Fascinating facts from Tuesday's games

Fascinating facts from Tuesday's games Image

As Astros rookie Jordan Lyles showed Tuesday, when it comes to performances in a pitcher's big league debut, age really can be just another number.

Lyles limited the Cubs to two runs (one earned) on five hits in seven innings, struck out four with no walks and came away with a no-decision. At 20 years and 224 days, he was the youngest Astros starter to make his big league debut since Larry Dierker (18 years old) on Sept. 22, 1964. The youngest-ever Astros starter to debut was Jay Dahl, at 17 years and 295 days on Sept. 27, 1963.

Lyles was the second-youngest starter to make his debut this year, after Atlanta's Julio Teheran (20 years, 100 days). The last time a pair of 20-year-old starters made their Major League debuts in the same season was in 2009, when Madison Bumgarner and Rick Porcello did it. The last time there were more than two was in '05 (Felix Hernandez, Hayden Penn, Matt Cain).

Lyles' effort produced a 65 game score. The last time a pitcher younger than Lyles produced a game score that high in his Major League debut was on June 28, 1996, when Jeff D'Amico (20 years, 184 days) threw 5 2/3 shutout innings on two hits, struck out five and walked four, and produced a 66 game score.

Nearly 80 years earlier, on Sept. 7, 1931 in the second game of a doubleheader between the Braves and Dodgers at Ebbets Field, a 20-year-old right-hander named Van Lingle Mungo made his Major League debut. Facing a Boston team that would finish the year with the fewest runs scored in the National League, Mungo walked two, struck out seven and went the distance for a three-hit shutout.

Mungo, who in the live-ball era is one of seven pitchers to be 20 or younger and toss a shutout in his first big league game, went on to pitch 14 seasons for the Dodgers and Giants, made three All-Star teams and led the Majors in strikeouts in 1936.

Granderson Curtis Granderson's home run against Oakland's Brett Anderson on Tuesday was the Yankees center fielder's 17th of the season (ranking second in the Majors) and his ninth against a southpaw (most in the Majors). It was also the first home run by a lefty against Anderson since Aug. 25, 2009.

Granderson's 17 home runs through the Yankees' first 53 games are the most at this point by a center fielder for the team since Mickey Mantle had 17 in 1961. His nine home runs against southpaws this year have come in 62 at-bats. Entering the season, he had 20 career home runs in 777 at-bats against lefties.

Jeter Derek Jeter went 2-for-4 on Tuesday with three runs scored to raise his career hit total to 2,983 — four shy of tying Sam Rice for 28th all-time.

Jeter, with 878 multihit games, is one shy of tying Robin Yount for the 13th most since 1919. Jeter's three runs gave him 1,718 — one shy of tying Willie Keller for 25th all-time.

Twins The Twins' Justin Morneau hit two home runs Tuesday for his 14th career multihomer game. Morneau has the fifth most multi-homer games for the franchise since it moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season. Harmon Killebrew has the most (35), followed by Tony Oliva (18), Kent Hrbek (16) and Bob Allison (15).

The Twins' 8-7 loss Tuesday to the Tigers marked the 25th one-run game played by Minnesota this season — most in the Majors. The Twins have gone 10-15 in those games.

Pirates Pittsburgh's James McDonald allowed one run in six innings and the visiting Pirates beat the Mets, 5-1, on Tuesday for their 16th road win of the season — one fewer than all of last year.

Pittsburgh has received 10 road performances this season in which their starter has gone at least six and allowed no more than one run. Only the A's and Brewers, with 11 such outings, have had more.

Here and there Team Wins Phillies 25 Brewers 24 Rangers 23 Red Sox 23 Cardinals 23 Rays 22 D-backs 22 Yankees 22 • Zack Greinke allowed two runs in six innings Tuesday and picked up his fourth win in the Brewers' 7-2 victory over the Reds. Milwaukee's starting pitchers have 24 wins this season (Yovani Gallardo with seven, Shaun Marcum with six, Greinke and Randy Wolf with four, Chris Narveson with two and Marco Estrada with one) — second most in the Majors. The Phillies, with 25, have the most.

• The Astros' Hunter Pence went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and the Dodgers' Matt Kemp went 2-for-4 with four RBIs on Tuesday. Pence and Kemp have each driven in at least one run in 28 games this season — tied for third most in the Majors. Paul Konerko and Miguel Cabrera are tied for the most games with an RBI, with 29.

• The Braves' Chipper Jones went 2-for-3 with two RBIs on Tuesday — his 385th multi-RBI game. For the franchise in the modern era, only Hank Aaron (573) had more.

• The Reds' Jay Bruce drove in his 33rd run of the month Tuesday to give him an NL-leading 44 for the season. Bruce's 33 RBIs in May are the most by a Reds player in any single month since Greg Vaughn had 33 in September 1999.