Did You Know

On Thursday, May 3, opposing starters Homer Bailey and Ryan Dempster made history. Bailey was pitching on his 26th birthday, while Dempster on his 35th. It was the first time in big league history that opposing starters both pitched on their birthdays against each other. Dempster was far superior in his outing, tossing eight shutout innings on just three hits. Cubs closer Carlos Marmol blew the 3-0 lead, however, and the Reds won in 10, 4-3.

This Day in Baseball History

5/5/1904: Cy Young tosses a perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics. His counterpart, 27-year-old Rube Waddell, a future Hall of Famer, was on his way to a 25-19 season with a 1.62 ERA. 37-year-old Cy would go 26-16 with a 1.97 ERA.

News

On Wednesday, Angels starter Jered Weaver tossed a no-hitter against the Twins.

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tore his ACL and is out for the season, but vows to return for 2013.

Rays signed Hideki Matsui (12 HR, 72 RBI, .251 AVG, 1 SB, age 37) to a minor league deal.

Padres starter Corey Luebke is a likely candidate for Tommy John surgery.

Cubs manager Dale Sveum dropped Carlos Marmol from the closer's role, inserting a closer by committee between James Russell and Rafael Dolis.

Game Scores

Nationals (17-9) beat the Phillies (13-14) 4-3 (11 innings).

Orioles (17-9) beat the Red Sox (11-14) 6-4 (13 innings).

Yankees (14-12) beat the Royals (8-17) 6-2.

Braves (16-11) beat the Rockies (12-13) 9-8 (11 innings).

Cubs (10-16) beat the Dodgers (17-9) 5-4.

Rays (19-8) beat the A's (13-14) 7-2.

Top Scorer: Braves beat the Rockies 9-8 (11 innings) and Marlins beat the Padres 9-8 (12 innings).

Standings

AL East: Rays (19-8, .704 WPCT). AL Central: Indians (14-10, .583). AL West: Rangers (17-9, .654).

NL East: Nationals (17-9, .654). NL Central: Cardinals (16-10, .615). NL West: Dodgers (17-9, .654).

AL Wild Cards: Orioles (17-9, .654) and Blue Jays (16-11, .593).  

NL Wild Cards: Braves (16-11, .593) and Reds (13-12, .520).

Bottom Team: Twins (7-18, .280). Longest Winning Streak: Rays, 6 games. Longest Losing Streak: Mariners, 7 games.

League Leaders

Offensive: AVG: Matt Kemp (Dodgers), .404 (38-94). Home runs: Matt Kemp, 12. RBI: Andre Ethier (Dodgers), 28.  Stolen bases: Emilio Bonifacio (Marlins), 13.

Pitching: Wins: Lance Lynn (Cardinals), David Price (Rays), and James Shields (Rays), 5. K's: Jered Weaver (Angels), 45.  ERA: Ryan Dempster (Cubs), 0.95 (28.1 innings, 3 earned runs). Saves: Chris Perez (Indians), 10.

Top Performers

Offensive: Jerry Hairston Jr. (Dodgers): 3-4, triple, home run (1), 2 RBI, run, AVG up .038 from .289 to .327, hitting streak to 3 games (5-11, .455 AVG).

Pitching: David Price (Rays): Win (5-1), 8 innings, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 1 walk, 12 K's (35), ERA drop: 0.32 runs from 2.67 to 2.35.

Worst Pitching Performance: Tyson Ross (A's): Loss (1-2), 3.1 innings, 7 earned runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 2 K's (10), ERA jump: 2.07 runs from 6.48 to 8.55.

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. BAA: batting average against. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman