In Baltimore tonight, Ben Zobrist went 4 for 6 with 3 doubles and a triple, and scored each time. In the 9th, he tripled and scored the tying run; in the 11th, he doubled and scored the go-ahead run in Tampa's 7-5 win over the O's.

Here are the other games since 1919 with 4+ hits, all for extra bases, at least 1 triple, and 4+ runs:

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According to Buster Olney: Sources say MLB and the MLBPA are talking about realignment.  What do you all think about what's being discussed in this report?

As if we didn't know already...Roy Halladay is really good.

Check out the most seasons qualified for the ERA title with an ERA+ of at least 150, among active pitchers:

Halladay's got at least as many as any two other pitchers combined.

He's also well up on the same list for all pitchers, active or otherwise:

That's quite a list!

(It also adds a bit of evidence to the argument that Kevin Brown is underrated.)

Last night, Kevin Whelan became just the 12th "pitcher" since 1919 to throw two-thirds of an inning or less in his major league debut while walking four or more batters in the process.  Here's the list of those to do it -

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I say "pitcher" because not everyone on this list is really a pitcher. See: Alexander and Harlow.

-- Placido Polanco hit a grand slam that sent Carlos Zambrano to the showers having allowed 7 ER on 7 hits and 7 walks in 6.2 IP. Polanco has never struck out in 18 PAs against Zambrano; only James Loney (21) has more K-free faceoffs with Zambrano, but then, Loney doesn't have an extra-base hit, either. (Surprise!) Roy Halladay left with a 7-0 lead after 7 IP, and the bullpen barely hung on to preserve his 9th win. Halladay whiffed 9 without a walk, giving him 106 Ks against 14 BBs this year. Including the 2010 postseason, Halladay has pitched 6+ IP in 40 straight starts, and has not walked more than 2 in any of his last 24 starts. (Pop quiz: Can you name the starter with a longer active streak of 2 BBs or less? Answer at the end of the post.)

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Madison Bumgarner was charged with his 8th loss Thursday, although he allowed just 1 run in 7 innings. It was his 4th loss this year when allowing 1 earned run or less. In less than half a season, Bumgarner already has as many of those tough losses as any pitcher in any season since 1988.

If he needs any counseling, Bumgarner can talk to teammate Matt Cain, the last pitcher with 4 such losses in a season (2007). Or he could put in a call to ESPN analyst Orel Hershiser; check out the list of pitchers since 1988 with at least 4 losses allowing 1 ER or less:

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A somewhat random query: Players since 1901 with 50+ Stolen Bases, 12+ Triples, and 10 "Caught Stealing" or less in the same season.

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Here are Brett Gardner's career big league stats, to date:

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Note his Slugging Percentage the last three seasons. Pretty consistent, huh?

Jonathan Papelbon recently recorded his 200th career save and he did it in fewer appearances than any other pitcher. His rapidity in reaching the milestone is an indicator not only of his skill but also just how specifically he has been used. Papelbon has pitched very rarely in non-save situations.

Here are the 14 pitchers who had saves in at least half of their games in relief:

Below these guys, there are no pitchers with more than a handful of saves.

Notice how these guys are all modern, with Bryan Harvey the old man in this group if we ignore Eckersley. Harvey was one of the earliest of the modern-day 1-inning closers following in the footsteps of Eckersley.

Check out the guys right around Papelbon in career saves:

Papelbon has 356 career games in relief. Of those, 234 (66%) were save situations and 200 (56%) eventually became saves.

Let's run the same numbers for the others:

• Jeff Shaw had 614 games in relief. Of those, 302 (49%) were save situations and 203 (33%) became saves.
• Bobby Thigpen had 448 games in relief. Of those, 264 (59%) were save situations and 201 (45%) became saves.
• Brian Fuentes has 579 games in relief. Of those, 298 (51%) have been save situations and 198 (34%) have become saves.
• Mike Henneman had 561 games in relief. Of those, 268 (48%) were save situations and 193 (34%) became saves.

So, Papelbon has much higher percentages in both categories than all the rest of these guys. This is, of course, because he's been a premiere closer for his entire career. The other guys above spent some time (usually at the beginning or end of their careers) as a middle reliever. It's not hard to imagine Papelbon becoming an 8th inning guy one day, so his own percentages may decline considerably over time.

How many players in baseball history have reached base, including via an error, 4,000 times or more in the career?

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