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

1. SANTANA GETS NO SUPPORT AGAIN: FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: Ervin Santana became the first pitcher in MLB history to start five straight games in which his team was shut out. The Angels lost 4-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, and Albert Pujols went 0-4. Pujols has now gone homerless in 108 consecutive at bats to start the season, the longest single-season streak of his career. He's 2-20 with two singles during the Santana "shutout" streak.

2. HELP ME RONDO: FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: Rajon Rondo became the first player in NBA history to record 17 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and four steals in a playoff game. It is his seventh career triple-double in the playoffs, which is tied with LeBron James for sixth-most all-time. Rondo was suspended by the league in Game 2 of this series, and he becomes the first player in NBA playoff history to record a triple-double after missing his team's previous game.

3. TIGER MISSES CUT: Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship - his eighth career missed cut on the PGA TOUR. He missed the cut at this event in 2010, meaning this is the first event that he's missed the cut twice during his professional career. Phil Mickelson needed to make a putt on final hole to avoid missing the cut as well - if he had missed it, it would've been the first time they both missed the cut in the same PGA TOUR event.

4. BRAVES COME BACK: The Atlanta Braves trailed the Colorado Rockies 5-0 after one inning on Friday, but came back for the 9-8 win in 11 innings. FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: it is the first time the Braves overcame a 5-0 1st inning deficit since October 1, 1991 when they beat the Reds 7-6 despite trailing 6-0 after the first inning.

5. CINCO DE MAYO: It is Cinco de Mayo, so your fifth "Top Thing to Know" is going to be five fun mini-facts about today's action:

1) The last time a horse won the Triple Crown (1978), Kentucky had just won the NCAA Tournament - sound familiar?

2) The last time a Kentucky Derby was run on Cinco de Mayo (2007), Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought Oscar De La Hoya. Street Sense and Mayweather Jr. were the winners.

3) The only time a horse won the Triple Crown when the Kentucky Derby was run on Cinco de Mayo was in 1973, when the legendary Secretariat accomplished the feat.

4) The longest active win streak on Cinco de Mayo is by the Tampa Bay Rays, who have won their last six. The longest active losing streak is by the Miami Marlins, who have lost their last five.

5) Great news for Dallas Mavericks fans, for one day at least - no defending NBA champion has ever been eliminated from the playoffs on May 5.

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

1. CLIPPERS MAKE HISTORIC COMEBACK: The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 99-98, in Game One of their First-Round series. The Clippers trailed by 21 points at the end of the third quarter. The win tied the shot-clock era playoff record for the largest deficit overcome at the end of the third quarter. (2002 Boston Celtics vs New Jersey Nets)

2. BYNUM RECORDS TRIPLE-DOUBLE IN WIN: Andrew Bynum recorded a triple-double (10 Pts, 13 Reb, 10 Blk) in the Los Angeles Lakers 103-88 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game One on Sunday. According to Elias, was the first triple-double by a center in an NBA playoff game since May 7, 1993, when David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs (20 points, 17 rebounds, 11 assists) did it against the Portland Trail Blazers.

3. RONDO EJECTED, CELTICS DEJECTED: Rajon Rondo was ejected for bumping a referee during the fourth quarter of the Celtics 83-74 Game One loss to the Atlanta Hawks. NEXT LEVEL: If Rondo is suspended, the Celtics offense will likely take a hit. The Celtics averaged over seven points more per 100 possessions with Rondo on the floor this season compared to when he was off the floor or out.

4. RAYS ROMP RANGERS IN SERIES: The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Texas Rangers, 5-2, taking two of three games in their weekend series against the defending AL champions. According to Elias, the Rangers had won each of their seven previous series this season, tying them for the second-longest streak of consecutive series wins to begin a season for a team that had gone to the World Series the previous year. The 1907 Chicago Cubs won their first 11 series and the 2003 San Francisco Giants won their first seven.

5. METS WIN A CLOSE ONE: The New York Mets defeated the Colorado Rockies, 6-5 in 11 innings. According to Elias, it was the second victory in franchise history in which the Mets allowed a pair of game-tying home runs in the 8th inning or later. The other was New York's classic 19-inning, 16-13 win at the Atlanta Braves on July 4, 1985.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


1. BLACKHAWKS SCORING LATE: The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-3, in overtime. FROM ELIAS: This is the first time in NHL playoff history that a team has scored the game-tying goal with 15 or fewer seconds left in regulation in consecutive games. The Blackhawks forced OT in Game 1 when Brent Seabrook scored a goal with 15 seconds left (Coyotes won game in OT).

2. SPURS, CELTICS CLINCH: Two NBA clinchings took place on Saturday. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns, 105-91, and clinched their 18th division title over the last 35 years. The Boston Celtics defeated the New Jersey Nets, 94-82, to secure their fifth straight playoff appearance. Prior to the start of the Pierce/Garnett/Allen era (2007-08), the Celtics had just four playoff appearances in the previous 12 seasons.

3. TURNING ON THE POWER: FROM ELIAS: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Mike Aviles, and Cody Ross all homered at Fenway Park in the Boston Red Sox' 13-5 romp over the Tampa Bay Rays. It was only the third time that a team managed by Bobby Valentine hit five home runs in a home game. It happened previously at Arlington Stadium (Sept. 20, 1985 against the Mariners) and Shea Stadium (June 26, 2000 versus the Marlins).

4. LIGHTNING QUICK: Greg Biffle won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. The race was run at a blistering pace. It set track records for fewest cautions (two), fewest caution laps (10), and average speed (160.575 MPH). The previous track record for average speed was 152.7 MPH (about 8 MPH slower).

5. WILSON OUT: Giants closer Brian Wilson will likely miss the remainder of the season. Wilson has “structural issues” in his right elbow. Wilson’s 164 saves since 2008 are the most in Major League Baseball. Mariano Rivera is second with 162.

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

While the Hot Stove season is largely dominated by free agency and trade talks, an overlooked aspect of every MLB offseason is the arbitration process. If a player is eligible, the team and the player submit figures for the upcoming season’s salary. If the two sides cannot agree on a compromise, they advance to a process that is resolved by an arbiter, who picks one of the two figures submitted.

The 2011-12 arbitration season has brought with it two statistical and historical storylines - the potential end of the Cleveland Indians’ streak of avoiding arbitration and the unbeaten run of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Indians & Arbitration: Like Oil & Water

While it looked like it might be snapped any number of times, the Indians have not gone to arbitration with a player since 1991. Thanks to Maury Brown's Business of Baseball website, we can tell you that is the longest such streak in the Major Leagues. The last time the Indians went to arbitration was 1991, when the team did so with Greg Swindell and Jerry Browne.

Why is this relevant? The Indians currently have one arbitration-eligible player unsigned – SS Asdrubal Cabrera. The Indians and Cabrera are continuing discussions on a long-term contract, but without a resolution on that front, the team and player will likely head to arbitration. Cabrera's camp has requested a 2012 salary of $5.2 million, while the Indians have countered with an offer of $3.75 million.

For additional context, the landscape of Major League Baseball was noticeably different in 1991 than it is in 2012. The Indians played their home games in Cleveland Stadium and resided in the AL East. The team's Opening Day payroll was $18,270,000, roughly one-third of what it projects to be in 2012.

The last time the Indians went to arbitration, the highest Opening Day payroll in baseball was held by the Oakland Athletics - $33,632,500. The Athletics have a projected Opening Day payroll for 2012 of $38,765,500.

The last time the Indians went to arbitration, the Opening Day payroll of the New York Yankees was $27,815,835. That represents just 13.7 percent of the $202,689,028 payroll the team had for 2011.

Rays: Great on the Field, Better off it

While the Rays track record on the field has been impressive enough under the Andrew Friedman regime, no team can match the success of Friedman and the rest of the front office at the arbitration table.

The team’s arbitration win over starting pitcher Jeff Niemann earlier this week improved the Rays franchise to 6-0 all-time in arbitration, the best win percentage in MLB.

The Rays have as many arbitration wins in six all-time cases (6) as the Detroit Tigers have in 20 all-time cases (6-14). In all, the Rays have defeated Niemann (2012), B.J. Upton (2010), Dioner Navarro (2009), Josh Paul (2006, 2007) and Esteban Yan (2002).

Rays sign Carlos Pena
Pena has managed to continue to get playing time despite a plummeting batting average. His .216 batting average since 2009 is the lowest by a player who had at least 1,500 plate appearances over a three-season span since Rob Deer hit .210 for the Tigers and Red Sox from 1991 to 1993.

Pena has made up for his lack of batting average in other ways. His 95 home runs over the last three seasons rank ninth-best in the majors and his 275 walks in that span rank fifth-most.

Left-handed pitchers have given Pena a lot of trouble. He’s hitting .179 against them over the last three seasons, worst in the majors. Pena hit .133 last season against lefties last season, second-worst to Adam Dunn’s .064. Pena missed on 37 percent of his swings against southpaws last season, the worst rate in the majors.

Pena is predictable in where he hits the ball. Pena pulled 52 percent of the balls he put into play over the last three seasons, the fifth-highest rate among those with at least 300 plate appearances from the left side.

Pena’s reputation on the defensive side is that of someone who is very adept at handling difficult throws.

Baseball Info Solutions does video review of every play of every game, tagging plays into more than 30 categories of Good Fielding Plays. Pena was the 2011 leader in the category most pertinent to first basemen: Handling Difficult Throws.

Pena was credited with 58 instances of handling a throw that was either in the dirt or close to pulling him off the bag, 13 more than anyone else in baseball. That’s the most by any first baseman in a season since BIS started charting the stat in 2004.

However, Pena did have 35 Defensive Misplays & Errors, tied for second-most in the majors, trailing only Prince Fielder’s 43.
-- Mark Simon

Seth Smith traded to Oakland Athletics
Like many hitters in Colorado, Smith benefitted from his home park. Over the last three seasons, his OPS was nearly 200 points higher and his isolated slugging was more than 100 points better at Coors Field than on the road.

Coors Field was especially a homer-haven for lefties like Smith. According to BIS Park Factors, Coors inflated left-handed home run production by 29 percent over the last three seasons, the third-largest increase among all stadiums.

Despite an overall slugging percentage of .487 since 2009 that ranked 12th among all lefties, Smith appeared to really benefit from the thin air in Denver. He hit nearly the same percentage of flyballs regardless of location, but those flyballs went over the fence at a much higher rate at home.

One out of every eight flies became a homer at Coors, compared to one of every 13 on the road since 2009. Further evidence of the Coors effect is highlighted by the 23-foot difference in his home run distance at home versus on the road in 2011.

The 420-foot average for his nine home runs at Coors would have ranked third in the majors; his 397-foot average for his six road homers would have tied for 62nd out of 109 players with at least 15 homers last year.

Smith will have a difficult time duplicating that power next year in an Oakland ballpark that is really tough on lefty hitters. According to the same park factors above, the Coliseum suppressed left-handed homer production by 27 percent from 2009-11, the fifth-largest decrease in the majors.
-- Katie Sharp

Luke Scott: Signs one-year deal with Tampa Bay Rays
The player that the Rays hope they signed is the Scott of 2010, the one who prior to shoulder surgery in 2011, was one of the best power hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching.

That season, Scott was a fastball masher. His batting average (.372) and OPS (1.130) against fastballs, cutters, and sinkers from right-handers were each sixth-best in baseball, alongside the likes of Josh Hamilton and Joey Votto.

He was arguably the best hitter in baseball against hard stuff from righties in the lower-third of the strike zone and below.

He netted 41 hits and made only 37 outs when he made contact against such pitches. That included 11 doubles and five home runs. His miss rate of only 13 percent was three percentage points below the league average.

Scott’s numbers against right-handed pitching in 2010 represent a significant upgrade from those that the man he’s replacing at designated hitter, Johnny Damon, put up against right-handers last season (see chart on right).

-- Mark Simon

Paul Maholm: Signs one-year deal with Chicago Cubs
The 29 year-old Maholm, who rebounded from a dismal 5.10 ERA in 2010 to record a career-best 3.66 ERA in 2011, faces a stiff challenge in trying to repeat that breakout performance in Chicago.

Maholm is a worm-burning specialist, posting a ground-ball rate of over 50 percent in each of the last three seasons. Last season, he was most successful at getting outs on grounders up the middle.

That trend was hardly surprising given the defensive strengths of his two primary middle infielders, Ronny Cedeno and Neil Walker.

Cedeno ranked as the third-best shortstop turning batted balls into outs last season with a Plus-Minus rating of +15 overall. He was at his best on balls hit to his left, where he converted nine more balls into outs than the average shortstop.

Walker was below average overall in making outs, but most of his problems were in getting to balls hit to the first base/second base hole (-18). When going after balls hit up the middle, he converted an incredible 24 more of them into outs than the average second baseman.

Maholm now joins a Cubs team that is expected to have Starlin Castro at shortstop and Darwin Barney at second base in 2012. Castro was one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league and his biggest shortcoming was on balls hit up the middle, where he turned eight fewer balls into outs.

Barney ranked in the middle-of-the-pack defensively but his only strength was in getting to balls hit to the first base hole (+4). When going to his right on balls up the middle, Barney was below average, making two fewer plays than the average second baseman.

-- Katie Sharp

Kerry Wood: Signs one-year deal with Chicago Cubs
Wood got hit a bit harder in 2011 than he did in 2010 and much of the damage was done against pitches over the middle-third of the plate, height-wise.

Of the 16 extra-base hits Wood allowed last season, 13 of them came on pitches to that area. He only allowed three extra-base hits on pitches to that area in 2010.

Yet there is optimism for the Cubs with this deal as Wood showed considerable improvement in one critical area – limiting walks.

He cut his walks per nine innings nearly in half and much of the decline came against lefties. After walking nearly one-quarter of the lefties he faced in 2010, Wood walked only one out of every 10 opposite-handed batters in 2011.

Wood made the biggest jump in his ability to throw strikes against lefties when the count was full. In 2010, fewer than two-thirds of the 28 pitches he threw on a 3-2 count were strikes; in 2011, he threw 27 of his 29 3-2 pitches for strikes.

Because of that, he walked just two of the 19 lefties that reached full counts last season, after allowing more than half (10 of 19) to take a base in 2010.

-- Mark Simon and Katie Sharp

With a 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday night, New York Yankees starter Ivan Nova captured his 12th straight win. Nova went 7.2 innings and allowed six hits and no earned runs. His 12 straight wins by a rookie starter are the most since Larry Jansen of the 1947 Giants did the same.

The Yankees now have a six-game lead over the struggling Boston Red Sox, their largest margin of the season. New York can clinch a playoff berth with a win in one game of Wednesday's day-night doubleheader with the Rays.

Here's a next-level look at how Nova got the win:

Nova threw his fastball less often than he normally does. Fifty-three of his 103 pitches (51.5 percent) were fastballs, below his season average of 61.3 percent.

Rays hitters were 3 for 14 in at-bats ending with Nova's fastball. Overall, hitters are hitting .196 in at-bats ending with Nova's fastball in September; they hit .297 against it before that.

Left-handed hitters were 2 for 11 against Nova, and he had success keeping the ball away from those hitters.

Thirty-one of his 52 pitches to lefties (59.6 percent) were outside, above his season average of 50.9 percent entering Tuesday. Rays lefties were 0 for 5 in at-bats ending with an outside pitch from Nova.

Rays hitters were 1 for 15 against Nova with men on base, including two double plays.

Nova stayed out of hitters' counts. Fourteen of his 103 pitches (13.6 percent) came when he was behind in the count, his second-lowest percentage in a start this season.

Elsewhere in the AL East, the Red Sox could not take advantage of the Rays loss and remained two games ahead of Tampa Bay in the American League wild card race. Starter Erik Bedard struggled against the Baltimore Orioles, throwing 76 pitches in 2.2 innings of work and allowing four runs (one earned), in a 7-5 loss. This is the 14th straight game in which the Red Sox did not get a quality start.

The Red Sox are now 5-15 in September, which is as many losses as they had in September and October of last season.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Red Sox have gone 22 straight games without winning two in a row. That's their longest such streak since the 1994 team had a 28-game run in May and June of that season.

The Red Sox used seven pitchers in their Tuesday loss to the Orioles. Since rosters expanded on September 1, the Red Sox have used at least five pitchers in a game nine times. They have used at least five pitchers in 45 percent of their 20 games this month.

Jonathan Papelbon recorded his second blown save of season. He'd converted 25 straight save chances and allowed his first run since July 16.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw got the better of Tim Lincecum and picked up his 20th win in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. The loss snapped the Giants' eight-game win streak and moved the Dodgers above .500 for the first time since they were 14-13 before games of April 30.

The Elias Sports Bureau tells us Kershaw is the fourth-youngest pitcher in Dodgers history to win 20 games in a season and the third since 1942 to defeat the Giants for win number 20 of the season.

Kershaw (20-5, .800) joins Justin Verlander (24-5, .828) and Ian Kennedy (20-4, .833) as pitchers with at least 20 wins and a winning percentage of .800 or better in 2011. There have been only two seasons in major-league history in which at least three pitchers won 20 or more games with a winning percentage of .800 or higher: 1910 (Russ Ford of the Yankees, King Cole of the Cubs and Chief Bender of the A’s) and 2002 (Barry Zito of the A’s, Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks and Pedro Martinez of the Red Sox).

Dan Braunstein contributed to this story.

In their last 14 games, Tampa Bay Rays' starting pitchers have put up great numbers: they are 6-5 with a 2.55 ERA and 105 innings pitched. They have also allowed only 80 hits and garnered 101 strikeouts.

The Rays starting pitchers are challenging the Philadelphia Phillies starting pitchers for the title of best rotation in the majors. The Rays and Phillies are the only two major league teams to have four pitchers who have made at least 15 starts, and who all have ERAs of 3.50 or lower.

Here are some notes on the adjustments each Rays starter has made this season to reach this point:
• David Price has increased the use of his changeup in his last four starts, nearly doubling its usage. He’s thrown it about 21 pitches per start over his last four starts.

This came after a seven-start slump in which Price had an ERA of 5.18.

With the changeup added to his arsenal, Price has now beaten the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, and lost 2-1 to the Detroit Tigers. In those four starts, he’s allowed three runs in 31 innings.

• In his last start, James Shields pitched his 10th complete game of the season, becoming the second pitcher since 2000 to throw 10 complete games in a season (CC Sabathia had 10 in 2008).

As we noted earlier this season, Shields changed his pitching pattern this season. He’s gone from throwing first-pitch fastballs 65 percent of the time (2010) to just 51 percent of the time in 2011. It’s worked.

He’s pitched nearly the same number of innings as last season, but decreased his runs allowed from 128 to 71 and home runs allowed from 34 to 22.
• Jeff Niemann is 8-1 with a 2.57 ERA since returning to the rotation on June 20, averaging eight strikeouts per nine innings in that stretch. That’s a significant jump from the 6.5 strikeouts per nine innings he’s averaged in the first three seasons of his career.

Niemann has changed the pattern of breaking balls he throws. He’s gone from throwing his curveball one in seven pitches to one in four. He’s already got more strikeouts with his curveball this season (40) than last season (37) despite having thrown 62 fewer innings.

• Jeremy Hellickson is 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA in his last eight starts. That followed a four-start slump in which he was 0-4 with a 4.74 ERA.

Hellickson has succeeded recently by coming further inside to right-handed hitters. During his slump (heat map on left), right-handed hitters were 7-for-13 with three home runs against inside fastballs.

During his hot streak (heat map on right), righty hitters are 5-for-32 against inside pitches. They’ve increased the rate by which they’ve chased such pitches from 27 percent to 40 percent.






Dan Braunstein, Mark Simon and Lee Singer contributed to this story.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ELSEWHERE AROUND THE MAJORS:

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

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

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

Mark Simon contributed to this story

It’s rare anytime Mariano Rivera gives up a home run – he’s allowed only 64 in his 17-year career, which calculates out to be one for about every 68 opponent at-bats.

But entering the night, he had allowed a home run to a former teammate only once. He now has done it twice. Bobby Abreu became that second former teammate to homer off Rivera, joining Mike Stanley, who did it on July 18, 1998.

Abreu and Rivera played together for three seasons (2006-08), but Stanley and Rivera only had one season together – 1995, Rivera’s rookie year.

More rarities from Rivera: the home run came on a 3-1 count. Of the 64 that he’s allowed in his career, this was just the third home run that came on a 3-1 count. He’s allowed more home runs in every other count possible (except 3-0).

Any guess as to the count where he’s allowed the most longballs?

It’s the first pitch of the at-bat, an 0-0 count, where he’s given up 11 homers.

AROUND THE DIAMOND
If you’re a fan of quick baseball, tip your cap to James Shields and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays and Kansas City Royals combined to play the fastest game in MLB this season, 1 hour and 52 minutes. The previous low was 2:01 by the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. It was also the fastest game in Rays history, beating the franchise record by a minute. No surprise that two of the fastest four games in team history came in James Shields starts.

Check out the last 18 home runs the San Francisco Giants have hit and you’ll notice a big similarity – they’re all solo shots. The last time they hit a home run that wasn’t a solo shot was more than a month ago, July 6, by Nate Schierholtz. Elias tells us that the Giants’ streak of 18 straight solo homers is the longest in the divisional era (since 1969). No other team had a streak longer than 17.