Jul 2, 2009

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.

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