JML update: June 15

Back-to-back-to-back? Ike Davis has now had three consecutive two-hit games, the latest coming as the Mets completed their sweep of the host Tampa Bay Rays, 9-6. Davis also walked a drove in a pair. Problem is, this late in the season, getting eight hits in 17 at bats over the past seven days only raised his batting average from .161 to .188, which shows how badly he’d been playing. Johan Santana had his second sub-par performance since his 134-pitch no hitter on June 1. And the Mets are still in the news for trying to get the official scorer from R.A. Dickey’s Wednesday night one-hitter to change that to an error on third baseman David Wright.

Ian Kinsler was 0-3 and was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Eric Cooper as the Texas Rangers fell to the  visiting Ariz. Diamondbacks, 11-3. Scott Feldman dropped to 0-6 by giving up six runs (four earned) in five innings on eight eights (including a homer run). On the plus-side, he didn’t walk anybody and struck out six. Craig Breslow did not appear in the game for the D’backs.

 

Ryan Braun‘s fourth-inning home run gave the Milwaukee Brewers the early 1-0 lead, but the host Kansas City Royals came back and took a 4-3 victory for the second game in a row by scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Braun’s 16th his only hit of the game.

Kevin Youkilis and the Boston Red Sox had the day off. Jason Marquis did not appear in the San Diego Padres’ 6-2 win over the host Seattle Mariners.

In other baseball news:

♦ With the Yankees facing a team from Washington with a winning record for the first time since 1969, it seems like a good time for an article. So thank you. Times, for this piece with features recollections from Mike “SueperJew” Epstein, a member of the then-Washington Senators, and TV personality Maury Povich, son of The Washington Post‘s Shirley Povich, one of the legendary sportswriters of all time.

♦ Are some perfect games more perfect than others? You betcha, according to this “Keeping Score” piece by the Times’ Benjamin Hoffman. By the “Game Score” statistic developed by sabermetrics guru Bill James to evaluate pitching performances, Matt Cain’s 10-0 perfecto against the visiting Houston Astros on Wednesday gave him a game score of 101, tying him with Sandy Koufax for the “best of the best.” Koufax tossed his perfect game against the Chicago Cubs in 1965. (What kind of luck did opposing starter Bob Hendley have that day? He allowed just one hit and the Dodgers’ sole run came as the result of an error).

Surprisingly, throwing a perfect game doesn’t guarantee you the highest game score (described as “award[ing] points for outs, innings and strikeouts and [taking] points away for hits, walks, runs and earned runs”).

The highest game score came in a game that was neither a no-hitter nor a perfect game. Cain, Koufax and Ryan all trail Kerry Wood, who, as a Cub, struck out 20 Astros, walked none and allowed one hit on May 6, 1998, setting a nine-inning record with a game score of 105.

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