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It was a one-and-done Wednesday in the National League, with three games decided by the lowest possible score in baseball.
For the fifth time since 1900, three NL teams -- the Dodgers, Mets and Reds -- won by a score of 1-0 on the same day.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time it happened was
Sept. 1, 1976, also a Wednesday. That's when the Astros beat the
Phillies, the Mets beat the Giants and the Cardinals beat the Reds in
1-0 games.
There has never been four 1-0 games in the same league on the same day, according to Elias.
Here's a quick roundup of the 2009 version of this rare feat.
Dodgers 1, Rockies 0
The
Dodgers made their MLB-leading 50th win a special one by taking
advantage of shortstop Rafael Furcal's tiebreaking pinch-hit single in
the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium. The victory was the club's 17th of
the season in one-run games.
"We've been talking about it all year because we've done a lot
of this," manager Joe Torre said. "The thing that's good -- I mean,
it's not good for my health -- is that when you win close games
especially ... when we've really been scuffling to score runs, it shows
me that we may bend but we don't break."
The Dodgers have done all this without the services of suspended slugger Manny Ramirez, who's set to join the club Friday when his 50-game sentence is over.
Mets 1, Brewers 0
The struggling Mets needed a big performance from starter Mike Pelfrey
and got it on the road at Miller Park, beating sharp Milwaukee starter
Yovani Gallardo by making sure a sixth-inning RBI single by Ryan Church
held up.
Gallardo struck out 12 Mets but Pelfrey was just a bit better, giving
up six hits -- all singles -- in 7 2/3 shutout frames to give the Mets
a win for the first time in six games.
"[Pelfrey] had great movement on his fastball," Brewers manager
Ken Macha said. "He threw a couple of pitches to guys that were almost
unhittable. He struck out [Prince Fielder] his first time up on a great
sinker. In the first couple of innings, he was a strike-throwing
machine."
Reds 1, D-backs 0
Reds starter Johnny Cueto had pain in his back and a possible All-Star
Game appearance on his mind Wednesday but still pitched like he's
completely healthy and a shoo-in for the July 14 Midsummer Classic.
The right-hander shut out the D-backs on one hit -- a Felipe
Lopez infield single -- at Great American Ball Park for six innings,
Joey Votto singled in the game's only run, and suddenly the Reds are
back at the .500 mark for the season.
"I came in after the second inning, and they stretched my back,
big-time," Cueto said. "After that, I started feeling better and
better."
And with an 8-4 record and a 2.69 ERA, his All-Star chances are looking better, too.
