Stats of the Day: Verlander eyed no-no No. 3
Tigers righty was 3 outs away from becoming 6th hurler with 3 no-hitters
Here are five interesting items from around the big leagues Wednesday …
• Bidding to become the sixth pitcher in big league history with at least three no-hitters, Justin Verlander didn't allow a knock until Chris Iannetta lined a single just fair to left field to begin the ninth. Verlander settled for a one-hit shutout as the Tigers blanked the Angels, 5-0. Verlander has four career shutouts on one hit or no hits, tying Virgil Trucks for the most for any Tiger since 1914. Like Verlander, Trucks had a pair of no-hitters, both coming in '52. Verlander's line -- which included nine strikeouts and two walks -- left him with a game score of 92. The right-hander has six career games with scores of at least 90 -- the most among active pitchers. His 1,901 career K's rank third in franchise history behind Mickey Lolich's 2,679 and Jack Morris' 1,980.
• Astros starter Collin McHugh (6 1/3 innings pitched, two runs) and three relievers combined on a five-hitter to stymie the Yankees in a 6-2 win. Houston's pitching staff has posted a 3.30 ERA this season, the franchise's best mark since the 1986 club had a 3.15 ERA. The Astros have put together a nine-game streak of allowing two runs or fewer -- the longest such stretch by any American League team since the 1974 Orioles authored a 10-game run.
• Nelson Cruz singled twice, clubbed his 39th home run and added a walk in the Mariners' 8-2 win over the A's. Cruz's OPS now stands at 1.004, which equates to a 181 OPS+. In Seattle's history, only Edgar Martinez -- with a 185 in 1995 -- has qualified for the batting title and finished a season with an OPS+ of at least 180.
Video: OAK@SEA: Cruz goes back-to-back with Seager in 8th
• In the Mets' 9-4 win over the Phillies, Michael Cuddyer -- with a double and a homer -- continued his demolition of Philadelphia. Cuddyer has hit safely in 21 straight games against the Phils -- the third-longest streak against the franchise in the past half-century. Chipper Jones hit in 29 straight from 2007-09, and Pete Rose owned a 25-game streak that began in '75 and concluded in '77. During his streak, Cuddyer owns a 1.260 OPS.
• The Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal recorded his 40th save with a scoreless ninth inning in a 3-1 win over the D-backs, becoming the first Cards pitcher to have consecutive 40-save seasons since Lee Smith put together three straight from 1991-93. Rosenthal is the third pitcher to have multiple 40-save campaigns through his age-25 season, joining Francisco Rodriguez (three) and Craig Kimbrel (three).
Milestone watch for Thursday
• Andrew McCutchen needs two home runs for 150 in his career. Reaching the milestone this season would make him the 11th center fielder with at least 150 long balls through his first seven seasons.
Video: PIT@MIA: Cutch belts a three-run shot to left
• Yovani Gallardo takes his first shot at win No. 100. This could be a nice start to a barrage of hurlers reaching the milestone, as David Price (99 wins), Scott Kazmir (98), Matt Cain (97), R.A. Dickey (97) and Ubaldo Jimenez (97) could all get to the century mark before the end of the season.