RED SOX AT YANKEES: Tonight at a glance
AL
Red Sox (Lester) at Yankees (Garcia), 7:05 ET
* This is the second time the Red Sox have won 6+ straight road games vs the Yankees in a single season. The other time was a 10-game streak in 1912, when the Yankees were known as the Highlanders
* Jon Lester: 0-2, 6.55 ERA (8 ER, 11 IP) in last 2 starts
* Lester: 4-0 in last 4 starts at Yankee Stadium
* Freddy Garcia: 10.95 ERA (15 ER, 12.1 IP), 6 HR allowed in last 3 starts
* Garcia: 0-2, 6.92 ERA (10 ER, 13 IP) in 4 games vs Red Sox this year
FROM ELIAS: Red Sox have gone 23 straight games without winning 2 in a row. That's their longest such streak since the 1994 team had a 28-game run in May and June of that season.
Worst Record In Sept/Oct - Made Playoffs
W-L Win Pct
1998 Padres 9-15 .375
2008 Brewers 10-16 .385
1980 Royals 12-19 .387
1976 Royals 12-19 .387
1971 Giants 11-16 .407
>2011 Red Sox: 5-16
>>Source: Elias Sports Bureau
PUJOLS' FINAL ACT IN ST. LOUIS?
The Cardinals play their final home series of the regular season beginning Friday against the Cubs, then close the regular season with three games in Houston. This could be the final series at home for Albert Pujols, should the Cardinals not make the postseason. He will be a free agent at season's end.
Top things to know
1- Albert Pujols ranks as the all-time leader in home runs and RBI for players within their first 11 major-league seasons.
2- Pujols ranks second or third in Cardinals history in just about every major statistical category, trailing either Stan Musial or Mark McGwire
3-The largest free agent contract signed in terms of total value is $275 million by Alex Rodriguez, and the average annual value of $27.5 million is the largest in major league history as well.
NEXT LEVEL
* Adjusted OPS+ (found on Baseball-Reference.com) rates players based on their OPS, adjusting for the era and ballpark in which they primarily played. It is based off the idea that 100 is average…higher is above-average, lower is below-average. MVP candidates typically score 150 and above.
Highest OPS+-- All-Time (Minimum 3,000 PA)
Babe Ruth 206
Ted Williams 190
Barry Bonds 181
Lou Gehrig 178
Rogers Hornsby 175
Mickey Mantle 172
>> Albert Pujols: 171 OPS+
HOW GREAT IS ALBERT PUJOLS?
* There are some all-time milestones and records in which Pujols ranks among the greatest of all-time.
Most Consecutive Seasons with .300 BA, 30 HR, and 100 RBI
MLB History
Seasons
Albert Pujols 2001- 10<<
Lou Gehrig 1929-1937 9
Babe Ruth 1926-1933 8
>>Has 98 RBI in 2011
Highest OPS All-Time
Babe Ruth 1.164
Ted Williams 1.116
Lou Gehrig 1.080
Barry Bonds 1.051
Jimmie Foxx 1.038
>> Albert Pujols: 1.040 OPS
Most Top-3 Finishes MVP Voting
Barry Bonds 9
Albert Pujols 8
Hank Aaron 7
Mickey Mantle 7
Stan Musial 7
Ted Williams 7
* Among active players, Pujols rates at the very top in all three slashline stats (batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage).
Albert Pujols
Ranks Among Active Players
BA .329 1st
OBP .421 1st
Slug Pct .618 1st
OPS 1.040 1st
HR 445 5th
IBB 251 1st
AB Per HR 14.1 3rd
>> Minimum 3,000 PA
PITCHING TRIPLE CROWNS?
Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw are both CURRENTLY leading their respective leagues in the pitching Triple Crown categories (Wins, ERA and Strikeouts). While the pitching Triple Crown has been won several times in MLB history (most recently by Jake Peavy with the Padres in 2007), there have not been 2 winners in the same season in over 85 years.
Two Pitching Triple Crown Winners in Same Season
MLB History
AL NL
1924 Walter Johnson, WSH Dazzy Vance, BRO
1918 Walter Johnson, WSH Hippo Vaughn, CHC
1905 Rube Waddell, PHA Christy Mathewson, NYG
>>Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw currently leading AL and NL respectively
Verlander is a lock for the lead in wins and will probably have the most strikeouts. Jered Weaver is not far behind in ERA.
Justin Verlander
2011 Season
AL Rank 2nd Place
Wins 24 1st CC Sabathia (19)
ERA 2.29 1st Jered Weaver (2.41)
K 244 1st CC Sabathia (230)
Clayton Kershaw is tied for the NL lead in wins with Ian Kennedy (both pitchers will likely have 1 more start). He has a slim lead in ERA and a 10-K lead heading into the final week of the season.
Clayton Kershaw
2011 Season
AL Rank 2nd Place
Wins 20 T-1st Ian Kennedy (20)
ERA 2.27 1st Johnny Cueto (2.31)
K 242 1st Cliff Lee (232)
If Verlander and Kershaw DO win the pitching Triple Crown, history says they are a lock for the Cy Young Award. Since the award began in 1956, every pitcher to win the Triple Crown has gone on to win the Cy Young Award.
Pitching Triple Crown Winners
Since Cy Young Award Began in 1956
Team
2007 Jake Peavy Padres
2006 Johan Santana Twins
2002 Randy Johnson D-backs
1999 Pedro Martinez Red Sox
1998 Roger Clemens Blue Jays
1997 Roger Clemens Blue Jays
1985 Dwight Gooden Mets
1972 Steve Carlton Phillies
1966 Sandy Koufax Dodgers
1965 Sandy Koufax Dodgers
1963 Sandy Koufax Dodgers
>>All won Cy Young Award (only 1 award for MLB 1956-66)
AND A BATTING TRIPLE CROWN TOO?
Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp has gone 15-for-25 in his last six games to give himself a legitimagte Triple Crown shot. He leads the lead in RBIs, trails Albert Pujols by one for the home run lead and is third in the batting race at .326 behind Ryan Braun (.330) and Jose Reyes (.329).
This is big and will get really big if he has another day like Thursday (4-for-5 with a HR) in the next day or two.
Pitchers were able to limit Kemp's effectiveness early in the season by attacking up in the zone. However, since the beginning of August Kemp has improved his eye on pitches up in the zone, walking more and striking out less. He's getting better pitches to hit too, as he's been chasing less (but swinging more), and has added 120 points to his average while doubling his home run percentage. I included two graphics to illustrate, feel free to mix/match if you like.
Matt Kemp, Pitches Up in Zone
2011 Season
March-July August-present
BA .228 .348
OPS .794 1.133
HR pct 3.3 8.7
HR/FB 9.1 23.5
Matt Kemp, Pitches Up in Zone
2011 Season
March-July August-present
K pct 21.7 15.9
BB pct 19.2 23.8
Swing pct 46.8 50.0
Chase pct 32.8 25.4