Elias Says ...
A daily glance inside the numbers from the world of sports.
A daily glance inside the numbers from the world of sports:
MLB

Hernandez
It was the longest no-hit bid by a Red Sox opponent at Fenway since Mike Mussina's bid for a perfect game was foiled by Carl Everett's single with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning on Sept. 2, 2001.
• Hernandez's numbers this season: 17 innings, four hits in 53 at-bats, a batting average of .075. The last time a pitcher threw that many innings while holding his opponents to such a low batting average in his first two starts of a season was in 1970 when two pitchers did it: The Mets' Nolan Ryan threw 17 innings and held opponents to three hits in 51 at-bats (.059); and the Orioles' Tom Phoebus threw 17 innings and like Hernandez, held opponents to four hits in 53 at-bats.

C. Jones

A. Jones
• The Nationals lost again without ever having a lead on Wednesday. After nine games this season, they have led at the end of an inning only once -- in their 7-6 walkoff win over the Marlins on April 4. The only other team in major league history that led after only one inning in its first nine games of a season was the 1884 Detroit Wolverines of the National League. That Detroit team finished 28-84, last in an eight-team league.
• One more mark of futility for the Nationals -- they still have not scored a run in the first three innings of a game this season. They've tied the majors' longest start-of-season streak without scoring in the first three innings of a game, set by the 1931 Reds.
• The Cardinals swept their three-game series from the Pirates, winning by scores of 3-0 on Monday, 3-2 on Tuesday and 3-2 again on Wednesday. It's only the third time in Pirates history that they were swept in a series of at least three games despite not allowing more than three runs in any game. The Reds swept the Pirates in May 1914 and the Phillies did it to them in July 1888.

Fielder
• The Tigers-Orioles game on Wednesday remained scoreless until Craig Monroe's grand slam in the 12th. That tied the farthest into a game at Camden Yards (which opened in 1992) before the first run was scored. On Sept. 2, 2003 the Athletics defeated the Orioles 2-0 with two runs in the 12th inning.
Monroe is the second player in major league history to break a scoreless tie in the 12th inning or later with a grand slam and he did it 45 years to the day after the other player did it. The Red Sox' Carroll Hardy hit a walk-off grand slam in the 12th inning at Fenway to defeat the Indians on April 11, 1962.

Penny
• The Padres shut out the Giants on Wednesday, their third shutout over San Francisco in nine games this season. It's the sixth time in major league history that one team blanked another three times in the first nine games of a season. The last time was in 2004, when the Marlins shut out the Expos four times in their first nine games.
• The Padres' bullpen pitched three scoreless innings Wednesday to extend its season-long shutout streak to 28 1/3 innings, a modern major league record to begin a season (that is, since 1900). The previous mark for consecutive scoreless relief innings to start a season was 22 by the White Sox in 1955. The NL record was 21 2/3 by the Cardinals in 1925.
NHL

Staal

Crosby
At 18 years, 213 days old, Staal is the fifth-youngest player to score a playoff goal in NHL history and the youngest since Grant Mulvey scored for the Blackhawks when he was a day younger than Staal, on April 17, 1975.
• Statistically speaking, the NHL's best first-round postseason matchup in 17 years began Wednesday when the Predators hosted the Sharks. Nashville ranked third in the NHL with 110 points this season; San Jose ranked fifth with 107.
The last first-round matchup of teams that both ranked among the league's top five in points was Sabres (98 points, third in NHL) vs. Canadiens (93 points, fourth) in 1990. Montreal won that series in six games but was eliminated by the Bruins in the conference semifinals.

Radulov
• The Stars and Canucks combined for nine goals in their series opener, after the teams combined for only 11 goals in their four games this season. That matched the lowest goals per game average for any NHL teams that met twice during the regular season. There were also 11 goals in the four games between the Panthers and Canadiens.
NBA
• The Heat clinched the Southeast Division with a win over the Wizards on Wednesday after being 7½ games out of first place earlier this season. The last NBA team to win its division after trailing by that many games was the 2002-03 Spurs, who overcame a deficit of 8½ games to win the Midwest Division title.
• The 76ers have won each of their last two games without making a 3-point field goal in either game. They are the first team to win back-to-back game in that fashion since the Jazz won three straight games in November 2002 without making a 3-pointer.

Camby
NFL
• Drew Bledsoe, who announced his retirement on Wednesday, averaged 34.6 passes per game in his career, the highest average for any player in NFL history. Next-highest (minimum: 100 games): Dan Marino (34.5), Brett Favre (34.1).

