Our divisional theme heads west … and just like your morning paper, the scores from the coast come a day late.

@Dodgers 3, Angels 0 (box): Hyun-jin Ryu went past the 8th for the first time in America, and it felt so good, he just kept going, polishing off a 2-hit shutout with 7 Ks and no walks. It’s the Dodgers’ first individual shutout in their 94 games against the Angels, and was completed in 2 hours, 11 minutes.

• Luis Cruz was 8 for 78 on the year (all singles) before his first HR broke up the scoreless game in the 5th.
• Doubles by Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier gave them extra-base hits in the same game for just the 3rd time this year. Out of 65 qualified outfielders, they rank #56 and 51 in XBH. Each has notched as many as 76 XBH in a season, but they’re on track to just top that number combined.
• Ryu is the 3rd South Korean with a MLB shutout. Betcha can’t name but one of the others.
• By taking the first 2, the Dodgers have a good shot to win this series for the first time since 2006. Angels lead all-time, 54-40.
• Angels are 5-19 when Trout doesn’t score, 18-10 when he does.

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Rockies 2, @Astros 1 (box): Troy Tulowitzki doubled against Jose Veras to start the 9th, just the 6th hit in 41 ABs with the bases empty against Houston’s closer (2nd in 17 first-batter ABs). But what happened next was more of the same bad luck (or whatever) that has plagued Veras this year. His 0-and-2 pitch to Michael Cuddyer skipped away, sending Tulo to 3rd. With the infield now in, Cuddyer bent double in a desperate cut at a Veras curve, and lined it just beyond the leaping glovesmith Matt Dominguez.

Veras has solid stats in the K, WHIP and HR buckets. But he’s allowed 5 hits in 12 ABs with men in scoring position, leaving him with a 4.50 ERA and 4 losses. The 8th-year veteran, now with his 6th team, has no prior history of RISP troubles.

Jorge De La Rosa lasted 7 for the first time in almost 2 full years, but this was just his 15th game since then, with a 16-month gap in the middle. He’s made all his starts this year and has a 3.15 ERA, but his strikeout numbers are way down from his pre-injury level: he averaged 23% from 2008-10 and is one of 3 Rockies ever to log 190 Ks, but he’s fanned just 15% this year, well below average. Still early days in his comeback year, but that K rate won’t play well in Coors.

Jordan Lyles is 22 but already in his 3rd year in the rotation. He gave up a scratch run in the 1st (leadoff walk and 2 infield hits), pitched out of trouble in the 3rd and 4th, and then faced the minimum in his last 3 frames, the first time this year he’s gone 7. His 4.50 ERA is a bit misleading; he had an 8-run, 11-hit blowup against Texas, but has a 2.57 ERA in his other 5 outings, 1.50 in the last 3. It’s the first time he’s ever strung together 3 starts of 2 runs or less.

• The first year of Cuddyer’s 3-year, $32-million deal was underwhelming; he batted .260 with a 101 OPS+ and unsurprisingly poor defense, and missed the last 2 months with injury. This year he’s mashed like never before, his OPS+ well over 150. And while he has a typical Coors split, he also has 18 RBI in 21 road games.
• The Rox are faring fine on offense, their OPS+ just above average. But like so many teams, they get little heat from the #2 spot: a .306 OBP, .661 OPS and just 18 RBI. The NL OBP at #2 is .312, below the overall average of .314. Yet Colorado leads the NL with 41 runs from that spot, attesting to the meat of their order and the speed of those number twos.
• Todd Helton may be going out with a whimper; at least, he’s going out more than ever before. Despite being platooned, he’s hitting .217 with 8 runs in 102 PAs; 9 for 51 this month since a DL stint.

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@Athletics 6, Giants 3 (box): Mike Kickham‘s MLB debut was off to a good start, 3 Ks and 3 grounders. Then he got behind Derek Norris, 3-and-1. His next pitch made a screaming V-turn, and soon it was a case of Kickham when … well, he didn’t survive the 3rd, lucky to escape with just 4 runs on his ledger. It was enough to let Jarrod Parker roll through 7 innings and hand the game off for some expert finishing. Oakland’s top 4 relievers all have about 23 IP and a combined 1.81 RA/9, rivaling Pittsburgh’s depth.

• You think Bruce Bochy wanted this game? He used 2 pitchers for an out apiece to strand the bases loaded — in the 3rd inning.
• Parker’s ERA, by half since 2012: 2.96, 3.92, 5.40. But, his last 3 starts saw 6 runs in 21 IP, and just 4 walks. He’s not a high-K pitcher, so he can’t afford the 3-walk outings that were his norm last month.
• Toughest to hit since 2012 (60+ IP): Kimbrel, Chapman, Frieri, Grant Balfour (.165). The first 3 averaged 42% strikeouts, Balfour just 26%.
• Three of the 4 longest active homerless-innings streaks were on the line Tuesday, including #4 Ryan Cook (48.2 IP). #5 is Bobby Parnell (47.2).
• Kickham is the 16th to debut as a SP this year; 11 have gone 5+ innings, but all gave at least 1 run. The last debut shutout was in 2001, and that chap took 5 years to throw another. In 1975, just 15 debuted as starters all year; in 1968, just 7.
• A’s have been streaky: skeins of 9, 5 and 5; skids of 5, 4 and 4.
• Speaking of streaking, Yoenis Cespedes has a 10-gamer … with 12 hits and a .286 BA. He’s hitting .221 this year, with a BAbip 100 points less than last year. His line-drive rate is up, but mainly his balls in the air are way up. Still good power.
• Taking the pair at home gave Oakland a 49-45 lead in the regular-season series, and knocked the Jints down to 9-15 on the road this year. Their ERA’s 1.85 higher on the road.
• Is it rare for twins to be different-handed? Mike Kickham throws and bats lefty, while brother Dan (2 years in the minors) is righty all the way.

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Padres 6, @Mariners 1 (box): Good times or bad, one constant for Edinson Volquez is beating the M’s. He gave up an early run, set up by walks, as usual. But he clamped down on Seattle into the 8th, his deepest game of the year, and captured his 4th triumph in 6 starts against them (no losses, 2.17 ERA). Rookie Brandon Maurer (2-7) stayed on his tightrope a while, but with 2 outs in the 4th, Jedd Gyorko took charge of a misguided offering and turned it around for his 6th HR (all this month) and a 2-1 Pads lead. It almost got away minutes later, but a quick relay from the RF track caught Mike Morse falling off his charley horse en route to the stable. Volquez set down 12 of the next 13, departing with 2 down in the 8th. He’s gone 8+ just once in his last 65 starts, a 1-hitter last July.

• Maurer is vying with Ryan Vogelsong and Vance Worley for least effective starter this year: 6.97 ERA in 10 starts, 55 ERA+.
• M’s 2B Nick Franklin brought a AAA .440 OBP into his first MLB start, but he went 0-4 and made his first error to let in the last run.
• Any chance that this lad will be nicknamed Sweet Jesús?

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Bonus coverage!

Twins 6, @Brewers 5 (14; box): What more can go wrong for Milwaukee this month? Fighting out of their SP’s crater as they must almost every night, they tied it at 4 in the 5th on Braun’s 2-out triple, scoring Jean Segura after his 3rd hit. Another Segura safety brought them to the brink of a lead in the 7th, but Braun grounded out. Brandon Kintzler got wild in the 8th, filling the bags with 2 walks to set up a go-ahead flyout. Segura came up again in the 9th, at last with an RBI shot, and tied it up with his 5th single, handing Glenn Perkins his 2nd blown save. But Braun and Gomez left the ducks swimming.

Four scoreless ensued, with stout work from Twins rook Ryan Pressley (2 innings, 3 Ks, 1.37 ERA in 26.1 IP) and the struggling Mike Fiers of Milwaukee (3 IP, 4 Ks, his best game of the year). Segura finally went out in the 11th, and the Twins squeaked ahead in the 14th on another sac fly. Down to the last out, Segura came through one last time, stroking his 6th single into RF. But Brian Duensing got Braun on a grounder, and the Crew had another 4-game slide, falling to 5-20 in May.

• Segura had the first 6-hit game in the majors since 2009, 3rd ever by a Brewer. First 6-hit game in an MLB loss since Nomar 2003 (same 6-5 score, same 6 singles). Segura took over the NL lead with a .365 BA and 72 hits.
• Minny went 0-for-4 with RISP, scoring on 3 HRs and 2 sac flies. And won.
• Jamey Carroll went 0-for-7, dropping the Twins’ leadoff BA to .188 with a .233 OBP.

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Pirates 1, @Tigers 0 (11; box): Neil Walker had a career .222 BA in late-and-close spots, with zero go-ahead RBI in the 9th or later. But he got a first-pitch hanger from Jose Ortega, and he put it in the Tireman’s glove, busting up a scoreless game in the 11th. Now Jason Grilli just had to get 3 tough outs, and the 2nd-generation ex-Tiger was ready to show them what a real closer looks like: Hunter, whiff; Cabrera, whiff; Fielder, whiff.

Though neither gained a decision, contact specialists Rick Porcello and Jeanmar Gomez each threw his best game ever, allowing 3 singles and a walk, but with a stunning twist from the Tiger. Perhaps smelling his own blood in the water (with Drew Smyly circling hungrily), Porcello zoomed past his prior high in strikeouts like Justin Bieber joyriding through a gated community, notching 11 Ks in 8 dreamlike innings. Jim Leyland took him out after 99 pitches, with the top of the order coming up, denying Porcello a shot at his first complete game (129 starts).

• Porcello’s prior best outing was also against the Pirates, in 2011. In 3 career games, he’s given them 1 run on 10 hits in 23 innings.
• Mark Melancon and Grilli rank #3-4 in Win Probability Added among all relievers and have combined for a 1.05 ERA in 52 IP. Charging hard on the outside is lefty Justin Wilson, who handled the 8th and 9th; he’s tied for 4th in relief innings, among the leaders in WHIP, OPS, etc. Cooks a damn fine gumbo, too.

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@Mets 2, Yankees 1 (box): A brilliant duel, some déjà vu … and a first in the 19-year career of a future Hall of Famer.

In 699 regular-season save chances (plus 47 more in the postseason), Mariano Rivera had never failed to record an out. But there’s a first for almost everything in this game, and the Mets — who had just 2 hits since the opening frame — got 3 straight off Mo to open the 9th and close the books on their third straight come-from-behind win.

Matt Harvey moved past first “meh” game of the year and was the master Mets fans have come to know and need, fanning 10 with no walks in 8 IP (80 strikes, 34 balls). But in his hard-working way, Hiroki Kuroda was one tick better, carving up Met after Met with splitters and sliders for 7 stanzas (4 singles, no walks). Harvey had a change-up mishap to Overbay, and it seemed that would cost him the ballgame. But it would go to the bullpens.

There was eerie symmetry. Just as in the opener, Brett Gardner — who hit Harvey hard all night — led off the 6th of a scoreless game with a knock and a free advance from an outfielder’s miscue, and would score the first run. Once again, Daniel Murphy came up in the home half with a man on first and hit a rocket to left-center, and again Gardner snared it with a leap and a crash to the wall. But again, Murphy came through in his shot at redemption.

Leading off the 9th against Rivera, Murphy watched a ball and a strike, then got a surgical cutter on the outside black. He flicked his bat and caught just enough for a looper inside the left-field chalk, kicking into the stands for two bags. (Just like Mike Baxter’s hit that sparked Monday’s winning rally.)

David Wright next, and he took 2 balls — just the 8th time this year Mo’s had such a count. None of those seven had taken advantage; none put the next pitch in play. I’ve watched him a long time; most guys don’t swing 2-and-0 on Rivera. Just 11% of his career 2-0 pitches were put in play (last year’s AL average was 18%), and since 2006, just one of the 16 who did so off Mo had a hit to show for it.

But Wright got a hittable fastball — not fat, not over the middle, but not buried. He didn’t get the sweet spot on it (who ever does?), but he lined it hard enough, straight into Murphy’s path as he led off 2nd. Murph had to freeze, and was lucky to dodge it before busting for 3rd. Were the ball hit harder, or Gardner not playing for a power hitter, Murphy could not have scored; but Gardner’s hard two-hopper on the money was just late.

And went right on through Chris Stewart’s legs, carrying 15 feet past … with no Mo backing up. Wright had stopped at 1st, but that gave him 2nd. It would prove costly.

Players have long memories. Lucas Duda had faced Rivera just once before, two summers ago. It was the last time Mo faced the Mets, and one of the few times they’d gotten him, with a 2-out rally and Duda smack in the middle. Lucas stepped in batting (get out your microscope) .121 with RISP, 4 for 33. But nothing succeeds like the memory of success. And this time, with a 1-and-1 count, Mo put one on his hands, but up. And Duda, focused on pulling the ball to move up the runner, kept his swing short and muscled a soft liner over Cano. Ichiro’s throw had no chance, and the Mets had their 5th walk-off win of the year (out of 20 total).

Since winning his first 4 starts, Matt Harvey‘s last 7 outings have averaged 7 IP, 2 runs, 7+ Ks and 1 walk — and produced a 1-0 record. But while his mates have had the devil’s time getting Harvey a win, they’ve gotten him off the losing hook 4 times (April 24, May 12, May 22 and May 28).

• Harvey’s 76 Game Score was one of 100 starts this year with a 75 or better. Combined record is 85-1; only Harvey has 2 non-wins in such games.
• Here’s a fluke: First time since 1967 that both starters produced a Game Score of exactly 76.
• Since joining the Yanks last year, Hiroki Kuroda has 10 starts with no runs in 7+ innings, tops in MLB. (Kershaw & Felix have 9.)
• Yanks were held to 1 run or less in consecutive games for the first time in over a year.
• No walks for either side, a first in Yankees/Mets history (including WS). Yanks had 3 prior games drawing no walks, giving 7 in those games and winning twice. Mets had 5 prior games drawing no walks, giving 33 walks and dropping all 5.
• Mets game-ending RBI vs. the Yankees: Luis Lopez,1998; Matt Franco, 1999 (off Mo); Shane Spencer(?), 2004; David Wright, 2006 (off Mo); Lucas Duda, 2013 (off Mo).
• Mets with a 10-K game against the Bombers: Masato Yoshi, 1998; Glendon Rusch, 2000; Shawn Estes, 2002 (11); Matt Harvey, 2013.
• Harvey’s the first Met since Pedro ’05 to go 8 IP vs. NYY. Al Leiter’s the only one to do it twice.
• I have never agreed with the MLB official scoring guidance that says the error always goes to the throw if it bounces, and not to the catch. Gardner’s throw was right at the catcher and not a tough hop; Stewart just whiffed. And if Mo backs it up, there’s no advance. But Gardner gets the error, his first since 2011.

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Parting shot: In 2000, when the average team scored 5.14 runs per game (the highest since 1936), starting pitchers averaged 5.9 innings per game. This year, when the scoring average is a more reasonable 4.28 R/G, starters are averaging … 5.9 innings, same as last year.