Elias Says...
Special to ESPN.com
NBA
JAMES AND WADE TOO MUCH FOR PACERS
From Elias: LeBron James scored 40 points and Dwyane Wade had 30 in the Heat's comeback win over the Pacers on Sunday. Over the last eight seasons only one other pair of teammates had a playoff game in which one scored 40 or more points and the other added 30-plus in a non-overtime game. That was Kevin Durant (41) and Russell Westbrook (31) for the Thunder against the Nuggets last year.
James and Wade contributed 70 of Miami's 101 points (69.3 percent). That's the highest percentage of points scored by two players for the winning team in an NBA playoff game since Kobe Bryant (42) and Shaquille O'Neal (28) had 70 of the Lakers' 98 points (71.4 percent) in a win over the Spurs in 2004.
MLB
BREWERS SHOULD BAT LUCROY FOURTH MORE OFTEN
From Elias: Jonathan Lucroy drove in seven runs Sunday in his first career start in the cleanup spot in the batting order. The only other player to drive in six or more runs in his first career start when batting fourth is Tom McCraw, who had an eight-RBI game for the White Sox on May 24, 1967.
AVILES STARTS WITH A HOMER AGAIN
From Elias: Mike Aviles hit a leadoff homer Sunday against Cliff Lee - the second straight game in which he's hit a leadoff homer. The only other Red Sox player to hit a leadoff home run in two straight games was Hall of Fame outfielder Harry Hooper, who did it in a doubleheader on May 30, 1913. Hooper homered off Bob Groom in the morning game (which the Red Sox lost to the Senators), then homered off Walter Johnson in the afternoon game, the only run in the Red Sox' 1-0 win! According to the Boston Globe, Hooper hit the first pitch of each game for a home run.
Aviles is only the fourth player to hit a leadoff home run against Cliff Lee, and he's the first to do so since Tampa Bay's Damon Hollins on Oct. 1, 2006.
Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies
SCHERZER MOWS DOWN PIRATES
From Elias: Max Scherzer struck out 15 batters Sunday, one shy of the Tigers' team record, set by Mickey Lolich in 1969, with all 15 batters going down swinging. He's the first pitcher to record 15 swinging strikeouts in one game since Johan Santana had 15 (and two called strikeouts) for the Twins against the Rangers on August 19, 2007.
Tigers pitchers had 17 strikeouts on Sunday after they had 12 in each of their last two games. Their total of 41 strikeouts is the most over any three-game span in team history and it's the first time Tigers pitchers have totaled 12 or more strikeouts in three straight games.
DUNN GOES DEEP
From Elias: Adam Dunn hit a home run off Paul Maholm on Sunday, giving him three home runs in 13 at-bats against left-handers over the last week. Dunn entered the week without a home run in his previous 171 at-bats against left-handed pitchers. Entering the at-bat in which he hit a home run Sunday, Dunn had been 3 for 29 (all singles) with 13 strikeouts against Maholm.
Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox
JOHNSON RECORDS 50TH CAREER WIN
From Elias: Josh Johnson won his 50th career game Sunday and lowered his career ERA to 3.10 in the process. The only active starting pitchers who had a lower ERA at the time of their 50th win are Clayton Kershaw (2.83), Tim Lincecum (2.91) and Barry Zito (3.04).
STRASBURG GOES DEEP IN NATIONALS' WIN
From Elias: Washington's starting battery, Jesus Flores and Stephen Strasburg hit back-to-back home runs in the Nationals' win over the Orioles on Sunday. They were the first batterymates to hit back to back homers since Miguel Montero and Dan Haren did it for Arizona in 2009.
Strasburg's home run was the first by a pitcher on an 0-2 count this season. Two pitchers went deep on an 0-2 pitch last season: Zach Duke and Shaun Marcum.
Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals
VAN SLYKE FOLLOWING IN FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS
From Elias: Scott Van Slyke hit his first career home run, a pinch-hit, three-run shot on a 3-0 pitch, no less, in the Dodgers' win over the Cardinals on Sunday. His father, Andy, had only one pinch-hit home run in his 13 major-league seasons, but it was also a dramatic one, coming off the Expos' Jeff Parrett in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead in a game they would win by that score on Aug. 9, 1987.
Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals
CC CAN'T HOLD LATE LEAD
From Elias: The Yankees gave CC Sabathia a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, but he allowed three runs in the seventh and took the loss against the Reds on Sunday. Sabathia is now 167-4 in his career when having a two run lead in the seventh inning or later.
Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees
FRANCISCO'S TIGHTROPE ACT
From Elias: Frank Francisco allowed the first two Blue Jays batters of the ninth inning to reach base, but he then struck out the next three to give the Mets a 6-5 win in Toronto. He's the first pitcher this season to record a save by striking out the final three batters of the game with the tying run in scoring position. The only pitchers with such a save last season were Andrey Bailey and Jordan Walden.
New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays
AN UNLIKELY ENDING IN SAN DIEGO
From Elias: Padres pitcher Clayton Richard had a pinch-hit single and scored the game-ending run in the bottom of the 13th inning on Sunday. Over the last 40 years the only other pitcher to have an extra-inning pinch hit and then score a game-ending run was Kevin Gross for the Dodgers on Aug. 17, 1991.
Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres
ANOTHER THREE-HIT GAME FOR TROUT
From Elias: Mike Trout went 3 for 4 in the Angels' loss on Sunday, his fourth three-hit game over the last 12 days. That's already the most three-hit games among rookies this season. Four rookies have done it three times: Matt Carpenter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Jesus Montero, Stephen Lombardozzi.
ATHLETICS FINALLY GET TO LINCECUM
From Elias: The Athletics knocked Tim Lincecum out of Sunday's game after scoring four runs, all earned, in four innings. Entering the game, Lincecum's 1.38 ERA against Oakland was his second-lowest against any team he had faced more than once; he has a 1.14 ERA against Houston.
Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants
LEWIS DOES IT WITH THE ARM AND BAT
From Elias: Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis came up with the bases loaded in the first inning on Sunday and delivered a two-run single. It's the second time Lewis has batted with the bases loaded in the major leagues, and it's the second time he delivered a two-run single. The other instance was on June 13, 2010 against Milwaukee.
ROSS TAKES PRICE DEEP
From Elias: David Ross' home run was the fourth against David Price in Price's last three starts. That's as many home runs as Price had allowed in his previous 10 regular-season starts.
Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays
SUNDAY WAS A GOOD DAY FOR THE NATIONAL LEAGUE
From Elias: National League teams went 5-1 in road games on Sunday, which is the NL's second-highest winning percentage on any day of interleague play on which it played six or more road games. The NL had a 7-0 day on the road against American League teams on June 19, 2007.
NHL
SMITH KEEPS COYOTES ALIVE
From Elias: Mike Smith made 36 saves in his 2-0 victory at Los Angeles that enabled the Coyotes to avoid being swept by the Kings in the Western Conference Final. Smith is the seventh goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout with his team trailing three-games-to-none in a playoff series and the first ever to do so on the road. Before Smith, the last goaltender to record a shutout with his team facing a four-game sweep was the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist against the Penguins in a second-round series in 2008.
Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings