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First place in the NL East is on the line this weekend as the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals kick off a three game series tonight at Turner Field. The Nationals currently hold a one-game lead but need to win at least two games in Atlanta to remain atop the division on Memorial Day.

The Braves look to reverse their recent slump and avoid a season-high fifth straight loss. The league’s second-best offense averaged just two runs per game and was hitless in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position as they were swept by the Cincinnati Reds earlier this week.

Atlanta sends veteran Tim Hudson to the mound in the opening game tonight. Hudson is 14-3 with a 2.05 ERA in his career versus the Nationals/Expos franchise, the second-most wins and best ERA among active pitchers against the team.

Hudson has also not allowed more than three earned runs at home in his last 19 starts. That’s the longest current streak of consecutive home starts allowing three or fewer earned runs, and the longest by a Braves pitcher since Greg Maddux reeled off 23 such starts from 1993-95.

The Nationals enter the series having won three of their last four games, getting strong performances from their top three studs in the rotation – Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez – before losing to Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

Tonight Ross Detwiler takes the ball for the Nationals. Detwiler had the last non-quality start by a Washington pitcher when he allowed a season-high six runs in Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Detwiler allowed a total of eight earned runs in his first six starts combined (2.10 ERA), but has given up 10 earned runs in 10 innings (9.00 ERA) over his last two outings. Lefties are 3-for-7 with two extra-base hits against him during that span, after he held them to just two hits in 29 at-bats (.069 BA) in his first six starts this season.

Splitting Aces
Two aces who have had uncharacteristic struggles this season face off in south Florida tonight when Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants visit Josh Johnson and the Miami Marlins.

A two-time Cy Young winner, Lincecum has a career-worst 6.04 ERA and just one quality start this season. He has allowed at least four earned runs in six of nine starts, after doing so just seven times in 33 starts last year.

One major issue appears to be a significant drop in fastball velocity, along with a shrinking difference between the speeds of his heater and changeup. His fastball is averaging just 89.9 mph this season, after averaging 92.2 mph last year, while his changeup velocity has barely moved (83.7 mph in 2011, 83.1 mph in 2012).

Johnson struggled early on, going winless with a 6.69 ERA in his first six starts, but is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA over his last three outings. His fastball has become much more effective, as opponents are hitting .125 against the pitch in his past three games, compared to .391 in his first six starts.

Albert Pujols makes his Los Angeles Angels debut tonight against the Kansas City Royals (ESPN2, 10 ET). Pujols signed a 10-year, $254 million free agent deal with the Angels in the offseason after spending 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pujols is one of six players to hit 400 career home runs and bat at least .325. The others are 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.

Pujols represents a significant upgrade for the Angels at the No. 3 spot in the order. His .906 OPS last season was a career low, but stands as a huge improvement over the Angels’ .745 OPS out of the three hole last year.

Starting Pitchers
Bruce Chen – who will turn 35 in June - is making his first career opening day start. According to Elias, only one major-league pitcher in the last 10 years was older than Chen when he was making his first opening day start. That was Jose Contreras, who was 35 when he started the first game of the 2007 season for the Chicago White Sox.

Quick Hits on Chen
• Chen threw 2,518 pitches last season. Only nine of those reached 90 mph
• Last season, his fastball averaged 85.7 mph. In the AL, the only starters with a slower fastball were Mark Buehrle, Jeff Francis and Tim Wakefield.
• Held opposing No. 3 hitters to .224 BA and .674 OPS

Jered Weaver makes his fourth opening day start (and third straight) for the Angels. Weaver is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA in three career opening day starts. Last year, Weaver became the first pitcher in MLB history with six wins by April 25, and just the sixth with six wins by the end of April.

Quick Hits on Weaver
• No starting pitcher had a higher fly ball percentage in 2011 (50 percent)
• In his seven no decisions last season, he allowed a total of seven earned runs
• Opposing 3-6 hitters combined for a .196 BA and .570 OPS
• There are three active pitchers who had double-digit wins in each of their first six seasons: Weaver, CC Sabathia and Tim Hudson. Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte would also qualify if active.

Stat of the Game
Pujols is a .379 lifetime hitter against the Royals, giving him the highest batting average against the Royals for any player – past or present – with at least 150 at-bats against them, according to our friends from the Elias Sports Bureau.

Opening Day Note
This is the first time in 37 years that the Angels and Royals have met on Opening Day. According to Elias, it last happened in 1975, as California’s Nolan Ryan threw a three-hitter and won, 3-2. Besides Ryan, two other Hall-of-Famers played in that game: George Brett and Harmon Killebrew of the Royals.

The Atlanta Braves were eliminated from the postseason after leading the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card race by 8½ games through games of September 5. According to Elias, at the time the game ended, that was tied for the largest blown lead in September in major-league history, along with the infamous 1964 Philadelphia Phillies.

The Braves were swept by those Phillies after dropping the regular-season finale 4-3 Wednesday night. Tim Hudson started for the Braves having gone 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his previous four starts. He also started Atlanta’s final game last year, getting the win as the Braves clinched a playoff spot.

He pitched well, allowing two earned runs in 6⅓ innings, but rookie Craig Kimbrel blew his eighth save of the season and Atlanta finished September 9-18 -- including 0-6 against the Phillies -- after going 17-9 in August.

The Braves finished the season 6-12 against the Phillies and lost their last seven to their division rivals. It’s their second-fewest wins in a single season against the Phillies since joining the National League East in 1994.

For a great timeline of all the wild action tonight click here.

The Cardinals went 18-8 this month, even taking three of four games in Philadelphia less than two weeks ago. Chris Carpenter threw a two-hit shutout Thursday to give the Cardinals a temporary half-game lead, the second two-hit shutout of the day in the majors. The last time a pitcher threw a two-hit shutout on the final day of the regular season was in 1999, when Al Leiter and the New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card tiebreaker.

The Phillies set the franchise record with their 102nd win and manager Charlie Manuel won his 646th game with the club, passing Gene Mauch -- who coincidentally was the manager of that 1964 squad -- for the most wins in franchise history.

The Phillies will host the Cardinals in the NLDS starting Saturday in Philadelphia. The Cardinals won six of nine games against the Phillies this season, one of just two teams (the Nationals are the other) to win the season series from Philadelphia.

The National League Wild Card race goes to the final day with the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals tied at 89-72. The Braves entered Tuesday with a one game lead in the Wild Card, but lost 7-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies, while the Cardinals scored 13 of the game’s final 14 runs against the Houston Astros in a 13-6 win.

In Wednesday’s Wild Card madness, Atlanta’s Tim Hudson gets the call at home against the Phillies (7 ET on ESPN2). Over the last two years, Hudson is 21-9 with a 2.38 ERA at home, including a 2.29 ERA there this season. Last year, Hudson pitched in the final game of the regular season, when the Braves clinched a playoff spot. He allowed four ER in seven IP and got the win over the Phillies.

Chris Carpenter will start for the Cardinals against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, where he has not won since September 3, 2005 (he’s made five starts in Houston since that last win). If both teams are still tied after Wednesday, a one-game tiebreaker would be Thursday at Atlanta.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, since 1995, 13 different teams have clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the postseason, not including regular season playoff games. The biggest September deficit ever overcome by a team that made the postseason was 8½ games by the 1964 Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series. The 2011 Cardinals were 8½ out after games of September 5.

Story to Watch
The Braves were 81-55 through September 1 and seemingly in command of the NL wild card race, with an 8½ game lead over the Cardinals. They were leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 at home on September 2, but blew the game, losing 8-6. That started their collapse.

What’s gone wrong for the Braves and who’s to blame? Well, Atlanta is struggling against left-handed pitching during its September to forget. The team is hitting .231/.263/.332 against left-handed pitching this month. The Phillies will start the right-handed Joe Blanton but lefty Cole Hamels is expected to pitch in relief.

Those who were reliable in the Braves bullpen in the first five months of the season have not been in the final month. Jonny Venters has a 6.08 ERA since August 26. Craig Kimbrel has a 6.75 ERA since September 9.

Key Stats
Chipper Jones has hit a wall. He’s 8-for-41 (.195) in his last 12 games. Brian McCann is hitting .180 in 36 games since coming off the DL in mid-August.

With a win, the Phillies would set a franchise record with their 102nd win of the season.

Story to Watch
The Cardinals looked to be out of the Wild Card race, but have won 15 of 19, including a 3-game sweep of the Braves, to move into a tie for the NL Wild Card lead. What’s gone right for St. Louis?

Albert Pujols has looked like the Albert Pujols we’ve come to expect at this time of the season. He’s hitting .363 (fifth-best in the NL) with five HR and 19 RBI (tied for fifth-most in the NL) in September. Pujols had one of the biggest hits for the Cardinals, a two-run game-tying single with two outs in the ninth inning of the series opener against the Braves, a game the Cardinals would win in extra innings.

Key Stat
Pujols is hitting .300 with 98 RBI. He has never finished a season batting under .300 (he will do so with a 1-for-4 or worse Wednesday if the season ends) or with fewer than 100 RBI.

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 Atlanta Braves host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. It's Pittsburgh’s first game on ESPN since Sept. 22, 2004.)

Currently in a three-way tie for first place in the National League Central, this could be the biggest week in the Pittsburgh Pirates' season.

They start a seven-game road trip Monday with four games in Atlanta (which is tied with the San Francisco Giants for the second-best record in the NL) followed by three against the team with the best record in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies.

This is Pittsburgh's first trip to Atlanta this season; the Pirates are 0-2 against the Braves in 2011.

James McDonald is on the mound for the Pirates. He's been great at home this season (2.83 ERA in 10 starts at PNC Bank Park), but on the road McDonald’s allowing almost three more runs per game with a 1.72 WHIP, and has allowed eight home runs in 46.2 innings.

Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan enters the day tied for third in the league in saves (28) and two shy of becoming the first Pirate with at least 30 saves in a season since Jose Mesa in 2004. Hanrahan has five saves against the Braves in his career, tied for second among all teams he’s pitched against.

Facing the Pirates is Tim Hudson, who’s 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA in his past six starts. In that span, opponents have hit a combined .145 against Hudson’s offspeed pitches (league average is .229). And we may see more of the same Monday. The Pirates have hit .205 against nonfastballs this season (29th in MLB) and rank 28th or worse in extra-base hits (73), slugging percentage (.288) and OPS (.537).

It’s been called the Year of the Pitcher II, and the drop in offense this season has been well-documented. There’s been no shortage of outstanding pitching performances recently, as three of the six best-pitched games this season -- according to Bill James’ Game Score -- have come in the past week.

On June 14, Justin Verlander threw a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts, allowing his first hit with one out in the eighth inning. Verlander’s Game Score of 94 is the best in baseball this season, surpassing James Shields' 93.

That same night, Shields threw a five-hit shutout to beat the Red Sox and Jered Weaver got into the act as well -- he threw his own five-hit shutout in a win over Seattle.

One night later, Josh Beckett threw a one-hit shutout, striking out six and walking nobody, tied for the fifth-best Game Score (91) this season at the time. Livan Hernandez also threw a shutout that night -- his second since July 2004 -- with six strikeouts and no walks.

Cliff Lee threw a two-hit shutout the next night, the sixth shutout in the majors in three days. Pitchers gave hitters a two-day break before Seattle’s Jason Vargas threw his second career shutout (and second this season) against Lee’s Phillies on Sunday.

Shields got back in the action Sunday as well, allowing four hits and striking out 10 in a complete game victory, but didn’t get a shutout because of an unearned run. Verlander also went the distance, allowing four hits and one run. Those performances got them a spot in our Cross-Sport Power Rankings.

Monday night, Tim Hudson threw eight shutout innings in a win over the Blue Jays, and Clayton Kershaw threw a two-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts, racking up a 93 Game Score.

Kershaw finished his shutout by striking out the side in the ninth inning. According to Elias, the last Dodgers starter to finish a shutout by striking out the side in the ninth was Sandy Koufax in his perfect game in 1965.

With all these standout performances on the mound, teams are looking everywhere for offense, and they’ve been finding it lately from the pitchers who’ve been holding it down.

Lee got at many hits as he allowed Thursday, the first Phillies pitcher to allow two hits or fewer in a shutout and get a pair of hits since Steve Carlton in 1980 (according to the Elias Sports Bureau). He’s 8-for-20 with two doubles, four RBI and a stolen base in his past nine starts.

Daniel Hudson allowed one run in a complete game victory Friday, and added an RBI double off of Edwin Jackson -- for whom he was traded last season. The next night, Ubaldo Jimenez got his second win of the season, driving in two runs in a one-run win.

Monday night, three pitchers got it done at the plate: Jake Arrieta got his first career hit and RBI in a win over the Pirates. Kershaw drove in two runs in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win -- raising his batting average to .294 -- and he has as many hits this season as he had in his first three seasons combined.

Finally, Tim Hudson hit a two-run homer in the Braves’ 2-0 win. According to Elias, he’s the fifth pitcher in the past 40 seasons to pitch in a game and hit a home run that accounted for all of that game’s runs.

The Atlanta Braves are two and a half games out of first place in the NL East this season on the strength of their pitching. Their starters are in the top five in the National League in ERA, opponents' batting average, BB per nine and HR per nine.

Sunday's starter, Tim Hudson, has pitched nearly as well as last year -- his strikeout, walk and home run numbers are nearly identical -- but doesn't have the success to show for it. He does have 13 wins against Sunday's opponent, the New York Mets, the most of any pitcher since 2005.

Two key differences for him this season: last season, opponents hit .207 with runners in scoring position and Hudson stranded 81 percent of his baserunners. This year, those numbers are up to .295 and down to 62 percent, respectively.

He led the majors with a 63.8 percent groundball rate, down to 55 percent this season. That's above the MLB average, but most of those groundballs have become line drives. Hudson's flyball rate is up marginally, but his linedrive percentage has gone up to 21 percent from 14.

The bullpen has been even better. They've allowed just 18 percent of inherited runners to score, the best rate in the NL.

The Mets counter with R.A. Dickey; he's also struggling compared to last season but has had success against several Atlanta hitters. Eric Hinske is 2-for-16, Dan Uggla is 0-for-10, Martin Prado is 0-for-8 and Brian McCann is 1-for-7 lifetime against Dickey. In fact, Braves pitchers Derek Lowe and Tommy Hanson have more combined hits (two) against Dickey than Uggla, Prado and McCann.

In his last start Dickey threw seven shutout innings before falling apart in the eighth. He's pitched into the sixth inning in nine of his 11 starts, but he's been much less effective after the fifth inning. The Mets could face late-inning trouble Sunday night, whether Dickey is still in the game or a reliever.

The Mets bullpen ranks at the bottom of the National League in ERA, opponents' batting average, walks and home runs.

Because of their relief struggles, their past five losses have all come after they took a lead into the seventh inning.

Not surprisingly, given their bullpen struggles, the Mets have been outscored significantly in the late innings.

One thing the Mets do have going for them is Jose Reyes, who has been one of the league's best players this season. He's in the top three in the National League in batting average, hits, doubles, triples and stolen bases.

He's on pace to have the lowest strikeout rate of his career -- he's averaging a strikeout every 12 at bats, significantly better than his career best rate of one every 9 at-bats.

Matchup to Watch -- Tim Hudson vs Carlos Beltran
Beltran is hitting .357 (25-for-70) against Hudson with four home runs, but it hitless in his last six at-bats against him. Beltran's 80 plate appearances against Hudson are his most against any pitcher, and he's faced Hudson more than any other hitter.

-- Mark Simon and Katie Sharp contributed to this report

A pair of Tim's -- Lincecum and Hudson, to be exact -- shined on the mound Wednesday night.

One continued to make his case as the best strikeout pitcher ever to don a Giants uniform. The other made a season-ending arm surgery nearly three years ago seem a little more distant.

On the hill facing the New York Mets, Tim Lincecum struck out 12 in seven scoreless innings, leading the San Francisco Giants to the 2-0 win. Lincecum snapped a two-start losing streak and improved to 3-3 on the season.

It was the 29th time Lincecum struck out at least 10 in a game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Lincecum passed Christy Mathewson for the most 10-strikeout games by a Giants pitcher since 1900.

Among his contemporaries, Lincecum's punchout prowess stands out even more. Since he entered the league in 2007, his 29 career 10-strikeout games are 12 more than the next pitcher (Johan Santana).

Lincecum's fastball was in rare form, clocking in at an average of 93 mph. He struck out seven Mets with his fastball, his highest total with the heater the past three seasons.

For the season, Lincecum's fastball velocity has averaged 92.8 mph, up from 91.2 mph a season ago.

Meanwhile, south of where Lincecum was overpowering Mets, Braves pitcher Tim Hudson pitched a gem in the second game of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Hudson allowed just one hit to the Brewers, striking out six in an 8-0 win. The shutout was Hudson's 12th of his career, but his first since undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2008.

It was the third time Hudson pitched a one-hit shutout, last doing so against the Colorado Rockies on May 1, 2006. Since he began his career in 1999, Hudson's three one-hit shutouts are the most by any pitcher in that span.

Hudson needed just 102 pitches to complete Wednesday's shutout, continuing his efficiency this season. It’s already the second time in May that Milwaukee has been shut out.

That hasn't stopped Hudson from eating innings. He's managed at least six innings in each of his seven starts this season, with five of them being quality starts (at least six innings, three ER or fewer).

Certainly a good day for this pair of Tims.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: Paul Maholm takes the hill for the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday holding the team-lead in strikeouts with 90 (Side note: 34 pitchers had more than that before the All-Star break). Not having a 100-K pitcher is a bit more common than you might think. In fact, it happened five times last decade, including last season to the Washington Nationals. Which brings us today’s trivia question: Which pitcher led the Nationals in strikeouts last season?

The standings might say otherwise, but there’s always something to play for – in this case, history. In the first of a series of divisional breakdowns, here’s some statistical minutiae to keep an eye on in the closing weeks. First the AL West.

Los Angeles Angels

• Bobby Abreu needs one stolen base for 20 on the season. That would give him 12 straight seasons of 15 HR and 20 SB, extending his own record streak. Barry Bonds (10 straight) has the next longest such stretch.
• Brandon Wood’s .397 OPS would be the lowest for a player with 200 plate appearances since Frank O’Rourke posted a .325 OPS for the 1912 Boston Braves. Wood is just below Tony Pena Jr.’s .398 for the Kansas City Royals in 2008. Wood’s .185 on-base percentage would be the seventh lowest since 1900 for players with 200 PA.
• With 56 strikeouts and only four walks, Wood would have the most strikeouts for a player with fewer than five walks since Rob Picciolo (63 K, 2 BB) of the 1980 Oakland A’s.

Oakland A’s

• Both the Seattle Mariners and A’s do not have a player with 15 home runs. The difference is that the A’s leader Kevin Kouzmanoff (14 HR) has been missing time with a back injury. The last AL team without a 15-HR player was the 1992 Angels, who were led by Gary Gaetti’s 12.
• If Daric Barton (100 BB, 88 K) stays below 100 strikeouts, he’d be the first American League player since Rafael Palmeiro to do that in a season with over 100 walks. Since Palmeiro’s 2002 campaign, 16 players have done this, but all were in the National League. With only eight HR, Barton would be the first to do this with fewer than 10 HR since Rickey Henderson in 1996.
• How does a pitcher with only 98 strikeouts have the lowest opponent OPS in the AL since Tim Hudson in 2003? There just might be some luck involved for Trevor Cahill. The .224 BABIP against Cahill is the lowest against a qualifying AL pitcher since opponents had a .212 BABIP against the Detroit Tigers Jeff Robinson in 1988. Not only was that Robinson’s only season with a sub-3.00 ERA, but his next best was 4.73.

Seattle Mariners

• With Franklin Gutierrez currently leading the team with 56 RBI, the Mariners could become the first team since the 1983 Cincinnati Reds without a 60 RBI player in a non-strike shortened season. That Reds squad was led by Ron Oester’s 58 RBI.
• Russell Branyan only has 56 RBI to go with the 24 home runs he’s hit between the Cleveland Indians and Mariners. He’s safe though. The fewest RBI for a player with 25+ HR is 54 by Ron Gant when he played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Angels in 2000. The AL “record” is shared by Fred Lynn (1988 Orioles/Tigers) and Marcus Thames (2008 Tigers) with 56.
• Mariners designated hitters are batting just .190 at the plate this season. Over the last 35 years, the only AL team to hit below the Mendoza Line at DH was the Texas Rangers (.197) in 1988. Larry Parrish was the most frequent DH on that squad.

Texas Rangers

• Left-handed hitters are batting just .136 against C.J. Wilson. That’s the second lowest for a qualifying AL starter over the last 35 years. In 1995, lefties hit just .129 against Randy Johnson. The difference is that Johnson only faced 92 lefties that season, while Wilson has done battle with 156.
• If he doesn’t suit up again in the regular season, Josh Hamilton will finish with 21 home runs and .395 batting average at home. Over the last 50 years, the only other AL player to hit .390 with 20 HR at home was Albert Belle for the 1994 Indians.
• Elvis Andrus has 145 hits, but only 17 have gone for extra bases. The last player with over 150 hits in a season with 17 of fewer extra base hits was Kirby Puckett in 1984. Only 17 of his 165 hits were no singles.

Key Matchups: Alex Rodriguez (.208) and Mark Teixeira (.143) have been baffled by James Shields in the past. However, no one compares to Curtis Granderson. His .077 average is lowest for anyone that Shields has faced at least 20 times. Granderson’s struggles are notable for the fact that he usually struggles against right-handed pitchers. In fact, against righties not named James Shields, he has a .289 career average compared to .216 against southpaws.

Chad Billingsley has an 0.61 in 29 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, good enough for a 2-0 record in four starts. In fact, Billingsley has tossed 23 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings against San Francisco. Both Juan Uribe and Pablo Sandoval are 0-for-10 against him in 2010. Uribe was 5-for-10 entering the season.

Trivia Answer: With 92 strikeouts, Jordan Zimmermann led the 2009 Nationals, despite making only one appearance after the break. Washington’s Tyler Clippard (97) had already eclipsed that total while pitching solely in relief.

Tuesday saw three pitchers come into games with extended amounts of success against the teams they were facing. Unfortunately, all three saw their notable streaks come to an end.

New York Yankees' CC Sabathia: lost for the first time in nine starts against the Baltimore Orioles. He also lost at Yankee Stadium for the first time since July 2, 2009. That was a stretch of 21 consecutive home starts without a loss, which tied Whitey Ford for longest streak in franchise history. As for the pitcher who has suffered the most home losses July 2, 2009? The Cleveland Indians' Fausto Carmona, who is 8-12 in 24 starts at Progressive Field.

Chicago White Sox's Freddy Garcia: lost for the first time as a visitor at Comerica Park since Aug. 20, 2002 when he was with the Seattle Mariners. The White Sox had won all nine previous starts of Garcia's in Detroit prior to Tuesday's defeat.

Atlanta Braves' Tim Hudson: entered Tuesday with a 3-0 record while giving up just one unearned run in his last three starts against the Pittsburgh Pirates. On Tuesday, Hudson allowed four runs in 6⅓ innings and took the loss in the Braves 5-0 defeat in Pittsburgh.

Tuesday's notables:

• New York Mets' Dillon Gee took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in his major-league debut against the Washington Nationals (he allowed two hits in seven innings). Gee is the third Mets pitcher to take a no-hitter through five innings in his major-league debut, joining Randy Sterling (Sept. 16, 1974: five innings at Montreal Expos) and Brian Bannister (April 5, 2006: 5⅓ innings vs Nationals). Gee also is the first Mets pitcher to drive in a run in his debut.

Staying with the Mets, Ike Davis hit his 18th home run. He's two shy of joining Darryl Strawberry (26 in 1983) as the only Mets to hit at least 20 HR in their rookie season.

• The Colorado Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez became the first player in the National League to 100 RBI on Tuesday. The last time a Rockies player was the first to 100 RBI in the NL in a season was Preston Wilson in 2003.

• The Toronto Blue Jays have now hit at least three HR in 33 games this season. That's the most such games by a team since the Texas Rangers had 35 such games in 2005.

• The Minnesota Twins' Jim Thome hit his 586th career HR, tying Frank Robinson for eighth on the all-time list. It's also the 40-year-old veteran's third straight game with a HR. He's the first 40-year-old to homer in three straight games since Barry Bonds in 2006. The last 40-year-old Twins player to hit an HR in three straight games was Dave Winfield in 1993.

Today’s Trivia: The New York Yankees' Derek Jeter has had double-digit home runs in 15 straight seasons, but never eclipsed 30 HR. That’s tied for the third longest such streak. Who holds the record for consecutive 10+ HR seasons without hitting 30 or more?

Quick Hits: On Monday, Alex Rodriguez made it 13 straight seasons with 100 RBI. That tied Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig for the longest streak all time. Not to be outdone, Jeter picked up his 150th hit. He’s now done that in 15 straight seasons. Only Hank Aaron (17) and Pete Rose (16) had longer streaks.

So who else is looking to extend streaks in 2010?

• Perhaps the most notable consecutive season streak belongs to the Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki. He needs 21 hits in the final 24 games to make it 10 straight 200-hit seasons. He already holds the record with nine straight, having passed Willie Keeler last season.

• Alex Rodriguez needs eight home runs to reach 30 for the season. It would be his 13th straight season with at least 30 HR, which would tie Barry Bonds’ record. Rodriguez currently is tied with Jimmie Foxx for the second-longest streak.

• The St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols is well on his way to a 10th consecutive season with a .300 batting average and .950 OPS. Only two players have double-digit streaks with that combination: Lou Gehrig did it in 12 straight seasons, while Ted Williams managed 17 straight.

• With 112 strikeouts, the Los Angeles Angels' Bobby Abreu has already made it 13 straight seasons with 100 or more. Only Reggie Jackson and Carlos Delgado can share that distinction in major-league history.

• With his 14th straight 20-save season, the Yankees' Mariano Rivera has already broken Lee Smith’s record. With his next save, he will tie Trevor Hoffman’s record of eight straight 30-save seasons. Hoffman’s streak will be coming to an end this year.

• The Washington Nationals' Livan Hernandez (9-10) needs two more starts to join Phil Niekro as the only pitchers since 1901 with 13 straight seasons of 30 starts and 10 losses.

• The Tampa Bay Rays' Carlos Pena needs four home runs to join Gorman Thomas as the second player in history with three straight seasons of 30 HR with a batting average below .250. Pena currently his hitting .205

• The Philadelphia Phillies' Ryan Howard entered the season hoping to join Babe Ruth as the only players with five straight 45-HR, 135-RBI seasons (Ruth had six). However, at 26 HR and 88 RBI, Howard will have to settle for a tie for the second-longest streak with Sammy Sosa.

• Can the Florida Marlins' Dan Uggla maintain his incredible statistical consistency? To start his career, Uggla has had four straight seasons hitting between 27 and 32 home runs with between 88 and 92 RBI. In MLB history, the only other player to have consecutive seasons in between those totals was Eddie Mathews, who did it for two straight. With 29 HR and 87 RBI, Uggla is essentially already where he normally finishes.



Tuesday’s Leaderboard: In Yunesky Maya and Dillon Gee, both the Nationals and Mets send out starting pitchers who are making their MLB debuts today. It’s the first time opposing starters are making debuts since Rick Porcello and Ricky Romero last season. For the Nationals, it will be their 14th starting pitcher of the season, three more than any other team. With their 11th starter, the Mets are now tied for second most.

Key Matchups: Ryan Howard is 9-for-20 with five home runs in his career against the Marlins' Chris Volstad. In fact, all five long balls have come in his last 13 at-bats. The only pitcher that he’s taken deep more is Tim Hudson (six).

As for Hudson, he hasn’t allowed an earned run to the Pittsburgh Pirates in his last three starts, spanning 22 innings. Take a look at the Pirates' roster and the outlook is not great. Active Pirates position players are 3-for-39 against Hudson, which equates to an .077 batting average.

Trivia Answer: Al Kaline had 10+ home runs in each of his final 20 seasons, but never hit 30. The next longest streak belongs to Harold Baines at 18. Both players had 29 as their career high.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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