6/1/2013 Cabreras May totals matched by only four players in last 60 seasons From Elias: Miguel Cabrera had 44 hits, 12 home runs and 33 RBI in May. Only four other players in the last 60 seasons matched or exceeded Cabreras totals in all three of those categories in a calendar month and every one of them went on to win his leagues MVP award that year: Mickey Mantle (May 1956), Frank Robinson (July 1961) Jim Rice (May and August 1978), and Juan Gonzalez (July 1996). Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles 6/1/2013 Another month with high strikeouts rate From Elias: The average of 14.98 strikeouts per major-league game during May was the 5th-highest average in a full month in major-league history. (Were not including fragmentary baseball months, usually March or October, in which fewer than 60 games were played.) The record was set just last September, when there was an average of 15.47 strikeouts per game. That brings us to the larger point: Over the 138-year history of Major League Baseball, the top nine months on that list - that is, the list of months with the highest average of strikeouts per game - are the last nine months. You read that correctly. Not nine-of-the-last-12, nor nine-of-the-last-10, but nine-of-the-last-nine. There were 14.91 strikeouts in September 2011, 14.63 in April 2012, followed by 14.93 last May, 15.01 last June, 15.07 in July, 14.68 in August, the record 15.47 in September, 15.29 in April and now 14.98 in May. Those are the nine highest monthly strikeout averages in baseball history. Attention must be paid. 6/1/2013 Tigers starters surpass 200 strikeouts in May From Elias: Detroits starting pitchers recorded 203 strikeouts in May, the third-highest calendar-month total for any major-league team in the modern era (since 1900). The only teams whose starters totaled more strikeouts in a month were the 1968 Indians (222 in May) and 1998 Astros (206 in August). Sam McDowell led Cleveland with 76 strikeouts in May 1968, while Randy Johnson topped Houston with 61 in August 1998. Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles null Sabathia 6/1/2013 CC Stopper From Elias: CC Sabathia struck out 10 Red Sox batters without issuing a walk, helping the Yankees end their five-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Red Sox. Sabathia is the first Yankees pitcher in more than 100 years to end a drought of at least five straight team losses with a 10-K/zero-walk performance. That had last been done in 1910 by Russ Ford, who threw a complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts and no walks against the St. Louis Browns, a decision that ended New Yorks run of seven straight defeats. New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox null Colon 6/1/2013 Colon blanks White Sox From Elias: Bartolo Colon, one week after his 40th birthday, went the distance in a 3-0 win over the White Sox. He was the first major-leaguer to toss a shutout after turning 40 since the Mets Miguel Batista in September 2011. Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox null Navarro 6/1/2013 Sudden power surge at Wrigley From Elias: Through their first 50 games of this season the Cubs did not hit a home run with more than one runner on base. They were the first team since the 1994 Expos without a three-run homer or a grand slam in its first 50 games of a season. But on Wednesday, in the teams 51st game of 2013, Dioner Navarro hit a three-run shot (it was one of this three homers that day), and then Travis Wood hit a grand slam on Thursday and Scott Hairston followed with a bases-loaded four-bagger on Friday. The Cubs have hit three home runs in each of their last three games, their longest such streak since May 2005. And theyre the first major-league team since the Diamondbacks in September 2011 to hit a grand slam in back-to-back games. Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks 6/1/2013 Reds blank Pirates in Pittsburgh again From Elias: The Reds defeated the Pirates, 6-0, for their eighth shutout win at PNC Park over the last five seasons. Thats the most road shutouts for any major-league team against another since the start of the 2009 season. Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates 6/1/2013 Orioles involved in another fantastic finish From Elias: Baltimore rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the ninth inning and beat Detroit, 7-5. It was the seventh Orioles game this season in which the winning team trailed in the ninth inning or later, the highest such total for any team in the majors. Buck Showalters club has now won two of those games in 2013, but has lost five. Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers 6/1/2013 Rough month for Brewers From Elias: The Brewers opened the month of May one-half game behind first-place St. Louis, and they ended it 15 games in back of the division-leading Cardinals. Only one other major-league team was in first place or within a game of first place at the beginning of a calendar month and finished that month at least 15 games behind the league or division leader. In 1939, the Senators were in fourth place, one-half game behind three teams that were tied atop the American League (Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox) and found themselves 15 games back and in sixth place on the morning of June 1. Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies null Brown 6/1/2013 A dozen homers and no walks for Brown in May From Elias: Domonic Brown, who hit two home runs on Friday night, finished with 12 homers during the month of May. He became the first player in major-league history to hit nine-or-more home runs in a month in which he did not draw a walk. Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers null Hamels 6/1/2013 Hamels now 1-9 From Elias: The Brewers win over the Phillies dropped Cole Hamels record this season to 1-9. Hamels is the first Phillies pitcher since Kid Gleason in 1891 to lose nine or more games in a season before June. Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers 6/1/2013 Nationals win with pitching at Turner Field From Elias: The Nationals have won their last three games at Turner Field, by scores of 2-0 (on May 1), 3-1 (May 2) and 3-2 (Friday night). The only other team to defeat the Braves three straight times in Atlanta, despite scoring three or fewer runs in each game, was the 1986 Astros. Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves null Beltre 6/1/2013 Beltre crowns Royals From Elias: Adrian Beltre was 4-for-4 in the Rangers win over the Royals, giving him four 4-hit games since May 1. The only other major-league player in the last 10 seasons who had four or more games with at least four hits in a calendar month was Jose Reyes in June 2006. Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals null Ozuna 6/1/2013 Rookie cleans up From Elias: Marcell Ozuna was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the Marlins 5-1 win over the Mets. Ozuna became the first rookie in the major leagues this season with three hits in a game from the cleanup position in the batting order. There were 25 games last year in which a rookie collected at least three hits from the fourth slot in the lineup. Miami Marlins, New York Mets
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 18:15:09 +0000
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