom started the season with the team -- Bumgarner, Santiago Casilla, Buster Posey and Cody Ross.

The Giants have now twice won postseason series-clinching games at Turner Field, amazing considering they've only won one regular-season series there since the ballpark opened in 1997. They advance to their fifth NLCS, having won two previously (1989 and 2002) and lost two (1971 and 1987).

It was Bobby Cox's final game as a major league manager. Cox set an all-time record with his 16th career postseason appearance. He retires with one World Series title, with the 1995 Braves. There were some disappointing defeats along the way (the Braves have now lost eight straight postseason elimination games at home), but 2,504 regular season wins (fourth all-time) and a lot of good memories.

The Giants meanwhile head to an NLCS matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies. The teams split six games during the regular season. The key will be whether their pitching can shut the Phillies down -- during the regular season, they held Phillies hitters to a .226 batting average and three home runs -- and whether their hitting can get anything done against a staff that got two shutouts in its NLDS sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

The San Francisco Giants won Thursday to clinch at least a tie for the National League West division crown. And they are smoking hot this month, improving to 18-8 in September. They have a run differential of plus-47, and both of those marks would be the best in the majors if not for the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies.

San Francisco's pitchers have been great, and after their 4-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday, their pitching staff had one of the best Septembers in history. Their team ERA of 1.78 is the lowest in a calendar month since 1968 and the fifth lowest in the Live Ball Era.

FROM ELIAS: The Giants' 1.78 September ERA is the lowest in the Divisional Era (1969). They surpassed the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had a 1.93 ERA back in 1976.

ALSO FROM ELIAS: Giants pitchers allowed a .182 opponents' batting average, the second lowest in the Live Ball Era. Only the Cleveland Indians in 1968 had a lower opponents' batting average in a calendar month, when their opponents hit just .174 in May 1968.

ALSO FROM ELIAS: Madison Bumgarner, who went five innings and allowed just one earned run with seven strikeouts Thursday, lowered his September ERA to 1.13 in five starts. That's the lowest ERA in a month by a Giants rookie pitcher since Juan Marichal had a 0.96 ERA in July 1960 (min. one IP per team game).

Tim Lincecum is no stranger to strikeouts. In his last start, Lincecum broke Dwight Gooden's record for most strikeouts in a pitcher's first four seasons. Gooden struck out 892 in 924 1/3 innings, while Lincecum currently has 907 K in 811 innings pitched.

That type of productivity made it easy for Giants' manager Bruce Bochy to replace Madison Bumgarner with Lincecum on Wednesday. The switch means that the Giants ace will now be available for the season finale against the San Diego Padres on 3 days rest OR to pitch on normal rest Monday should the Giants fall into a one-game playoff. The Giants, remember, haven't seen the postseason since 2003.

Lincecum's start Wednesday didn't begin well as he allowed his first career leadoff home run to Arizona Diamondbacks SS Stephen Drew. However, when it was all said and done, Lincecum went seven innings, allowed just the one earned run and struck out 10. He improved to 16-1 with a 1.52 ERA when registering double-digit strikeouts in a game. It was Lincecum's seventh double-digit K game of the year and 26th of his career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Lincecum's 26 career games with at least 10 strikeouts are the thirdrd-most by a Giants pitcher since 1900.

Currently Lincecum leads the National League with 231 strikeouts (12 more than second place Roy Halladay). If he finishes the season as the National League K leader, it will be his third season in a row, and he'll join Randy Johnson (1999-2002) and Warren Spahn (1949-52) as the only NL pitchers since World War II to lead the league in strikeouts for three straight seasons.

Today’s Trivia: As Tim Lincecum appears on his way to a third consecutive season leading the NL in strikeouts ... who was the last right-handed pitcher to lead the NL in strikeouts for three straight seasons?

Quick Hits: September has been quite a month on the mound, as eight pitchers are 4-0 or better. There are 15 starting pitchers with an ERA below 2.00, 11 of whom reside in the NL. Let’s dive into some September numbers:

Derek Lowe is 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA in September, but the rest of the Atlanta Braves rotation is just 4-11 this month. Wednesday against the Florida Marlins, Lowe looks to become the first Braves pitcher to go 5-0 in September since Dave Jolly in 1954. Jolly picked up all five wins in a relief role.

Both Lowe and Carlos Zambrano (4-0, 0.78) have a shot at a 5-0 September with an ERA below 1.00. Over the last 50 years, that’s only been done five times in the NL: Randy Johnson (2002), Orel Hershiser (1988), Joaquin Andujar (1982), Don Sutton (1976) and Tom Seaver (1969).

Madison Bumgarner is just 1-2 this month despite a 1.00 ERA. That’s on pace to be the lowest September ERA for an NL rookie (min. 25 innings) since 1974 when Dale Murray of the Montreal Expos had a 0.26 ERA in 14 relief appearances.

The San Francisco Giants’ 1.85 ERA is on pace to be the lowest in September for any team since the 1967 Giants posted a 1.79 ERA.

With his start on Thursday, Jon Lester has a shot at becoming the first pitcher to go 6-0 in September since Jose Contreras in 2005. The last Boston Red Sox pitcher to do it was Bobby Ojeda in 1983. In his career, Lester is now 15-2 in September.

Carlos Marmol has 12 saves this month and hasn’t allowed an earned run. Since saves became an official stat, the only pitcher with more saves and a perfect ERA in September was Ryan Dempster with 13 in 2005.

Milwaukee Brewers rookie Mark Rogers has faced 18 batters this month (and in his career) without allowing a hit. Over the last 50 years, which rookie faced the most batters in September without allowing a hit? Would you believe that it’s NBA Hall-of-Famer Dave DeBusschere? In September 1962, he faced 24 batters for the Chicago White Sox and did not allow a single hit. Unlike Rogers, DeBusschere had pitched in the big leagues earlier that season.

It’s not all positives. Jason Vargas takes the hill today for the Seattle Mariners trying to avoid an 0-6 September. The last pitcher to do that was Bud Black in 1992 for the Giants. In the AL, you’d have to go back to Jim Clancy for the 1986 Toronto Blue Jays. Clancy, who lost another one in October, was 14-7 going into September.

Today’s Leaderboard: How good has the pitching been in the National League this September? The league as a whole has a 3.85 ERA this month, which would be the lowest over the course of ANY full month since April 1993.

Key Matchups
Not only is Derek Lowe pitching on three days rest, but he faces a team that has hit him hard this season. In a pair of starts, he has a 9.35 ERA thanks in part to eight walks in 8 2/3 innings. But a much bigger problem has been Dan Uggla. A career .429 hitter against Lowe, most of the damage has been done recently. Going back to last season, Uggla has six hits in his last seven at-bats against Lowe, including two doubles and a home run.

With Adam Wainwright (213) done for the season and Roy Halladay (219) unlikely to pitch more than the equivalent of a side-session, Tim Lincecum (220) is in the driver’s seat to take home his third straight NL strikeout title. And guess who he gets to face Wednesday: The Arizona Diamondbacks, the team that’s struck out more than any in MLB history. Mark Reynolds (13 K in 21 AB vs Lincecum), Stephen Drew (12 K in 36 AB) and Chris Young (13 K in 36 AB) are the main targets.

Trivia Answer: Dizzy Dean led the NL in strikeouts in four straight years from 1932 to 1935. The three to do it since – Johnny Vander Meer (1941-43), Warren Spahn (1949-52) and Randy Johnson (1999-2002) - were all lefties.

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.

Forget about Shark Week, it's blowout week in baseball. We've now had an MLB game decided by 10+ runs for 6 straight days. The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that the last time this happened was from August 22-27, 2007.

Friday: Rockies 17, Cubs 2
Saturday: Cardinals 11, Pirates 1
Sunday: Diamondbacks 14, Mets 1
Monday: Brewers 18, Cubs 1
Tuesday: Astros 18, Cardinals 4; Giants 10, Rockies 0; White Sox 12, Tigers 2
Wednesday: Cubs 15, Brewers 3

Here are some more recaps from today's afternoon action on the diamond.

NL
Rockies 6, Giants 1
Ubaldo Jimenez tied a Rockies' franchise record with his major-league leading 17th win. He improves to 8-0 at home, and is 13-1 this season following a Colorado loss. Carlos Gonzalez (22, 23) had hit first career multi-HR game, and has six HR in his last seven games. Troy Tulowitzki added his 10th HR of the season, and first since coming off the DL. The Rockies have won 5 of 6 following their 8-game losing streak. The loss snaps a 4-game win streak for the Giants, who allowed as many runs as they had in the previous 4 games combined. Madison Bumgarner lasted only 4 innings, the shortest outing of his career.

Andres Torres (SF): 0-for-4, 4 K
•  First Giants player this season to record a game of 4+ strikeouts and no hits.
•  First since Fred Lewis on April 15, 2009.
•  Only one Giant has done it twice since 2000 - Aaron Rowand.
•  There are now only three teams in the MLB who have not had a player with 4+ strikeouts and no hits in a game this season: White Sox, Indians, Tigers.

Cubs 15, Brewers 3
Cubs score a season-high 15 runs and snap their season-worst 7-game losing streak. It is the most runs they have scored since August 14 of last season. Aramis Ramirez hits his second career pinch-hit HR (1st since 2002 with PIT). Starlin Castro has first career four-hit game while Geovany Soto gets his 3rd career 5-RBI game. Ryan Dempster improves to 14-3 career vs the Brewers.

Reds 9, Pirates 4
The Reds break game open with 6-run 7th inning including RBI doubles by Joey Votto and Jonny Gomes, an RBI triple by Laynce Nix and a 3-run HR by Paul Janish. It is the 15th time Cincinnati scores at least 9 runs this season. All four Pittsburgh runs were scored on home runs. Johnny Cueto allows 1 run and 3 hits in 6 innings to improve to 9-2 career vs the Pirates and 5-0 with a 1.55 ERA in his last 8 starts. Jeff Karstens falls to 0-4 career vs Reds and is 0-5 in his last 8 starts.

AL
Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1
Alex Rodriguez becomes the 7th player to hit 600 career HR when he hit a 2-0 fastball off Shaun Marcum in the first inning to center field. Rodriguez is the youngest to reach 600 HR (35 years, 8 days). Rodriguez snapped a streak of 46 at-bats since his last homer, the longest homerless streak ever between home run numbers 599 and 600. The homer came on the 3-year anniversary of his 500th HR, which was also in the first inning and also at Yankee Stadium and also in a game started by Phil Hughes. Derek Jeter (4-4, two doubles) has his 35th career 4-hit game, passing Joe DiMaggio and Bernie Williams for 4th-most 4-hit games by a Yankee in the live-ball era (since 1920). The Yankees snap their 3-game losing streak, which matched their longest of the season.

A's 4, Royals 3
Brett Anderson picks up his first win since May 29 and goes 7 innings, his longest outing of the season. After giving up 2 runs in the first, A's pitchers held the Royals to 1 run on 3 hits the rest of the way. Michael Wuertz struck out the side in the 9th to notch his 4th save, tying a career-high. The A's have won 11 of their last 14 against the Royals. The Royals have lost 8 of their last 10 on the road. Jose Guillen (0-4) falls to 3-41 (.073) in his last 11 games. Wuertz struck out the side in the 9th to notch his 4th save, tying a career-high.