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We're but waist-deep into Sunday's slate of MLB action, but already some compelling digits have been churned out. Let's have a look a Sunday by the numbers (so far) ...
3 - That's how many home runs Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks hit against the Blue Jays on Sunday. He also missed a fourth homer by about, oh, five feet. For his efforts, Middlebrooks, 24, became the youngest player to hit three bombs in a game since Andrew McCutchen in 2009. On the day, he went 4 for 5 with four RBI, four runs scored and 14 total bases.
8.44 - In matters not unrelated to the number above, that's R.A. Dickey's 2013 ERA as of this writing. He was brutalized by Middlebrooks and the Red Sox on Sunday. Dickey's command of the knuckler seemed solid enough (63 of his 100 pitches went for strikes), but Boston didn't miss it.
90.89, 92.47 - That's the average four-seam fastball and fastest four-seam fastball that CC Sabathia recorded against the Tigers on Sunday. That's notable because it's a nice little boost in velo compared to his first start of the season. More to the point, Sabathia worked seven shutout innings against the imposing Detroit lineup.
33-0 - That's the combined score of what was supposed to be an intriguing trio of games featuring likely AL contenders. Instead of providing drama, the Red Sox, Indians and Yankees ritually abused, respectively, the Blue Jays, Rays and Tigers.
1983 - That's the division-winning team the White Sox honored on Sunday by sporting these fetching throwbacks ...
6 - That's how many consecutive one-run games the White Sox and Mariners have played against each other. The last time a Sox-M's game wasn't decided by a single run? June 3 of last year.
7 - That's Billy Butler's RBI tally from Sunday, which ties a franchise record. Butler hit a grand slam and a three-run double in KC's 9-8 win over Philly. For the second straight day, the Phils put a crooked number on the board in the ninth, but it wasn't enough to overcome the mighty efforts of Country Breakfast.
8 - That's how many Mets that Marlins 20-year-old rookie Jose Fernandez whiffed in his major-league debut. He touched 98 on the gun and allowed just three hits and only one run in five innings. The Fish went on the lose, but Fernandez more than did his part.
8.34 - That's the arm-side run on this filthy-as-filth-itself Stephen Strasburg changeup.
135 - That's the number of losses for which the 2013 Astros are on pace. They won't actually lose that many, though. I think.
