Elias Says...
Special to ESPN.com
NFL
COLTS DIDN'T NEED THE BALL FOR LONG TO WIN
The Colts defeated Miami on Monday in a game in which Indianapolis had the ball for only 14 minutes and 53 seconds. That's the lowest time of possession for a winning team since the NFL began tracking that statistic in the 1970s.
Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins
A CAREER NIGHT FOR CLARK
Dallas Clark had 183 receiving yards on Monday, the third-most in one game from Peyton Manning. Marvin Harrison had a 196-yard game in 1999 and Reggie Wayne had a 184-yard game in 2004.
Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins
200 YARDS JUST ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE
The Dolphins lost despite rushing for 239 yards on Monday. They were the third team this week to lose a game with 200 or more yards on the ground: Dallas ran for 251 against the Giants and Tennessee had 240 against Houston on Sunday. Last season NFL teams were 36-2 when running for at least 200 yards; this year they are 3-3.
Since the 1970 merger there has been only one other week of games in which three teams ran for 200 or more yards and lost (week 16 of the 1978 season).
Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts
DOLPHINS 15 THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS
The Dolphins had 15 third-down conversions on Monday, the most by any team since the Colts had 15 in a game against the Broncos in 2002.
Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts
MLB
RED SOX BLOW BIG LEAD IN KANSAS CITY
The Red Sox lost to the Royals on Monday after leading by six runs. It's the second time this season that Boston has lost after leading by six or more runs; they lost to Baltimore on June 30 after leading 10-1. The only other teams with two losses like that this season are Cleveland and Arizona.
It was the first time the Red Sox lost a game after leading by six or more runs at Kansas City since July 25, 1956 against the Athletics.
Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals
BAY EXTENDS RBI STREAK
Jason Bay extended his RBI streak to seven games in Boston's loss on Monday. It's Bay's second RBI streak of that length this season (also May 7-14). He's the first Boston player to have two seven-game RBI streaks in one season since Ted Williams in 1950.
Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals
GARRETT JONES, MEET KEVIN MAAS
Garrett Jones, who hit his first home run of the season on July 2, hit his 20th home run of the season on Monday. He's only the second player in major-league history to have a 20-homer season without hitting one before July. The other player to do that was Kevin Maas, who had 21 homers, starting on July 4, as a rookie for the 1990 Yankees. Maas hit only 44 homers in four subsequent major-league seasons.
Jones, who is 28 years old, is the oldest rookie to have a 20-homer season since the Twins' Bobby Darwin, who began his career as a pitcher, hit 22 homers as a 29-year old rookie in 1972.
Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres
ROAD CURES RANGERS BATS
The Rangers have scored at least 10 runs in each of their last four road games (Monday in Oakland and September 8-9 in Cleveland) sandwiching their nine-game homestand, on which Texas scored a total of 19 runs. The Rangers have scored in double-digits in four straight road games one other time in team history, in June 1994.
Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics
DEROSA MASHES AT MINUTE MAID
Mark DeRosa hit two homers at Minute Maid Park on Monday, giving him five homers there this season. Three other players have five or more homers at an opponent's venue this season: Raul Ibanez (6 at Nationals Park), Ryan Howard (6 at Turner Field) and Adam Lind (6 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington).
St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros
ANGELS HAVE PETTITTE'S NUMBER
The Angels defeated the Yankees on Monday, hanging a loss on Andy Pettitte. Pettitte is now 0-4 with a 7.91 ERA in six starts against the Angels over the last two seasons, and the Angels have averaged nearly two baserunners per inning against Pettitte (51 hits, 14 walks in 33 innings).
New York Yankees, Anaheim Angels
BLACKBURN WINS 4TH VS WHITE SOX
Nick Blackburn beat the White Sox for the fourth time this season on Monday, tying him with six others for the most wins by any pitcher against any team this season. Two of the other six are on the Twins: Scott Baker (vs. Indians) and Carl Pavano (vs. Tigers, including three wins while he was with Cleveland).
Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox
ANOTHER 90-LOSS SEASON FOR BALTIMORE
The Orioles lost their 90th game of the season on Monday, giving Baltimore 90 losses in each of the last four seasons, in seven of the last nine years and 36 times in franchise history (including their days as the St. Louis Browns). The only major-league team with as many 90-loss seasons is the Phillies, who have had 37.
Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays
METS PITCHING WOES CONTINUE
Pat Misch allowed eight runs for the Mets on Monday; it's the ninth time this season a Mets pitcher has allowed eight or more runs in a game, the highest total in the major leagues. It also ties the highest single-season total in Mets history (set in 2006).
HIS BEST BAT OFF THE BENCH IS HIMSELF
Dave Clark, known best for his 96 career pinch hits, was named manager of the Astros, replacing Cecil Cooper on Monday. That's the most pinch hits by anyone who went on to become a major-league manager. The previous most was 78 by Gary Varsho, who replaced Larry Bowa as Phillies manager for the final two games of the 2004 season.
Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals