@Reds 6, Brewers 2 — Johnny Cueto gave up two solo homers, but nothing else until an infield single in the 8th, lasting through that frame for the 4th straight game. Cincy tallied three in the 4th off Yovani Gallardo, sandwiching a HBP, and Cueto singled home another in the 6th. Tyler Thornburg’s 13-game scoreless streak died in a 2-run 7th, and all the while, Cueto kept firing strikes.

He finished with 10 Ks, his third double-digit effort this year giving him 60 Ks through seven starts. Cueto’s allowed 8 runs this year, seven of them on six homers — and just 19 other hits in 55 innings. His .132 BA allowed and 4.1 H/9 would be all-time records, but it’s early yet, and a couple others are in his neighborhood. Now for some streaks, and streakers’ destinations:

• A season-starting string of 7+ IP and 2 runs or less has been achieved just four other times in the live-ball era: 8 by rookies Fernando Valenzuela, 1981 (CYA) and Dave Ferris, 1945 (finished 21-10, 4th in MVP vote); 7 by Roger Clemens, 1991 (CYA) and Claude Osteen, 1972 (finished 20-11).
• The last 7-game/7-IP streak to start a season (regardless of runs) was Roy Halladay in 2010 (CYA); Doc did 13 straight the year before, and 7 straight before that. (We miss you, Doc!)
• Last pitchers to go 8 IP in four straight games were two Yanks in 2012, CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda.
• For 8 IP and 2 runs or less, four did it in 2011 and two in 2010; those pitchers and their season WAR totals: Cliff Lee, 8.6 WAR; Justin Verlander, 8.4 (CYA); Felix Hernandez, 7.1 (CYA); James Shields, 5.2; Matt Cain, 4.5; Ervin Santana, 3.0.
• The last Red with four straight of 8+ IP was Jose Rijo, 1990.

And for all that, the Reds have lost four of Cueto’s seven starts, totaling 5 runs in those games.

• Aramis Ramirez vs. Cueto: 14 for 42, 5 HRs.
• Mark Reynolds: 19 hits, 7 HRs; 33 Ks in 94 PAs.

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@Phillies 7, Nationals 2 — Ryan Howard slugged a 3-run shot to left in the 1st inning, stopping Tanner Roark’s scoreless string at 17 full innings, and they kept tacking until they drove him out in the 5th, down 7-0. That was plenty for A.J. Burnett, who stilled the Nats until Adam LaRoche’s 6th-inning solo, trimming his ERA to 2.06 as Philly won his 5th straight outing.

• Howard’s 54th career blast worth 3 runs or more, but his first since last April. Ten of his 11 bombs last year were solos.

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Dodgers 9, @Marlins 7 (11 inn.) — Carl Crawford creamed his first home run after Carlos Marmol walked the leadoff man in the 11th, and LA pulled it out after blowing a 7-2 lead. Dee Gordon and Yasiel Puig built that bulge from the top spots — first 5-hit game, a pair of 2-out ribby knocks and three steals for the speedster, and a 3-run monster from the enigma. But Marcell Ozuna shaved it to one, ending a long at-bat by crushing a nothing slider from Brian Wilson, whose ERA climbed to 12.91. Chris Perez walked in the tying run with one out in the 9th, but he struck out Christian Yelich and rallied from a 3-0 count to retire Derek Dietrich. LA’s won four of five on this road trip, and are 12-4 away.

• Gordon has 19 steals and 2 CS in LA’s 31 games. Maury Wills is the only Dodger to reach 80 SB in the modern era, in 1962 and ’65. Only two Dodgers since have swiped 60 in a season: Davey Lopes in 1975-76 (high of 77), and Juan Pierre in 2007 (64).
• First 5-hit, 3-SB game by a Dodger in searchable history (since 1914); first in MLB since 2008 (Jimmy Rollins).
• Carlos Marmol.

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Giants 3, @Braves 1 — The jerseys, socks and score were throwback, the style of play distinctly modern. Three more big flies for the #2 team in NL homers, and three more innings of lights-out relief for the NL’s #2 bullpen. Mike Morse and Brandon Belt both hit their 8th, and Buster Posey #7 — all off Julio Teheran, who otherwise was brilliant over seven innings (a single and no walks, first game with 3 ER this year). But Atlanta missed their main chances against Ryan Vogelsong. Chris Johnson hit a DP grounder in the 2nd after the first two reached, and that frame ended with Teheran stranding three. B.J. Upton’s double in the 3rd tied the game with no outs, and Freddie Freeman singled him to third, but Justin Upton and Evan Gattis whiffed, with Freeman caught stealing on the full count. Two on again with one out in the 5th, but Freeman lined to right and J-Up went down on strikes again, and their only noise against the bullpen was quickly negated by Upton’s first DP this year.

• Brandon Crawford closed the game with a play worthy of his counterpart, while Andrelton showed he hasn’t kept up with recent injury reports.
• The uniforms were from 1946. That year, there were eight starts of exactly 6 IP and one run, as Vogelsong had tonight. Last year saw a record 204 such starts, and this year’s on pace to blow away that mark, with 47 such starts in less than one-fifth of the season.
• SF relievers have allowed 2 runs in 22 IP over their last 8 games, 7 wins.
• The Giants haven’t had three 30-HR men since the days of Mays & McCovey (twice with Cepeda, once with Jim Ray Hart).
• Atlanta’s scored 54 runs on HRs, 30 otherwise. Their last 5-game skid was May 2012.
• Upton’s hitting .311, slugging .602. But with RISP, 6 for 30, 15 Ks.

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@Cleveland 2, White Sox 0 — Justin Masterson held the potent ChiSox to 4 hits in 7.1 IP, brushing off two infield errors with a pair of double plays, including Nick Swisher’s gorgeous game-changing dive. Cody Allen fanned Jose Abreu to end the 8th and strand the tying runs in scoring position, part of Chicago’s 0-for-7 day in ribby chances. Swisher guided a two-strike sac fly in the 5th to complete a two-bunt handcrafted run. Contact pays, especially against a mistake-prone defense.

Despite no strikeouts in 6 IP, the 29-year-old rookie Scott Carroll nearly matched his impressive debut, but the defense done him wrong. Infield errors led to unearned tallies in the 2nd and 5th. Carroll’s allowed one earned run in 13.1 innings.

• Just one other start in the last year-plus with 6+ IP, no strikeouts or ER.
• Scott Carroll, meet … Scrappy Carroll, the only other in MLB history with that first initial and last name. Scrappy finished his brief career with the inaugural 1887 Cleveland Blues (later Spiders), who allowed 8.4 runs per game and finished 39-92. But at least they had One-Arm Daily as a crowd attraction.

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@Pirates 8, Blue Jays 6 — Maybe momentum’s more than just tomorrow’s starting pitcher. Francisco Liriano couldn’t build on Friday’s uplifting win, leaving the Bucs in a 5-0 hole when he departed in the 4th. But they scored six in just two innings off Toronto’s bullpen, seizing the lead on Neil Walker’s long double through a driving rain. Mark Melancon worked past Pedro Alvarez’s 7th error to earn his first save.

Three infield errors didn’t help Liriano, but he hurt himself with three walks in Toronto’s 4-run 4th. It was 6-2 in the 7th when R.A. Dickey exited after a leadoff hit, and 6-4 when Jorder Mercer pinch-hit against lefty Aaron Loup. John Gibbons stood pat with that matchup, and Mercer’s double over late-breaking Colby Rasmus tied the game. Mercer came in with a career .361 BA and 1.011 OPS against southpaws (35 for 97, 15 XBH), while Loup has a typical left-right split. Loup had not allowed a hit in 23 ABs against righties this year, but last year they hit .295 against him.

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Tigers 9, @Royals 2 — Drew Smyly’s best game as a starter, seven scoreless on 2 hits, and Detroit blew up a 3-0 game with 6 runs in the 9th off the debuting Aaron Brooks. (This guy — not him, or him.) The game was tight for most of Smyly’s stint. Three walks by Danny Duffy gave Detroit a no-hit run in the 4th, and Nick Castellanos drove in two with a 2-out double in the 6th; both innings saw no-out intentional walks to Victor Martinez. The deep cushion was deemed safe even for Phil Coke, and so it was, as he yielded a mere 2 runs on three hits in his mop-up inning. (At least he didn’t ruin KC’s perfect “3/4” split.) Detroit’s 4th straight win spread their division lead to 4 games on KC, who’ve lost all four so far against Tigers by a combined 23-8.

• Miguel Cabrera continued his quiet revival with two hits and three runs scored. He’s 16 for 40 in his last 9 games, 10 RBI, 9 runs, but still just 2 HRs on the year.
• For all their flaws — no real shortstop, a ragged bullpen, and 13th in AL HRs — Detroit’s 16-9 start matches their best since 1984.

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@Rockies 11, Mets 10 — A classic Coors brawl ended with Charlie Culberson’s pinch-hit homer, a 2-run walk-off that left the Mets doubly deflated, for blowing a big lead and wasting a rousing comeback.

Where have I seen this before? The Mets racked up a 6-0 lead for Jenrry Mejia, but as in his last start, he fell apart on the third time through the order. Mejia had survived some loud outs through four innings, but he wilted when a few found holes and Lucas Duda dropped a DP relay. It was 6-4 when Mejia hit Tulo to load the bases with one out, after his last three pitches went for hits. His confidence and release point both were clearly lost, but Terry Collins was in a bind after his last two starters failed to last the 5th, and the swift collapse gave him little time to come up with an answer. Mejia had gotten two groundouts from Nolan Arenado; another might pull him through the fray. But the next pitch settled the debate, as Arenado parked it in the LF stands, extending his hitting streak to 23 games and completing an 8-run explosion.

But New York rallied right back, tying on two-out ropes by Chris Young and Curtis Granderson, the latter with his second straight scoring hit against a lefty. Arenado’s double in the 7th led to another Rockies lead, but Daniel Murphy kicked off the 8th with his third extra-base hit, and Young delivered him with the tying run. The Mets forged ahead in the 9th against LaTroy Hawkins, on Bobby Abreu’s pinch-double and a 2-out hit by Juan Lagares, redeeming his 0-for-5. The bases wound up loaded after Murphy’s 4th hit, but Young’s liner to right was caught.

The one-run lead would prove too flimsy. Tulo singled Kyle Farnsworth’s 1-2 pitch, and after Arenado’s long fly died at the track, Culberson hit for Hawkins. He had just 2 HRs in 158 career PAs, but Farnsworth’s straight fastball and the thin mountain air made an incendiary combination.

• Arenado, obbligato.
• Since Colorado joined the league in 1993, they’ve hosted one-third of all NL-only games in which a team scored 10 runs or more and lost (59 of 176).
• The Rockies have hit .350 in 15 home games, averaging 7.8 runs. The highest searchable home batting averages are .344 by the 1930 Phillies, and .343 by the 1996 Rockies.
• Tulo passed 1,000 career hits. He’s hit .591 at home this year (26 for 44), and .321 career. His 23-point edge between home and overall BA ranks 20th out of 1,045 players with 1,000 hits in the split-searchable era. Three of the top 5 are long-time Rockies Larry Walker (+35), Todd Helton and Dante Bichette (both +29).

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@Red Sox 6, Athletics 3 — Jon Lester held the A’s to one hit in 8 commanding innings, with a career-high 15 strikeouts, at least one by every Oakland starter. Lester handed off a 6-0 lead after 119 pitches, ending his day with three straight Ks. Yet before an out went down in the 9th, Oakland had brought the tying run to bat, routing Chris Capuano with three hits on four pitches followed by a plunk. Koji Uehara stepped in after Capuano threw ball one, but missed on three straight to complete a walk that filled the sacks. The control-freak closer fell behind the next three men — 1-0, 3-1 and 3-0 — but he retired them all.

Weird 1st inning for Tommy Milone: two walks, three whiffs, and a 4-run jack by Jonny Gomes. He also gave up leadoff HRs to Big Papi in the 3rd and David Ross in the 4th, and tied his career high with four passes, all in just 4 IP. In 2012-13, Milone averaged 1.95 BB/9, 10th-best of those with 300+ IP.

• Boston’s first 3-HR game at Fenway since last September 4. The last time their first 3-HR game in Fenway came as late as their 18th home game, “NINEteen-EIGHTeen” was still a meaningful taunt.
• Lester’s 93 Game Score is one shy of the personal best of his 2008 no-hitter, also one short of this year’s high, in Andrew Cashner’s one-hitter.
• #379 for Ortiz with Boston tied Dwight Evans at #4 in club history. Next up is Jim Rice, at 382; no need for Yaz to sweat just yet (452).
• Capuano’s scoreless season ended at 12 games, 15 innings, the 2nd-longest by IP for a reliever this year.

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@Cubs 3, Cardinals 0 — In his season debut, Jake Arrieta matched zeroes with Michael Wacha to the 6th, when Junior Lake broke Wacha’s spell with a two-out, 2-run bleacher-pleaser. Wacha had foiled five RISP at-bats in just the prior two innings, stranding four. Anthony Rizzo cushioned the lead for closer Hector Rondon with a homer in the 8th, his third straight game of yard-work. Rondon bailed himself out of a two-on jam by coolly starting a DP on Jon Jay. No panic from the first-time closer, who’s never made an error in his 59 appearances.

• The last Cub to homer in three straight games was Bryan LaHair, 2012 — exact same days (April 30, May 2-3), and also playing 1B.
• For the Cards at bat, it was another day of RISP frustration, now at .223 after an 0-for-6.

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@Yankees 9, Rays 3 — In what’s become his M.O., Masahiro Tanaka outlasted Tampa’s early incursions to give New York a desperately needed 7 innings. He reaped his due reward as they rallied from a 3-0 hole by scoring in their last five turns at bat. Ichiro Suzuki had two hits (2,760 career) and scored the tying run in the 5th after a leadoff double, and Mark Teixeira homered and drove in three, giving him 5 HRs, 10 RBI his last eight games. Kelly Johnson put the Yanks in front with his 4th trot, all at home.

• Bombers, once more: Yanks have homered in 13 of 16 home games, totaling 22 bombs. Last year’s home totals — 75 taters, and 46 games with one — were both their lowest for a full since 1990.

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@Twins 6, Orioles 1 — Winter signee Kevin Correia notched his first win and best game as a Twin with seven one-run innings. Brian Dozier spanked his 8th home run to break a 3rd-inning tie, and scored from each of his 3 hits out of the leadoff spot. Joe Mauer capped the scoring with a 3-run HR, for just his second game of 4 RBI in four-plus years at Target Field.

• Dozier’s hitting .246, but 21 walks give him a healthy .365 OBP. With the power, and 9 steals in 10 tries, he has a MLB-high 29 runs scored in 28 games.
• No Twin has scored 100+ since 2006, Michael Cuddyer, and none as a leadoff man since 1997, Chuck Knoblauch. Minnesota ranks 29th in total runs from the leadoff spot since Knoblauch left in ’98.

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Mariners 9, @Astros 8 — A walk-fueled 8-run 7th erased a 2-1 deficit, and Seattle barely withstood Houston’s late rush. The lead was slashed to one and bags were full when Fernando Rodney came on for the last out of the 8th. He got Jose Altuve to pop out, then fanned two in the 9th to seal the one that almost got away.

Dallas Keuchel brought that 2-1 lead into the 7th, looking for his fifth straight quality start. But he dug a hole with eight straight balls, and after Brad Miller failed to get a bunt down, he walked, loading the bases. Jose Cisnero made it four straight freebies, pushing the tying run across, and Michael Saunders jumped the first pitch for a 2-run double. Six runs were in before a man was out, and Justin Smoak topped it off with a 2-run shot.

Hisashi Iwakuma got through six innings on just 68 pitches in his season debut, but he faltered in the 7th as Houston answered with a 4-spot. The 2013 AL pitching WAR leader wound up charged with 4 runs. Yoervis Medina let in a pair of two-out runs in the 8th, then put the #8-9 men aboard for free and made way for Fernando.

• Rodney’s 4-out save was the 5th that long this year by a designated closer, none longer. Also, the first save this year that started with a one-run lead and bases full.
• Five runs charged to Houston’s bullpen hiked their ERA to 5.84. The five worst team relief ERAs in the expansion era:
  — 6.16, 2007 Rays
  — 5.97, 1996 Tigers
  — 5.94, 1999 Mariners
  — 5.77, 1999 Royals
  — 5.75, 2007 Orioles
  Worst in recent years was 5.74 by the 2010 D-backs.

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Finally, some reflections stirred up by Dustin Pedroia, who hit his 100th homer Friday, and ranks second in franchise WAR by a right-side infielder:

The first 5-WAR years for a Sawx first and second baseman were by Jimmie Foxx in 1936 and Bobby Doerr in ’42. Besides those two, only Pedroia and his teammate Kevin Youkilis tallied 25 career WAR for Boston while playing mainly first or second.

That’s not so unusual. Two of the other seven original AL teams also had no more than four such players — Cleveland four, Chicago three. The Athletics had nine such players, the Yankees eight, Detroit seven, the Senators/Twins six and the Browns/Orioles five.

What is somewhat surprising is the absence of right-side stars even during Boston’s first heyday. From 1901 through 1919, the Red Sox had the AL’s best overall record, winning six pennants and all five World Series that the NL deigned to play. But those 19 seasons produced just one 4-WAR year by a BoSox 1B or 2B, and none worth 5+ WAR. In the AL in that time, there were 34 seasons of 5+ WAR by 11 different players at those positions, and 49 years of 4+ WAR by 18 different players. But Buck Freeman’s 4.8 WAR in the inaugural campaign was the lone 4+ mark for Boston’s right-side infield, and Larry Gardner’s 3.1 WAR in 1910 was their only 3-WAR year by a 2B.

WAR for right-side regulars during Boston’s first six pennant years — everyone with 50+ games (or half their total) at either 1B or 2B:

• 1903 — 1B Candy LaChance 0.9 … 2B Hobe Ferris 2.9
• 1904 — 1B LaChance -0.2 … 2B Ferris 0.9
• 1912 — 1B Jake Stahl 1.7 … 2B Steve Yerkes -0.1
• 1915 — 1B Dick Hoblitzell 3.0 … 2B Jack Barry 2.0 … 1B/OF Del Gainer 2.0 … 2B/OF Heinie Wagner 0.7
• 1916 — 1B Hoblitzell 1.4 … 2B Barry -0.6 … 1B/2B Del Gainer 0.7
• 1918 –1B Stuffy McInnis 2.1 … 2B Dave Shean 2.5

That’s an average of less than 1.7 WAR for those two positions, for pennant-winning teams. Now, many dynasties have had a weak spot or two; the first Athletics dynasty (1910-14) were built on infield and pitching, and had no 5-WAR outfielders. But Boston’s relative weakness at 1B/2B is more curious, as it spanned two separate dynasties.

What other teams have been very strong over a period of years despite a persistent weak spot?