NINE TO KNOW

And a Tarik Skubal Nine to Know

Here’s wishing you a healthy Memorial Day.

Tarik Skubal

Here’s Nine to Know.

1. Tarik Skubal pitched a masterpiece. He pitched a Maddux (a shutout requiring fewer than 100 pitches). He threw a shutout. All correct. But the Department of Redundancy Division will tell all of you that describing Skubal’s 5-0 blanking of the Guardians as a “complete game shutout” is simply incorrect. You cannot throw a shutout if it is not a complete game. When you spot one of these today, send it in, and you can join the fun.

Here’s a Tarik Skubal Nine to Know about this game.

1. Skubal threw the first complete game of his professional career.

2. Skubal struck out 13.

3. The 13 strikeouts were the most ever in a Maddux, topping the 12 recorded by Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco in 2014, the Phillies’ Cliff Lee in 2011, and the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax in 1964.

4. Skubal walked no one.

5. Skubal allowed just two hits.

6. Skubal threw just 94 pitches.

7. Skubal threw just 22 balls.

8. He induced 26 swings-and-misses.

9. He ended the game by striking out Gabriel Arias on a 102.6 mph four-seam fastball, the fastest strikeout pitch by a starting pitcher since pitch-tracking started in 1988.

   

   THE Greg Maddux

2. The Mets took two of three from the Dodgers. The Mets won the Sunday night telecast, 3-1. When you look at all of the Dodgers pitching injuries and all the steady reshuffling of their roster, you have to wonder how they have 32-21 record and are in first place in the NL West. It’s because they are gooood. That’s why the Mets taking this series was a message both to themselves and to the Dodgers. The Mets are also a good team, and they now have the same record as the Dodgers. The Mets are 19-6 record at home. Their .760 home winning percentage is the highest mark in the majors. They are tied for their best start at home with the 2015 and 2021 teams. When Kodai Senga gave up a leadoff homer to Shohei Ohtani last night, it ended his career-high streak of eight games without allowing a homer. He had not given up a homer to his last 202 batters faced. When Pete Alonso homered in the bottom of the 1st, it snapped a career-high drought of 65 at-bats and 16 games without a dinger.

3. There’s no place like away. The Phillies finally lost (they had won nine straight), and the Athletics finally won (they had lost 11 straight). The A’s beat the Phils yesterday in Sacramento to salvage a win in their three-game set. In Cincy, the Reds had an 8-3 lead, but the Cubs scored eight unanswered runs to win 11-8 and take two of three in their series. The Cubs and Phillies are each 17-11 on the road, the best records in baseball. The Tigers and Mariners are 16-12 and the Yankees are 14-11 abroad. Those five teams have the best away records, and all five are in first place. The Knicks came back from 20 points down last night to beat the Pacers in Indianapolis. Indy still leads in the series, which is bad for my blood pressure, two games to one. No home team has won a game.

4. The Yankees are the only team above .500 in the very meh AL East. The relatively hot Rays are at .500. The Yankees lead them by 6.0 games. The AL Central has four teams above .500. The only team underwater is the White Sox (17-36), who were 15-38 at this time last season, so they are improving.

5. The Red Sox split with the awful Orioles because, of course, they did. A four-game set at Fenway dropped Boston to 27-28. This is the 12th time this season that the Red Sox have been one game under .500. The Sox are now 5-5 in their last 10 games, 9-11 in their last 20, 8-9 against the AL East, 9-10 against the AL Central, 4-6 against the AL West, 16-14 at home, 4-4 in extra innings, 22-21 against right-hand pitchers, they’ve got a great DH (Rafael Devers) who can’t field, and a shortstop (Trevor Story) who can’t hit (6-44 and 13-90 recently). They are what you see.