Stephen Strasburg became the first pitcher in 2012 to reach 100 strikeouts. Michael Brantley upped his hitting streak to 20 games. But not even those feats are enough for this Lineup ...
Full Wednesday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for all games
3 UP
Matt Cain, Giants: In a succinct nature, the case for including Cain within 3 up: He threw the 22nd perfect game in major-league history. He also tied Sandy Koufax's 1965 record for strikeouts in a perfecto (14), and thus he turned in one of the most dominating outings in the history of history.
R.A. Dickey, Mets: By about an hour or so, Dickey became the first 10-game winner of 2012. He also came within a questionable scorer's decision of no-hitting the Rays (the Mets are appealing!). He's on his way to one of the best seasons ever for knuckleballer, and he may be on his way to a Cy Young.
Lance Lynn, Cardinals: Not to be lost in all the Cain and Dickey hype is Lynn. Against the White Sox on Wednesday, Lynn, in the course of matching Dickey's 10 wins, whiffed 12, gave up just three hits and walked none in 7.1 frames.
3 DOWN
Tyler Colvin, Rockies: In the course of a Coors Field game that saw 18 runs scored and almost 40 base-runners, Colvin managed to go 0-for-5 with a strikeout and five runners left on base.
Randy Choate, Marlins: Choate entered Wednesday having given up only one earned run on the season. He left Wednesday having given up five earned runs on the season. Against the Red Sox, Choate failed to record an out and gave up four runs on four hits. The Marlins ended their nine-game homestand with a 1-8 mark over that span.
David Price, Rays: While Price's opposite number was mowing down the Rays, Price was scuttling: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R. It's the most runs Price has given up since July 18, 2010.
The day after Dickey: It so happens that Johan Santana, author of the only Mets' no-hitter to date, will follow up R.A. Dickey's act of greatness. Santana, two starts removed from no-hitting the Cardinals, will oppose Jeremy Hellickson, who boasts a 2.65 ERA on the season. 1:10 pm ET
No-hitter watch: Presumptive? Perhaps, but it's Justin Verlander against the Cubs, who are hitting just .247 as a team. And this is, after all, 2012, which has yielded five no-nos before the middle of June. 2:20 pm ET
Seconds, please: It's a battle of two surprise second-place teams in Baltimore on Thursday. The Pirates come in looking to avoid the sweep, while the O's will try to win their fifth in a row. They just passed the Rays in the standings, and they'll place their hopes upon Tommy Hunter. The Buccos will counter with Erik Bedard, who was originally drafted by the Orioles back in 1999. 7:05 pm ET
Thursday probables for all games
• St. Pete dispatch: Will the Rays ever get to move across the bay into Tampa and into a decent ballpark? If the mayor of St. Petersburg gets his way, it won't happen for at least another 15 years. [New York Times]
• Going streaking: While Cleveland's Brantley owns the longest current hitting streak (20 games), Josh Willingham of the Twins is back on the radar. An error call on Sunday left Willingham hitless for the day, but that call has been overturned. That means, with Wednesday night's home run, Willingham has now hit in 15 straight games. [MLB.com]
• Shirt tales: The official All-Star Game t-shirts are out, and they are, to say the least, both uninspired and uninspiring. [Big League Stew]
• Tommy's terrific: Former Dodger manager and current Dodger emissary Tommy Lasorda is recovering nicely after suffering a mild heart attack. "People asked me if they told me to lose weight," said Lasorda. "I knew that before anybody told me, just when I put my pants on. I'd be really mad if I died thin, I'd miss all that great spaghetti. I don't want to lose too much weight or my nose would look too big." [SI.com]
• To market: Dave Cameron of FanGraphs breaks down which teams should be buyers and which teams should be sellers as the non-waiver trade deadline draws nearer.
For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook.
