Some Hard-Hitting Facts

Here are some hard-hitting facts.

The Six-Inning Streak
Ryan Dempster has gone exactly 6.0 innings in every one of his five starts in 2009. It is tied for the fifth longest streak of starts going exactly 6.0 innings since 1954. It is also tied for the longest streak of starts going exactly 6.0 innings to start the season since 1954. Dempster is joined by Randy Wolf (2007) and Scott Bankhead (1988) on this notable list. In these starts, Dempster is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 25 K, 14 BB in, you guessed it, 30 IP. His average Game Score has been 48. Here are his game-by-game lines:

April 7, at Houston: 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 K, 3 BB, Game Score 54, ND
April 12, at Milwaukee: 6 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 3 BB, Game Score 47, W
April 18, vs St. Louis: 6 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 4 K, 4 BB, Game Score 48, ND
April 24, at St. Louis: 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 6 K, 1 BB, Game Score 51, ND
April 29, at Arizona: 6 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 K, 3 BB, Game Score 41, L

It is up for debate how good this streak really is. It has been emphatically pointed out to me that having a pitcher go six innings repeatedly is not good, as it means he's not doing great. This is true as evidenced by the two quality starts out of the five and the 2-3 Cubs record in the starts. Still, it is a fun streak to follow. One more 6 inning game and Dempster will tie for the record!

Just Missing the Cycle
In honor of the three cycles in 5 games achieved by Orlando Hudson, Ian Kinsler, and Jason Kubel, here are some cycle facts. In the past 55 years, there have been 139 cycles hit. In the past 3 months of baseball play, there have been 7. Obviously, the most common type of "just missing the cycle" is hitting a 1B, 2B, and HR but not getting the 3B. The two players who have done this the most since 1954 are Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, who have each done it 35 times. I will not say what those two players have in common, but you can fill in the blank yourself. Rounding out the top six are Billy Williams (32), Juan Gonzalez (32), Willie Mays (29), and Hank Aaron (29).
The only pitcher to ever hit for the cycle was Jimmy Ryan, who did it on July 28, 1888. However, Ryan was also an outfielder in that game, and it is not even clear how long he really pitched in that game. Since 1954, Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe came a triple away from hitting for the cycle five times.
Perhaps the toughest type of cycle to just miss is getting a 2B, 3B, and HR with no 1B, and no player has done that more than 3 times. Getting everything except for the HR is also somewhat common, and Wade Boggs and Paul Molitor have both done it 13 times.

Extra Inning Run Sprees
In a game rightly overshadowed by the incredible Bulls-Celtics Game 6, the Chicago Cubs were defeated by the Florida Marlins 8-2 in 10 innings. This is notable because the Cubs lost by 6 runs...in extra innings. This is only the 87th time in Major League history that a team has won by 6 or more runs in extra innings (OK not so notable but I thought it was 8 runs at first and that would have been only the 12th time ever). The largest margin of victory in an extra innings game was 12, when the Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland Athletics 16-4 on July 4, 1983. This was done in 13 innings by virtue of 12 runs on 8 hits.

Some other Random Facts
(Note that all data is since 1954 because the Play Index only goes that far)
-The career leader for most multi-triple games is Willie Mays, who had 10.
-The record for most total bases by a team in a single game is 58, set by the Montreal Expos when they beat the Atlanta Braves 19-0 on July 30, 1978. The Cleveland Indians got 50 when they routed the Yankees 22-4 earlier this year, good for seventh all-time.
-The lowest Game Score of all time belongs to Mike Oquist of the Oakland A's, who went 5 IP, 16 H, 14 ER, 3 BB, 3 K in a 14-1 loss to the Yankees on August 3, 1998.
-On this date in baseball history, on May 1, 1991, Rickey Henderson stole his 939th career base, passing Lou Brock for number one all time. Later that night, Nolan Ryan threw his seventh and final no hitter in a 3-0 victory for the Rangers over the Blue Jays.
-Ryan Theriot's 6th inning grand slam on May 1 was his first home run since April 15, 2008 (157 games and 617 AB). It also set his career high for single-game RBI in one swing.

Random Baseball Fact of the Day: Greg Maddux is the career leader in games pitched where he goes exactly 6.0 innings. He has done so in 132 of his 740 career starts, good for 17.8%. For contrast, Dempster has gone exactly 6.0 innings in 46 of his 200 starts, good for 23%.