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Wondering why those who are in the top 10 were picked in those spots? Here are some numbers to know about each of the top 10 players in the ESPN 500.

Albert Pujols –- Pujols is in very elite company. He’s one of six players to hit 400 career home runs and bat at least .325. The other five: Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig and Stan Musial. Pujols’ 445 home runs through his first 11 seasons are the most all-time through a player’s initial 11 years in the majors.

Roy Halladay -- Halladay has 170 wins and a 2.97 ERA, averaging almost 210 innings per year over the last 10 seasons. The last pitcher to average 17 wins and 200 innings a season, over a 10-season span, and do so with a sub-3.00 ERA was Greg Maddux from 1995 to 2004.

Miguel Cabrera -- Cabrera has led the American League in at least two significant offensive categories in three of the last four seasons. Cabrera’s .977 OPS over the last six seasons trails only Albert Pujols in that span.

Justin Verlander -– Verlander won both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards in 2011, the first pitcher to win both since Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley in 1992, and the first starter to do so since Roger Clemens in 1986. Over the last three seasons, Verlander leads the majors in wins (61) and strikeouts (738) and is third in opponents BA (.221).

Felix Hernandez -- Hernandez and Roy Halladay are the only two pitchers to average 240 innings per season over the last three seasons, and his ERA, when adjusted for ballpark, ranks second to Halladay in that span as well.

Ryan Braun –- Braun has led all major league outfielders in batting average (.318), RBI (328), runs (323) and doubles (122) over the last three seasons. The 2007 NL Rookie the Year and 2011 NL MVP has hit 161 HR in his first five seasons, the 10th-most by a player in his first five seasons.

Clayton Kershaw –- Kershaw is second to Roy Halladay among National League starters in both wins and ERA, but leads in strikeouts and opponent batting average over the last two seasons.

Troy Tulowitzki -- Over the last three seasons, Tulowitzki has 89 home runs, 34 more than any other player whose primary position is shortstop. His OPS+ of 134 also tops all shortstops in that span. Tulowitzki also ranks third among shortstops over the last three seasons in Defensive Runs Saved.

Tim Lincecum –- Since making his debut in May of 2007, Lincecum has struck out at least 10 batters in a game 31 times, the most in the majors over that span. His 977 strikeouts over the last four years is tops among all pitchers.

Robinson Cano -- Cano has led major-league second baseman in both slugging percentage and OPS in each of the last two seasons. This season, he will likely break the Yankees record for career home runs as a second baseman, a mark currently held by Tony Lazzeri (147- eight more than Cano) that has stood for more than half a century.

For the 36th time in baseball history and first since 2002, a Game 7 is needed to decide the World Series, this time between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. If recent history is any indication, start popping the corks in St. Louis. Since 1980, home teams are 8-0 in World Series Game 7s (prior to 1980, home teams were 10-17).

Furthermore, of the last nine World Series to go seven games, eight were won by the team that won Game 6. The only team since 1979 to lose Game 7 after winning Game 6 was the Cleveland Indians against the Florida Marlins in 1997.

Playing in a Game 7 is nothing new for the Cardinals. In fact, they are making their 15th appearance in a postseason winner-take-all Game 7, the most all-time. And they’ve had quite a bit of success, winning 10 postseason Game 7s, also the most all-time.

St. Louis leads all franchises with seven Game 7 wins in World Series action, but has lost three of its last four. On the other side, Texas is making its first appearance in a Game 7 of any series in franchise history.

Pitching Matchup
Matt Harrison will make his second World Series start for Texas. Harrison took the loss in Game 3 after allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. Harrison will try to be the first starting pitcher who lost a game earlier in the series to win Game 7 of a World Series since Frank Viola (1987 Minnesota Twins).

It was reported Friday that the Cardinals will start Chris Carpenter, and that should make St. Louis fans breathe a sigh of relief. Carpenter is 8-2 in his postseason career, including 3-0 this season. In three career World Series starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA and has allowed just four earned runs in 13 innings against the Rangers this series.

Carpenter has pitched on three-days rest just once and it was earlier this postseason in Game 2 of the NLDS at Philadelphia.

According to Elias, Carpenter will be the ninth pitcher to start two winner-take-all games in one postseason.

The others were Blue Moon Odom (1972 Oakland Athletics), Pete Vuckovich (1982 Milwaukee Brewers), Bret Saberhagen (1985 Kansas City Royals), John Smoltz (1991 Atlanta Braves), Jaret Wright (1997 Indians), Curt Schilling (2001 Arizona Diamondbacks), Roger Clemens (2001 New York Yankees), Kerry Wood (2003 Chicago Cubs) and Pedro Martinez (2003 Boston Red Sox). No pitcher has ever won two winner-take-all games in one postseason, no matter if he started the game or not.

Stat of the Game
Elias tells us that Tony La Russa needs a win in Game 7 to avoid becoming the first manager to lose the clinching game of four World Series on his home field. In 1988, the Athletics lost in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Game Five at the Oakland Coliseum; in 1990, the Athletics were swept by the Cincinnati Reds, with Game Four in Oakland; in 2004, the Cardinals lost all four games to the Red Sox, with Game Four at Busch Stadium.

The third, and final, winner-take-all game of the 2011 LDS takes place in the City of Brotherly Love as the Philadelphia Phillies host the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are 8-5 against the Phillies this season, including playoffs, and have won four of the six meetings in Philadelphia.

Divisional Series History
The Cardinals are 10-5 all-time in winner-take-all games. Their most recent was a 3-1 win over the New York Mets in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, won on Yadier Molina ninth-inning home run. St. Louis is 4-4 all-time in winner-take-all games on the road.

The Phillies have only played two winner-take-all games. They beat the Houston Astros 8-7 in Houston in Game 5 of the 1980 NLCS, winning on a hit in the 10th inning by Garry Maddox. They also lost to the Montreal Expos 3-0 at home in Game 5 of the 1981 LDS. Steve Rogers pitched a six-hit shutout to beat them.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Philadelphia's 13 consecutive playoff series that did not go the distance was the longest such streak in major league history. The previous record was held by the Oakland Athletics, who went 12 consecutive series without playing a decisive game, from 1974 to 1992.

On the Mound
Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay lead the Cardinals and Phillies, respectively, in this game. Since the Cy Young Award was introduced in 1956, this is the third winner-take-all playoff game in which previous Cy Young winners faced off. The others were Pedro Martinez against Roger Clemens in the 2003 ALCS and Pedro Martinez against Barry Zito in the 2003 ALDS.

Carpenter went only three innings in his Game 2 start (throwing 64 pitches), his shortest postseason start of his career. The Cardinals won that game, improving Carpenter’s teams to 8-2 in his 10 career postseason starts. In his last four road postseason starts, Carpenter is 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA.

Halladay is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in two career NLDS starts, including his no-hitter in the 2010 NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds. Despite the success in this round, Halladay has allowed seven earned runs in 16.0 innings in his last two starts against the Cardinals.


Players to Watch
Albert Pujols could be playing his final game in a Cardinal uniform, as he becomes a free agent at season’s end. Pujols ranks as the all-time leader in home runs and RBI for players within their first 11 major-league seasons. In Cardinals history, he ranks second or third in just about every major statistical category, trailing either Stan Musial or Mark McGwire.

Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley have been driving the Phillies offensive bus this series. The two have a combined .517 batting average (15-for-29) with a 1.381 OPS while hitting seven of the teams 10 extra-base hits. The rest of the Phillies are hitting .181 with a .474 OPS.

Rollins, specifically, has been killing the ball. His performance against non-fastballs this postseason, although a small sample size, has been solid (5-for-8 with a double). And he’s not wasting any time at the plate – if he gets a pitch to hit, he’s taking his cuts.

The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees play the third game of their four-game series in New York on Wednesday Night Baseball (7 ET on ESPN). The Rays were nine games out of a playoff spot on Sept. 2. No team has ever overcome that large of a deficit in September to make the postseason. The 1964 St. Louis Cardinals overcame the largest deficit – 8½ games back on Sept. 3.

On the mound
For the Yankees, CC Sabathia is making his third attempt at winning 20 games this season. He’s trying to become the first Yankees pitcher since Tommy John in 1979-80 to win at least 20 games in consecutive seasons.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only one active pitcher won at least 20 games in back-to-back seasons. That was Roy Oswalt, who was 20-10 in 2004 and 20-12 in 2005. The last American League pitcher to win 20 games in consecutive seasons was Roger Clemens, for the 1997-1998 Toronto Blue Jays.

Sabathia has 224 strikeouts this season, ranking third on the Yankees single season all-time list. Ron Guidry holds the record with 248 strikeouts in 1978 (Jack Chesbro is second with 239 strikeouts in 1904).

Sabathia has struggled against the Rays (fellow AL East rival, the Boston Red Sox) all season.

Besides struggling against the Rays and Red Sox, Sabathia has struggled with his fastball lately. Check out ESPN's Stats and Info's Mark Simon's blog on Sabathia's last nine starts.

For the Rays, Jeremy Hellickson takes the mound, searching for his 14th win of the season. Hellickson has a 2.91 ERA and is allowing the opposition to hit only .212 against him this season. Among qualified American League starting pitchers, his ERA and opponent batting average are each fifth-best.

Player to watch
Curtis Granderson is the first Yankees left-handed hitter with 40 home runs in a season since Jason Giambi in 2003. He’s also the first Yankee since Joe DiMaggio in 1937 with 40 home runs, 20 doubles and 10 triples in a season. Granderson also joins Willie Mays as the only players in MLB history to hit 40 home runs, record 10 triples and steal 20 bases in a single season. Mays did it in 1955.

According to Elias, only four players have ever finished a season in sole possession of the major-league lead in home runs, RBI and runs: Babe Ruth (three times, 1920, 1921 and 1926), Ted Williams (1942), Mickey Mantle (1956) and Alex Rodriguez (2007).

Granderson has struggled in his career against the Rays, with a career .147 batting average against current Tampa Bay pitchers. Against Hellickson, Granderson has just one hit in six at-bats, with three strikeouts.

Stat of the game
B.J. Upton has hit 13 career home runs against the Yankees, tied for his most against one team (Baltimore Orioles). He has three home runs this season against New York after having three combined against them from 2008-10.

The New York Yankees look to complete its first three-game sweep at the Seattle Mariners since August 13-15, 2009 on Wednesday Night Baseball (10 ET, ESPN). The Yankees are riding a three-game winning streak while the Mariners have lost four straight. New York is an AL-best 44-30 on the road this season.

On the mound
Rookie Ivan Nova (15-4) takes the mound for New York. According to our friends at the Elias Sports Bureau, since 1950, only four rookies have won at least 16 of their first 20 decisions in a season - Bob Grim (1954), Jack S. Sanford (1957), Wally Bunker (1964) and Tom Gordon (1989). Each started 16-4 in their rookie seasons.

Nova started the year 4-4, but has won 11 straight decisions, the longest streak by a Yankees pitcher since Roger Clemens won 16 straight in 2001. Prior to his Sept. 8 start against the Baltimore Orioles (a no-decision in which the Yankees lost), the Yankees had won his last 12 starts.

Jason Vargas, who has lost three of his last four decisions, will start for Seattle. Vargas is 0-3 with a 7.86 ERA in six games (five starts) against the Yankees in his career.

Since pitching two shutouts in four starts (June 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays and June 19 against the Philadelphia Phillies), Vargas is 3-9 with a 5.38 ERA in his last 14 starts.

Matchups to watch
The No. 1 hitter in the batting order is just 11-for-71 (.155 BA) against Nova this season. Cleanup hitters are hitting .339 with four HR against him.

Vargas hasn’t been able to finish off right-handed hitters with his two-strike changeup as he has in previous years. From 2009-10, right-handed batters recorded 72 outs against 24 hits against his two-strike changeup. This year, righties have made 45 outs against 23 hits against the pitch.

Stats of the game
Mariano Rivera recorded his 600th career save as he joined Trevor Hoffman as the only pitchers with that many saves in the Yankees 3-2 win over the Mariners on Tuesday. His next save will tie Hoffman for most all-time (601). Rivera has notched all 600 of his saves with the Yankees, the most career saves all with one team. The next-highest is Jeff Montgomery, who had 304 for the Kansas City Royals.

ESPN's Stats and Information's Mark Simon brings you more on Rivera and his quest to tie Hoffman.

Derek Jeter needs one hit to reach 150 for the season, which would extend his streak of collecting at least 150 hits to 16 straight years. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only four other players in major-league history have had 150 or more hits in 15 consecutive seasons: Hank Aaron (17), Pete Rose (16), Honus Wagner (15) and Stan Musial (15, not including the 1945 season which he missed due to military service).

Mark Simon contributed to this post

If 2011 numbers are any indication, the Boston Red Sox have the right pitcher on the mound to even the series with the New York Yankees on Wednesday (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET).

In his four starts against the Yankees this season, Josh Beckett is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA. In the past 35 years, only three pitchers have posted an ERA of 1.00 or lower against the Yankees with at least 25 innings: Felix Hernandez (0.35 in 2010), Chuck Finley (0.57 in 1996) and Mike Caldwell (0.99 in 1978).

The key to Beckett’s success? The heart of the Yankees' order -- the 3-4-5-6 hitters -- are a combined 2-for-32 (.063) with 15 strikeouts. The only two hits belong to Robinson Cano (2-for-9).

That level of dominance was hard to envision after Beckett’s Bronx struggles in 2010, when he posted a 10.04 ERA against the Yankees. That was the fifth-highest ERA against the Yankees in the past 50 seasons (minimum four starts).

Last season, left-handed batters on the Yankees hit .354 with eight home runs against Beckett. This season, he has been able to neutralize them: a .156 batting average and one home run.

Beckett will be going for his fourth win against New York this season, a rare feat among Red Sox pitchers. Al Nipper went 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA against the Yankees in 1987, a season in which he won only seven other games. No Red Sox pitcher has won four against New York since, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

According to Elias, only three pitchers since 1995 have four wins against the Yankees in a season: Brett Cecil (4–0 in 2010), Roy Halladay (5–1 in 2008) and Chuck Finley (4–0 in 1996).

On the last day of August, Beckett looks for a positive end to a relatively shaky month. In five starts, he’s allowed seven home runs. Compare that to just nine in his first 20 starts. For his career, August is the only month in which Beckett has an ERA (4.53) over 4.00 or a record below .500 (18-20).

Beckett also looks to continue an impressive streak at home. In each of his first 11 starts at Fenway, he’s held the opponent to three runs or fewer. In the live ball era (since 1920), the Red Sox have had only two longer such streaks to start a season: Roger Clemens (15 in 1990) and Pedro Martinez (13 in 2000).

David Price set a single-game Tampa Bay Rays record with 14 strikeouts in a 12-0 victory Sunday over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Price's 14 strikeouts passed the previous Rays record of 13 set by James Shields earlier this season and first done by Scott Kazmir in 2007. Price's strikeout total finished one shy of the most by an American League pitcher this season. Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels struck out 15 -- also against the Blue Jays -- on April 10.

The most strikeouts in a game this season belongs to Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies, who struck out 16 against the Atlanta Braves in seven innings on May 6.

Price, who just turned 26 years old on Friday, flirted with the possibility of nearing the MLB record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game of 20 held by Roger Clemens (done twice in 1986 and 1996) and Kerry Wood in 1998.

Price struck out 10 batters through four innings, which was one more than what Clemens had in his two 20-strikeout games and was two more than what Wood had.

Price proceeded to strike out two more batters in the fifth, which kept him on pace with what Clemens had and was one ahead of Wood's pace. However, Price did not strike out a batter in the sixth inning, the only frame in which a batter did not go down on strikes.

But the left-hander finished with two more in his seventh and final inning of the game. He became the fourth pitcher this season to record 14 strikeouts in seven or fewer innings.

Price became the fourth pitcher to record at least 14 strikeouts on the road against the Blue Jays and the first since Bartolo Colon on May 29, 1998. The first to do it was Mark Langston in 1988 at Exhibition Stadium, the Blue Jays original home from 1977 until 1989.

So how was Price able to rack up so many strikeouts? He relied on what he always does, the fastball. He picked up 10 of his 14 strikeouts on pitches ending on the fastball. It's his third start this season in which he had 10 strikeouts with his fastball. No other starter in baseball even has one. This season, Price has 128 strikeouts ending on the fastball, 30 more than Colon, who is second with 98.

Blue Jays hitters swung 32 times against the pitch and put only four in play, the fewest fastballs ever put in play in a start against Price with a minimum of 20 swings.

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 Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees entered Tuesday with a chance to clinch a berth in MLB's postseason. All three wrapped up spots in the playoffs with wins, one in dramatic fashion.

Jay Bruce clinched the NL Central title for the Reds with his second career walk-off as they knocked off the Houston Astros 3-2. It's the Reds first division title and playoff berth since 1995. The Reds' 14 straight seasons missing the playoffs was the fifth-longest active drought in MLB.

Bruce is the fifth player all-time to hit a walk-off HR to clinch a postseason berth and the first since Steve Finley for the 2004 Los Angeles Dodgers. It is the Reds 22nd win in their last at-bat this season, tied for second in the majors.

The Yankees clinched their 49th postseason berth, the most of any team in MLB history, with a 6-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

CC Sabathia had his third game allowing three hits or fewer while pitching at least eight innings this month. He is the first Yankees pitcher to have three starts of that kind in a month since Jimmy Key in April 1993.

The Rays also clinched a playoff spot with a 5-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles in front of 17,981 at Tropicana Field. Using the attendance figures on ESPN.com, the Rays average attendance this season of 22,913 would be the third-lowest by a playoff team since 2001.

Not to be forgotten Tuesday was the battle for AL Cy Young, which had three candidates on the mound. Sabathia, David Price and Felix Hernandez all were outstanding as usual.

Price won his 19th game with eight scoreless innings. He is second in the AL in wins to Sabathia's 21 and is the only pitcher in the league to rank in the top three in wins and ERA, which lowered to 2.73.

Hernandez gave up one run over eight innings in the Seattle Mariners 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers. It was the 13th time this season Hernandez has gone at least eight innings while giving up one run or fewer. That's the most by a starting pitcher in a single season since Roger Clemens in 1997. Clemens went on to win the Cy Young that year.

According to ESPN's player rankings, Hernandez has the lead among AL starting pitchers over Boston Red Sox ace Jon Lester. Price ranks fourth while Sabathia is sixth. Time will tell who will take home the hardware.

The season is obviously not yet over, but after Friday's start Adam Wainwright has 20 wins, 213 strikeouts and a 2.42 ERA. Over the last 20 seasons, there have been six other seasons in which a pitcher has compiled at least 20 wins and 200 K with an ERA under 2.50. Randy Johnson (x3), Pedro Martinez (x2) and Roger Clemens (x1) account for each of those six seasons. Four of those seasons resulted in a Cy Young Award and the other two were both runner-up finishes. One of those runner-ups can essentially be thrown out since that was merely Randy Johnson losing out to Roger Clemens in a season in which they both met the stated criteria.


Adam Wainwright may not be playing on a team in playoff contention (like Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez and Tim Hudson), but he is certainly in contention for the NL Cy Young Award. It should be noted that Roy Halladay (20 wins, 213 K, 2.53 ERA) is very close to joining Wainwright in reaching each of the standards. If Wainwright and Halladay each pull this off, it would be the first time in over 40 years that multiple NL pitchers did this. It last happened in 1969, when five NL pitchers did it (Larry Dierker, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Tom Seaver, and Bill Singer). Seaver won the NL Cy Young Award that season.

Another factor boding in Wainwright's favor is ESPN.com's Player Rater, which historically correlates very strongly with the final Cy Young order of finish. Not surprisingly (considering his statistics), it has Wainwright as the National League's top starter this season (followed closely by Halladay).

A couple of other quick notes on Wainwright:

He's the third pitcher in Cardinals history to post 20 wins and 200 strikeouts in a single season. Bob Gibson did it five times from 1965 to 1970 and Chris Carpenter did it in 2005.

Wainwright saved the clinching game of the 2006 World Series. The only other player in major league history to have a 20-win season and a save in a World Series-clinching game is Dennis Eckersley who won 20 games in 1978 with the Boston Red Sox and saved the World Series clincher in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics.

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.

Monday was a historic night in New York baseball. Both the New York Yankees and New York Mets played games that were scoreless through nine innings of play.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the third time in New York baseball history that two New York teams played games scoreless through nine innings, not against each other, on the same day. The other combinations both involved the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants playing separate 0-0 extra-inning games (once in 1913, once in 1915).

Rays 1, Yankees 0 (11 innings)
• This matchup saw a pair AL Cy Young hopefuls (CC Sabathia and David Price) deliver in a big game. This was first game of the season in which both starting pitchers went at least eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits or fewer. It's the first time two pitchers did this in a Yankees-Rays game since 2003 (Roger Clemens and Victor Zambrano).

• Reid Brignac's first career walk-off home run in the 11th inning was the latest Rays' latest walk-off home run since Evan Longoria hit a 13th-inning walk-off home run against the Boston Red Sox last August.

• The Rays have sole possession of the AL East lead for the first time since August 3.

• The Yankees have lost a season-high four games in a row and seven of their last eight overall. They have suffered three walk-off losses in their last four games. It's the first time they have suffered three walk-off losses over a four-game span since June 20-23, 1988.

• According to Elias, the last time two teams played a 1-0 extra-inning game for first place in a division this late in a season was September 17, 2002. That day the Anaheim Angels defeated the Oakland Athletics. Those teams entered the day tied for first place (94-56).

• The Mets, in a relatively insignificant game, defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates on Nick Evans' 10th-inning walk-off home run.

Other notes from around baseball:

• In the Florida Marlins 11-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, Dan Uggla crushed his 30th home run of the season for the Marlins. Not only is he the first Marlins player to hit at least 30 home runs in four separate seasons, but he is also the first second baseman in MLB history to post four separate 30-HR seasons.


• Ryan Howard did not hit any of the Phillies four home runs, but he did drive in his 100th run of the season. Howard now has five consecutive 100-RBI seasons. He's the fourth Phillie since RBI became an official statistic in 1920 to post five 100-RBI seasons. He's the second to have five consecutive 100-RBI seasons, joining Chuck Klein from 1929-33.

• Jay Bruce, playing for the first time since August 30, hit his 19th and 20th home runs of the season. He has four multi-HR games this season, two of them coming in his last five games. He has now hit at least 20 home runs in each of his first three seasons. He joins Frank Robinson (1956-58) as the only two Cincinnati Reds players to do this.

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.

Today’s Trivia:
Roger Clemens finds himself back in the news today, so let’s take a look back at the Rocket’s playing days. Clemens won seven Cy Young awards – his first in 1986 and last in 2004. Five pitchers finished second behind Clemens in Cy Voting once, but one pitcher did it twice. Who is he?

Bonus question: Clemens not only won the Cy in 1986, he was the MVP as well. Who was runner-up to Clemens that year in MVP voting?

Quick Hits:
The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to chalk up their 100th straight home sellout on Thursday. The last game the Phillies did not sell out was July 6 of last season when they drew 41,548 for a game against the Reds. Let’s take a look at some parks that have seen attendance boosts or attendance swoons since last season.

Note: all comparisons are through the same number of home games for each season, so since the Reds have played 62 home games this season, their figures are compared to the numbers through 62 home games of last season (not through all 81 home games).

• It is no surprise that the Minnesota Twins are seeing the biggest boost, though they have a new park to thank. They’re drawing more than 10,200 fans per game MORE than they did last season at the Metrodome.

• In the non-new-ballpark category, hats off to the Colorado Rockies. They’re getting a 2,700 fans-per-game boost over last year, even though they made the playoffs last season.

• Give the consistency award to the fans at Busch Stadium. Their change this year is a whopping one, yes one, fan less per game. They averaged 40,846 last year and this year are bringing in 40,845.

• Hardest hit this year is the New York Mets, whose honeymoon with Citi Field has worn off. They’re seeing a decrease of more than 6,000 fans per game.

• And someone wake up the fans in Tampa. Though the Rays are in a division battle and have one of the best records in MLB, their attendance is down by almost 1,400 fans per game.

• Overall, 11 teams are drawing more fans per game this year compared to last, while the 19 others find themselves in the red. The average, through the same number of home games in each season, is 380 less fans per game this year.

Today’s Leaderboard:
Today is the anniversary of Eddie Gaedel and his only career plate appearance. So to honor the 3'7" big leaguer, here are the modern-day Gaedel's, or at least as close as we can get. As you can see, there are plenty of varying body types on this list:

Most Four-Pitch Walks This Season by Players Under Six Feet Tall:
5'11'' Prince Fielder - 16
5'11" Shin-Soo Choo - 13
5'11" Pablo Sandoval - 12
5'10" Andrew McCutchen - 12
5'11" Bengie Molina - 12
5'11" Blake Dewitt - 12
Excludes intentional walks

And, just for fun, let’s use Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon to connect Gaedel with Fielder, his modern-day “counterpart”.

Eddie Gaedel played with Jim Dyck for the 1951 Browns...
• Dyck played with Frank Robinson for the 1956 Redlegs...
• Robinson played with Dennis Eckersley for the 1975 Indians...
• Eckersley played with David Bell for the 1996 Cardinals...
• and Bell played with Fielder for the 2006 Brewers.

Thursday's Key Matchup:
Put it this way: Joe Mauer is batting .256 in his career against pitchers named Mark Buehrle and .329 against pitchers not named Mark Buehrle. There are only two pitchers (Justin Verlander and John Danks) who Mauer has faced more in his career than Buehrle. He’s batting better than .340 against each of them while Buehrle has held him to 11 hits in 43 at-bats.

Trivia Answer:
Randy Johnson was the two-time bridesmaid, finishing behind Clemens in 1997 and 2004. And get this, it happened once in the AL and once in the NL. Clemens the Blue Jay beat Johnson the Mariner in 1997 and Clemens the Astro beat Johnson the Diamondback in 2004.

The MVP runner-up in 1986 was Don Mattingly, who batted .352 that season with 31 HR and a .967 OPS. Only one pitcher was among the top nine vote-getters that season, and it was Clemens.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some other crazy facts:

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

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

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