A couple of interesting tidbits from the Elias Sports Bureau...

David Ortiz hit his 40th home run of the season on Sunday and increased his RBI total to 109. The Red Sox have played 110 games in 2006, and it's the first time in 45 years that an American League player has reached 40 home runs and 100 RBI within his team's first 110 games of the season. In 1961, both Roger Maris (in the Yankees' 106th game) and Mickey Mantle (109th game) did that.

As I said, amazing.

John Maine pitched six shutout innings in the Mets' 8-1 win against the Phillies. Maine has not allowed a run in each of his last three starts. He's the first rookie pitcher to do that -- while throwing at least six innings in each outing -- since the Brewers' Cal Eldred in August 1992. The last National League rookie with three straight scoreless starts of at least six innings was Orel Hershiser, who threw three straight complete-game shutouts for the Dodgers in July 1984. (Hershiser had one relief appearance -- on the Sunday before the All-Star break -- during that streak.)

And depressing.

Oh, and just for kicks...

Derek Jeter entered Sunday's game with a .467 career batting average against Rodrigo Lopez, which was his second-highest average against any pitcher off whom he had at least 25 at-bats (he's 14-for-28, .500 vs. Eric Milton), and true to form Jeter smacked a home run off Lopez in the first inning, igniting the Yankees to a 6-1 win.