Wednesday's first pitch

Leading Off
When Roy Halladay does something he's never done before, you know it's a special day. The Blue Jay whiffed 14 in a dominant performance. This guy is remarkable. He has five seasons with a winning percentage above .700. Tom Glavine did that four times and Randy Johnson did it eight times. Two or three more dominant seasons and he should be a lock for the Hall of Fame.
Regional Roundup
Raul Ibanez had quite a day, but he was overshadowed by a rookie teammate. A former Oriole dominated the Birds.

• Phils' prospect Anthony Bastardo won his Major League debut. It was a nice birthday present for Raul Ibanez, who also hit two home runs in the game. Scott Eyre announced he's going to most likely retire at the end of the season. He must be a Brett Favre fan


• Erik Bedard shoved his talent in the Oriole's face. All Baltimore has to do is smile, they've got Adam Jones. The Orioles have a ton of options for the draft.


• Randy St. Claire, the Nats pitching coach, got the ax. When your staff has a 5.69 ERA, that tends to happen.


• The Duke of Santana, maybe. Zach Duke dominated the Mets, and beat Johan Santana.

Best of Rest
Who knew Mark Teixeira could be so fiery?

• The Yankees' first baseman showed he can be a sparkplug. He played with a ferocity that reminded some of Paul O'Neill.


• Tito got his 500th win, thanks in large part to a Jason Bay home run.


• Nick Stavinoha doesn't hit often, but he carries a big stick in the clutch.


• The Rays had a hometown hero to rejoice Tuesday. Evan Longoria is being limited to a DH role, for now.


• Congrats are in order for Dan Uggla, who hit his 100th career home run.


• James Loney came up big for the Dodgers during an eighth-inning rally.


• You've heard this before: The Athletics have a young stud hurler.

Batter's Eye

• Here's your chance to give Yankee Stadium a nickname. Nothing will ever be as good as "The House That Ruth Built." It's such a Ruthian nickname - oft-imitated, never duplicated.

Today in history
1932 -- Lou Gehrig became the first American League player to hit four home runs in a game, helping the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia A's 20-13. The accomplishment was overshadowed by the resignation of John McGraw as manager of the New York Giants.

1989 -- Los Angeles and Houston played 22 innings at the Astrodome in the longest night game in National League history -- 7 hours, 14 minutes. The Astros won the game on Rafael Ramirez's RBI single off Jeff Hamilton, normally the Dodgers' third baseman. When the game ended, Fernando Valenzuela was playing first and Eddie Murray was at third.
1989 -- Nolan Ryan pitched his 11th career one-hitter and struck out 11 as Texas beat Seattle 6-1. It was Ryan's 16th low-hit game (no-hitter or one-hitter), breaking Bob Feller's record of 15.
1995 -- Pedro Martinez of Montreal pitched nine perfect innings against San Diego before giving up a leadoff double to Bip Roberts in the 10th inning of the Expos 1-0 win.

2003 -- Sammy Sosa was ejected in the first inning of Chicago's 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after umpires found cork in his shattered bat.

The Closer
With all the hype over Stephen Strasburg, USA Today has a great piece on Ben McDonald, the former O's first rounder. There's a lot of similarities between the two. The only guarantee for the Nats is that they'll spend a lot of money on Strasburg, there's no promise his promise will be fulfilled however.