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Mike Trout hadn’t had a signature moment in 2013, the kind that he had regularly in 2012, until Tuesday night.

Trout became the sixth-youngest player to hit for the cycle, notching a single, double, triple and home run in the Los Angeles Angels' 12-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Let’s run through our collection of notes on Trout’s big day.

The history
The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that Trout is the youngest American League player to hit for the cycle, and the youngest player with one in either league since another phenom, Cesar Cedeno of the Houston Astros, hit for the cycle at age 21 in 1972.

Trout and Alex Rodriguez are the only 21-year-olds in AL history to hit for the cycle. Trout is 25 days younger than Rodriguez was when he hit for the cycle for the Seattle Mariners in 1997.

Trout is also one of only three players in that same span to hit for the cycle in a game in which he also drove in five or more runs and stole at least one base.

The two instances happened more than 80 years ago: Babe Herman for the 1931 Brooklyn Dodgers and Tony Lazzeri for the 1932 New York Yankees.

This was the seventh time someone has hit for the cycle in Angels history, the first since Chone Figgins had one in a loss to the Texas Rangers in 2006. Trout is the sixth different Angels player to hit for the cycle. Former Angels infielder and manager Jim Fregosi had two of them.

It marked the second straight season that a player hit for the cycle against the Mariners. Aaron Hill did it for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.

Trout’s hitting
Trout entered the day hitting .278 for the season. He’d raised his batting average 17 points in May, but was 1-for-12 in his previous four games, and 1-for-9 on pitches in the lower half of the strike zone or below it.

That’s unsual because that’s the area in which Trout thrived last season.

Trout was the best hitter in baseball when at-bats ended in pitches to that area last season, leading the majors in all three slashline stats (.360/.394/.608). His 21 home runs were tied for seventh-most in the majors.

Until Tuesday, Trout hadn’t had that kind of magic, with a .259 batting average against those pitches.

But Tuesday may have cured what ailed him. All four of his hits came against pitches in the lower half of the zone, or just below it, including the final hit, a home run on a pitch that wasn’t even knee-high.

The three pitchers with the best ERAs in baseball took the mound on Monday night, and the one who was most dominant was neither Clayton Kershaw nor Shelby Miller, but Arizona Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin.

Let’s run through some of the highlights of Corbin’s performance, which was unusually good from both a historical and statistical perspective.

The accolades
Corbin threw a three-hit complete game with 10 strikeouts.

He is the third visiting pitcher to throw a nine-inning complete game at Coors Field with 10 or more strikeouts, and the first since 1998. The list is in the chart on the right.

Only one Diamondbacks lefty had previously recorded a complete game, allowing three hits or fewer with 10 or more strikeouts-- Randy Johnson, who did so seven times for them.

Corbin is the second pitcher in the last 20 seasons to open a season with nine straight starts in which he allowed two runs or fewer in six innings or more.

The other is Ubaldo Jimenez, who opened 2010 with a dozen straight such starts for the Rockies.

How he won
Corbin took advantage of the Rockies’ willingness to swing at pitches outside the strike zone.

He threw 74 of his 97 pitches for strikes, despite less than half of his pitches being thrown inside the Pitch F/X strike zone.

Corbin repeatedly tantalized Rockies hitters with his breaking ball. He threw 34 of them and the Rockies went after 21, missing on 15 of them (almost all of which were thrown down-and-in to righties or down-and-away from lefties).

This breaking ball is Corbin’s signature pitch. Opponents have taken 94 swings at it and missed 54 times. His 58 percent miss rate is easily the highest in the majors.

Corbin’s 39 strikeouts with his breaking pitches are the third-most of any pitcher in the NL this season, trailing only A.J. Burnett’s 44 and Clayton Kershaw's 42.

Looking ahead
Corbin is the second pitcher in the last three seasons to win his first seven decisions of the season for the Diamondbacks. Micah Owings did so in 2011.

Corbin is two wins away from the Diamondbacks' club record for wins to start a season. Brandon Webb started the 2008 season with a 9-0 mark.

Corbin should next start against the San Diego Padres this weekend. He held the Padres to one run in seven innings in that appearance.

Jacob Nitzberg contributed research to this post.

With 10 wins in 15 starts, CC Sabathia has the second-most victories at Camden Yards among visiting pitchers -- only teammate Andy Pettitte (16-4) has more.

The Baltimore Orioles won’t dodge Pettitte -- who is on the disabled list -- when they start a three-game series with the New York Yankees, but on Monday (7 ET on ESPN and WatchESPN) the O’s will face Sabathia.

In 26 career starts against the Orioles, Sabathia is 17-4 with a 3.03 ERA; however, last season he was 0-2 with a 6.38 ERA in three starts at Camden Yards.

Sabathia has experienced a massive drop in fastball velocity (93.7 mph in 2011, 92.2 in 2012, 89.8 this season), but his slider has been as good as ever. Opponents this season are hitting .111 (7-63, two walks, 31 strikeouts) in at-bats ending with a slider.

One key for the Orioles will be whether they can get to Sabathia after the first inning. In nine starts, Sabathia has allowed eight earned runs (8.00 ERA) in the first inning. After the first, Sabathia’s ERA drops to 2.32.

Another reason Baltimore needs to score early? The Yankees are 18-0 when scoring first -- the only team this season that has yet to lose when scoring first. In the modern era, only the 1990 Reds (20-0) and 1902 Pirates (19-0) started a season with more consecutive wins in games in which they scored the first run than this year's Yankees, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Also according to Elias, the Yankees have lost just twice in 2013 when leading at any point in the game.

The Orioles are 0-5 on an eight-game homestand, and what went right in 2012 has not carried over in the first two months of 2013.

• In 2012, Baltimore was 29-9 in one-run games. This season, they are 6-5.

• Last season, the O’s were 75-1 when leading after eight innings. This season, they’ve already lost three such games (18-3).

If the Orioles can hit Sabathia like they did a year ago, it could mean not having to face Mariano Rivera, whose 74 saves against the Orioles are the most against one team in major-league history.

Rivera has converted all 16 save chances to start the season. He’s had only one longer streak of consecutive converted saves to start a season: in 2008, Rivera converted each of his first 28 save opportunities.

Also, Rivera’s next trip to the mound will tie him with Hoyt Wilhelm (1,070) for fifth-most appearances by a pitcher in major-league history.

The 2013 college football season could showcase one of the best college quarterback classes ever. Here are five reasons why:

1. BEST TEAMS IN 2012 RETURN THEIR QUARTERBACKS
Each of the top six teams in last season’s final AP poll returns its leading passer. The last time that happened was entering the 1982 season. That 1982 group led to the famed 1983 NFL draft class that boasted six quarterbacks chosen in the first round -- including Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.

2. BEST PASSERS ARE RETURNING
Each of the top five and 10 of the top 11 quarterbacks in terms of passing efficiency return to school. In all, seven players with a passing efficiency of at least 160 last season are coming back, more than in the previous three seasons combined.

3. DIVERSE ARRAY OF NFL TALENT
This class is expected to produce a number of NFL starting quarterbacks. Four of Todd McShay’s top 15 prospects in the 2014 draft are quarterbacks (Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater, Clemson’s Tajh Boyd, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel and Alabama’s AJ McCarron).

Yet, showing how deep this class is, Brock Huard ranks Georgia's Aaron Murray, Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Ohio State's Braxton Miller ahead of either McCarron or Manziel on his quarterback draft board.

4. LITTLE QB TURNOVER IN SEC
The SEC is in prime shape to win its eighth straight national title with 11 of 14 starting quarterbacks from last season returning to school. Among the 11 are the starters of the top three teams in each division including Manziel, Murray and McCarron.

Last season, Manziel set the SEC record for total offense with 5,116 yards. Murray is on pace to set conference records for most career passing yards and total offense, and McCarron is the two-time BCS national champion.

5. AWARD WINNERS BACK ON CAMPUS
The SEC isn’t the only conference returning elite quarterbacks. The Big Ten, Mountain West and MAC each return their first- and second-team quarterbacks from last season. So would Conference USA and the WAC if realignment hadn’t altered those conferences. The Big 12 is the only conference that doesn’t return either its first- or second-team quarterback.

Among the returnees, Boyd could challenge the ACC record for total offense in a career, Troy’s Corey Robinson is on pace to shatter the Sun Belt’s career record for total offense, and Jordan Lynch returns after leading Northern Illinois to its first ever BCS bowl game last season.

Our weekly review of interesting and notable stats you might have missed.

Give Me Five
Billy Butler of the Kansas City Royals went 5-for-5, with 5 RBI, in Monday's 11-4 victory against the Los Angeles Angels. And he had that big game without going deep. Butler's RBI came on two doubles and a single.

Butler was the first player to have five hits and five driven in since Josh Hamilton's four-homer game last season. And in franchise history, only one other Royal had reached five-and-five in the same game: Kevin Seitzer (6-for-6, 2 HR, 7 RBI) against the Red Sox on August 2, 1987.

On Tuesday, Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies also went 5-for-5 in a 9-4 win against the Chicago Cubs.

That was the first five-hit game by a Colorado batter in three years, and two of those hits left the yard. That made CarGo just the third player in franchise history to have five hits, including two homers, in a single game. Andres Galarraga had a six-hit, two-homer game in 1995, and Vinny Castilla did it in a 12-inning contest in July 1997.

And the week wasn't over. Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers went 5-for-5 in Saturday's 7-2 victory against the Tigers. He's the first leadoff hitter to go a perfect 5-for-5 (or better) since Derek Jeter on July 9, 2011. That's the game where Jeter homered for his 3,000th hit.

Prior to this week there had been just one other five-hit game this season, by Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Indians on April 7.

Slugfest of the Week: Rays 12, Orioles 10
The Rays scored seven runs off starter Jason Hammel, added three more off Sean Burnett (who needed 28 pitches to get one out), and were up 12-4 before Jeremy Hellickson got in trouble in the 8th. A Nate McLouth triple started the inning, and the Orioles strung together five straight two-out hits en route to a six-run frame.

The teams combined for 30 hits (only nine games this season have gotten there; the high is 33 by the Diamondbacks and Cardinals on April 3), and each team had six extra-base hits.

Both starters gave up 10 hits and at least seven runs. That hadn't happened in any game since July 20, 2009, when the Minnesota Twins' Nick Blackburn and Gio Gonzalez "dueled" in a 14-13 Oakland Athletics win.

On the other hand, Hellickson walked just one hitter and Hammel two, and that combination (10-plus hits, seven-plus runs, max of two walks) hadn't been achieved by a pair of starters in more than a decade. John Patterson of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Mets' Al Leiter each posted that line on August 4, 2002.

The Orioles also had two triples (Yamaico Navarro had the other), the first time they've done that in almost three years (July 7, 2010, at Detroit). That had been the longest drought without a multi-triple game by any team.

Winning Ugly
Hellickson got the win in that game on Friday despite being charged with eight runs. But he wasn't the only one this week.

Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants worked into the seventh inning against the Rockies on Thursday, allowing six runs and three homers. He got the win only because Jhoulys Chacin gave up eight runs.

On Friday, Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals pitched 5 1/3 innings with six runs allowed, but won because Wily Peralta of the Brewers allowed seven.

There have been five instances this season of a pitcher allowing six or more runs and getting a win, all in the last 10 days. And the last time three pitchers did it in two days was on April 13, 2009, when Edinson Volquez, Gavin Floyd, and Koji Uehara all barely made it through the required five innings.

The last two-day span where all three pitchers went beyond the five-inning minimum was May 25-26, 1992. Those lucky winners were Butch Henry of the Astros, Charles Nagy of the Indians, and the Orioles' (and ESPN's) Rick Sutcliffe.

The San Antonio Spurs didn't yield a point to Zach Randolph until there was 9:26 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. By that point, the Spurs already had an 18-point lead.

So it went for Randolph, who entered the game leading the Memphis Grizzlies in scoring this postseason with 19.7 points per game.

Randolph finished with two points, a playoff career low in games where he played at least 10 minutes.

The Spurs limited him to just 11 offensive touches. ESPN Stats & Info video tracking defined those as "touches on the offensive end of the floor," including offensive rebounds.

What's more, only two of Randolph's 11 offensive touches came in a post-up situation. Entering the game the Grizzlies led the NBA in scoring from post-ups this postseason with 221 points (20.1 per game).

Spurs three-for-all
The Spurs set a franchise playoff record by hitting 14 three-pointers in the game.

They spread those 14 three-pointers among six different players while the Grizzlies three-pointers were made by only one player: Quincy Pondexter.


And in what must make Gregg Popovich happy, all 14 of the Spurs three-pointers were assisted.

The Spurs spread the bounty there, too. While six different players made a three-pointer, seven different players assisted on one. That includes kick-out passes from Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter.

Spotting Pop a lead
Now the Grizzlies are looking at 1-0 deficit against a coach that has won more than 120 playoff games and four championships.

Gregg Popovich is 19-3 all-time in best-of-seven playoff series when his team wins Game 1. His .864 series win percentage after Game 1 wins ranks only behind Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach among head coaches with 15 postseason series worth of experience all-time.

Both Jackson (36-0 series record) and Auerbach (15-0) had perfect series records after winning the opener.

Sunday's matchup between the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers features a pair of starting pitchers with a common bond.

Rangers starter Derek Holland and Tigers starter Doug Fister are the two pitchers who have been very successful at limiting opposing damage.

They also have pitched inside the most of any starters in the game this season. Holland has done so by significantly increasing the use of one of his primary pitches. Fister's attempts to pitch inside may have added a little bit of a fear factor to his game.

Let’s go further inside the pitching matchup and look at the stats that Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser and John Kruk will be talking about on the Sunday Night Baseball telecast.

Holland
Holland enters the day 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He is averaging 6.9 innings per start this season. Entering Saturday that ranked sixth-best in the American League.

In the early part of the season, Holland has limited the damage against him in two respects. He’s cut back on his walks (to 1.8 per nine innings), and he’s limited hard contact.

Opponents have recorded what our video-tracking service denotes as a “hard-hit ball” on 15 percent of the at-bats they’ve had against him this season. That’s down from his 21 percent rate in 2012. After allowing 32 home runs in 2012, he’s yielded just two in 2013.

You might be surprised to know that Holland is tied for the highest average velocity on his fastball among left-handed starting pitchers at 93.3 mph (same as now-injured David Price, and 0.8 mph faster than Clayton Kershaw).

But what’s worked for Holland most significantly this season has been the use of a slider as his finish pitch.

Holland is throwing his slider twice as often with two strikes in 2013 (44 percent of pitches) as he did in 2012. He’s struck out 37 hitters with that pitch this season, which was the most in the majors entering the weekend.

Holland has thrown 105 two-strike sliders, 62 percent of which have been "inside" (defined as over the inner-third of the plate, or off the inside corner). He pitches inside with that pitch more than anyone else in the sport.

Is it working? Consider this: Holland allowed 14 two-strike homers last season. He’s given up none in 2013.

As well as Holland as pitching, his numbers could be even better. His Fielding Independent Pitching (an ERA estimator tied to strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed) was 2.35, more than a half-point better than his ERA.

Matchup to watch:Torii Hunter was 6-for-his-first-29 against Holland, but has four hits in his last five at-bats against him. Hunter has become more of an opposite-field hitter during a stretch that started after last year’s All-Star Break. Holland has seen that. Three of Hunter’s last four hits against Holland have been to center or right field.

Fister
Much like Holland, Fister has excelled at limiting home runs allowed.

Since the start of the 2011 season, Tigers starter Doug Fister has been the toughest pitcher (among ERA qualifiers) to hit a home run against. Fister is allowing 0.57 home runs per nine innings and ranks among the best in the majors with a 1.30 ground-ball/fly-ball ratio. This season, Fister has allowed only one home run on the 67 balls hit in the air against him.

As noted, Fister has lived on and off the inside corner this year to an extreme level. He’s actually hit more batters (10) than he has walked (8). He has more hit batsmen than all of his teammates combined.

Fister has had an odd platoon split this season. Left-handed hitters are hitting .196 with a .507 OPS against him. Right-handed hitters are hitting .320 with a .768 OPS, atypical for Fister, against whom righties hit .246 with a .626 OPS from 2010 to 2012.

Fister’s success against lefties is partly attributable to lower-than-average batting averages on balls in play on both ground balls and line drives, and an ability to bounce back when he falls behind in the count.

Lefties are 6-for-43 with no extra-base hits after Fister falls behind in the count, 1-0 against them.

Working inside has also made a difference. Lefties have only three hits in the 21 at-bats against Fister that ended with a pitche over the inner-third of the plate, or off the inside corner.

Matchup to watch: Rangers outfielder David Murphy has hit four home runs against Fister, twice as many as anybody else. All four homers came against pitches that were up in the strike zone, as noted in the image below.

Michael Bonzagni also contributed to this post

If a pitcher decides to pitch the Arizona Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt up in the strike zone, he's doing so at a high risk.

The image above shows the two pitches on which Goldschmidt homered on Friday. The image at the bottom of this story shows the pitches on which Goldschmidt has hit his dozen home runs this season.

Goldschmidt’s recent hot streak has been fueled by the ability to drill pitches thrown to the spots in the upper half of the zone and above.

Consider this stat:

Since May 6, Goldschmidt has taken 51 swings against pitches thrown to that area.

He’s swung-and-missed seven times.

He’s hit six home runs.

For the season, Goldschmidt is hitting .405 with a major league-best 10 home runs when at-bats end in those pitches.

Those 10 homers are only one shy of the total number of upper-half (or above) home runs he had last season … on 625 fewer pitches.

Goldschmidt has shown a propensity to be more selective against those pitches this season. His “chase rate” against what we would call “up, but out of the strike zone” pitches this season is 27 percent.

Last season, he had a chase rate of 37 percent against those pitches.

But even when he goes after a bad pitch, he’s still having success. Goldschmidt doubled on an “up but out of the zone” pitch on Friday, his eighth such hit and fifth for extra bases this season.

The chart on the right shows how stark the difference is in his performance compared with 2012.

Last season, he totaled five extra-base hits against those pitches.

Five storylines to watch going into Saturday’s 138th Preakness Stakes.

1. One down, two to go
If Kentucky Derby winner Orb wins the Preakness, he would become the 13th horse to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown since 1978, when Affirmed became the last horse to win the Triple Crown.

Last year, I’ll Have Another was scratched prior to the Belmont, while Big Brown did not finish in 2008.

You have to go back to Smarty Jones in 2004 (finished second) to find the last horse to finish the Belmont after winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

The 35 years since Affirmed is the longest drought ever for a Triple Crown winner. In fact, it’s nearly as long as the combined droughts ended by Secretariat (25 years) and Gallant Fox (11) combined.

2. Favorites fare well
Orb’s favored status doesn’t necessarily mean victory. But if recent history is a guide, a top-two finish is likely.

The post-time favorite in the Preakness has finished first or second in 13 of the past 15 years. Barbaro did not finish the race as the post-time favorite in 2006. Four years later, Super Saver became the first favorite to complete the race and run out of the money since Cavonnier in 1996. Only seven Derby winners since 1973 have run out of the money

The last post-time favorite to actually win was Rachel Alexandra in 2009.

3. Lukas chases record
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas brings three horses to the Preakness: Oxbow, Titletown Five and Will Take Charge.
That improves his chances, as he looks to break Jim Fitzsimmons’ record of 13 Triple Crown race wins.

Five of Lukas’ 13 Triple Crown wins have come at the Preakness.

A sixth would place him in sole possession of second place all-time by a trainer behind Robert Walden’s seven.

4. Orb alone among top Derby finishers
Neither Derby runner-up Golden Soul, nor third place finisher Revolutionary run in the Preakness, marking just the 10th time since the Preakness has been regularly run after the Derby (since 1933) that neither the horse which crossed the finish line second or third in the Derby ran back in the Preakness.

Of the eight Derby winners to run back in those editions of the Preakness, five won.

5. No Derby usually means no win
Only eight horses since 1952 have won the Preakness without starting the Derby, most recently Rachel Alexandra in 2009 and Bernardini in 2006. This year, three horses could join that list: Titletown Five, Departing and Govenor Charlie.

Jon Lester goes for his sixth win of the season on Wednesday when the Boston Red Sox play the Tampa Bay Rays (7 ET on ESPN and WatchESPN).

In 2012, Lester didn’t earn his sixth win until Aug. 12 -- 24 starts into the season.

Lester’s return to form begins with his fastball. Last season when Lester threw his fastball, he allowed 198 total bases against 279 outs, a ratio of 1.4 outs to bases allowed. This season he’s allowed 28 total bases against 85 outs, a 3:1 ratio.

Opponents last season hit over .300 against Lester’s fastball. This season they are hitting .160 against the pitch; left-handed hitters have had almost no success against Lester’s fastball (see graphic).

In 23 career starts against the Rays, Lester is 10-8 with a 4.14 ERA, but on the road he’s 4-1 with a 3.51 ERA and has allowed just one home run in his last five starts at Tropicana Field dating to the start of 2009.

Lester is off to a fast start, but the same cannot be said for Rays' pitcher David Price.

Last year’s Cy Young winner was 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA in 2012. In 2013, he has just one win with a 4.78 ERA, and the Rays are 2-6 in games started by Price.

While Lester is having success with his fastball, Price is not and the biggest difference has been a decrease in velocity. In 2012, Price's average fastball was 95.4 mph, fastest in the American League among pitchers who threw at least 1,500 pitches.

This season, it’s down to 93.3 mph, and opponents are hitting .318 against the pitch compared to .244 last season.

Another reason Price has struggled seems to be entirely out of his control.

He’s allowed a major-league leading 28 groundball hits; more than one-third of his grounders have resulted in hits. From 2009-12, the Rays converted roughly three-quarters of groundballs hit against Price into outs.

Wednesday’s game will be the fourth time that Lester and Price will be opposing starting pitchers, and history says the first team to score three runs will win. That's because a total of 12 runs have been scored when Lester and Price start in the same game.

How amazing was that Boston Bruins come-from-behind Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night?

The Elias Sports Bureau provided us with this perspective:

The Bruins are the first team in NHL history to win a Game 7 after trailing by three goals in the third period.

Patrice Bergeron is the first player to score the tying goal with less than a minute in regulation and the game-winning goal either in regulation or overtime in Game 7 of a playoff series.

Also of note:

• This was the Bruins fourth overtime win in a Game 7, tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the most all-time..

• The Bruins are the only team this season to score two goals in a game with an extra attacker on the ice in place of a pulled goalie. They did so in the regular season (coincidentally against their next opponent, the New York Rangers) and in this Game 7.

• This was Bergeron’s second career overtime playoff goal. He also scored one in the 2003-04 postseason. It also was only his second multi-goal game of the season (he had one March 14 against the Florida Panthers).

• Bergeron recorded a point on the Bruins' last three goals in Game 7. He was on ice for only three of the Bruins' first 19 goals in the series, recording one point.

• The Bruins scored six goals in that round on shots from the point against Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer, including the game-tying goal in the third period. Reimer’s six goals allowed from the point were twice as many as any goaltender this postseason.

• Tuukka Rask earned only his second win in nine postseason games in which his team had a chance to eliminate an opponent.

• The Bruins know how rough it can be to blow a 3-0 lead in a Game 7. They blew both a 3-0 lead in games and in score in Game 7 of their playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010.

Lastly, for just how rare a comeback this was, we go back to Elias:

The last time a team won a postseason game when trailing by three or more goals with 11 minutes or fewer left in the third period was April 18, 2001, when the Los Angeles Kings rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Red Wings, 4-3 in overtime.

And the last time a team won a postseason game when trailing by two or more goals with two or fewer minutes left in the third period was April 18, 1993, when the Quebec Nordiques rallied from 2-0 down with 89 seconds remaining to beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 in overtime.

On May 13, 1973 (Mother’s Day), 55-year-old Bobby Riggs beat Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 in a contest branded “Battle of the Sexes.” The importance of the match could not be overstated as the women’s liberation movement was in its infancy.

It helped legitimize women in athletics and set a model that others have followed.

You may have heard about Billie Jean King beating Riggs in “Battle of the Sexes.” That was actually the second version, played Sept. 20, 1973, as King won 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. And there have been subsequent “Battle of the Sexes” including one featuring Martina Navratilova and Jimmy Connors in 1992.

Below is a progression of women competing against men since the 1970s.

Notable women competing head-to-head against men

1977 - MOTORSPORTS: In 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500. She was also the first woman to compete in the Daytona 500.

1979 – NBA: In 1979, the Indiana Pacers signed Ann Meyers to one-year contract. Meyers is the first woman signed by an NBA team. She was cut seven days after signing.

1984 – LITTLE LEAGUE: Victoria Roche of Brussels, Belgium, became the first girl to play in the Little League World Series.

1993 – HORSE RACING: Julie Krone became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race, winning the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair.

1993 – HOCKEY: Manon Rheaume became the first female to play in the NHL. The Canadian-born goaltender played two preseason games for the Lightning.

1997 – BASEBALL: Ila Borders became the first woman to play in a professional baseball game. She pitched for the St. Paul Saints.

2001 – FOOTBALL: Jacksonville State's Ashley Martin became the first woman to play and score in a Division I football game. She made three extra points.

2003 - GOLF: Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to play in a PGA tour event since Babe Didrikson 58 years earlier.

2003 – LACROSSE: New Jersey Storm goalie Ginny Capicchioni became the first woman to compete in the National Lacrosse League, playing nearly 12 minutes.

2006 - WRESTLING: Michaela Hutchison won Alaska's 103-pound wresting final to become the first girl in the nation to win a state title against boys.

2009 - FISHING: Kim Bain became the first woman to compete in the Bassmaster Classic in the event's 38-year history. She finished in 47th place.

Female athletes head-to-head against men this year

Danica Patrick: In February 2013, Danica Patrick won the pole at the Daytona 500, the first woman to ever clinch a Cup Series pole. She’s the first woman ever to lead a lap at Daytona. She finished eighth.

Lauren Silberman: Just a week later, Lauren Silberman became the first woman in history to try out for the NFL when the kicker participated in the Jets' regional combine, but she attempted just two kicks before stopping due to injury.

Rosie Napravnik: Rosie Napravnik finished fifth aboard Mylute in May’s Kentucky Derby, the highest finish by a female jockey. She held the previous record when she finished ninth in 2011.

Venus and Serena Williams: Serena and Venus Williams said they could beat any men's player ranked 200 or lower. At the Australian Open, they individually played a set each against the 203rd-ranked player, Karsten Braasch. Serena fell 6-1, Venus 6-2.

The St. Louis Cardinals host the New York Mets tonight in a battle of two teams headed in different directions (7 ET, ESPN and WatchESPN).

Red-hot Cards
The Cardinals boast the NL’s best record and have been fueled by excellent starting pitching (MLB-best 2.25 ERA), and clutch hitting (MLB-best .323 BA w/ RISP).

On Monday, Lance Lynn looks to start a new win streak after a hard-luck 2-1 loss his last time out snapped a streak of 10 straight starts without a loss, dating to last season. He was 9-0 over that span with a 2.52 ERA.

Lynn has gotten impressive results when throwing sliders and curveballs this season, recording 38 outs with those pitches versus just 13 total bases allowed, a ratio of nearly 3 to 1.

Last year his ratio of outs to total bases allowed with breaking pitches was about half that: 1.6 to 1. Opponents are batting .186 in at-bats ending with Lynn's breaking stuff, a drop of over 100 points from last year (.288).

The biggest change has come against righties, where you can see how Lynn has improved the location of his pitches:



Mets slowing down
The Mets, on the other hand, have cooled off after a decent start to the season. They are 4-11 over their past 15, scoring just 2.9 runs per game in that span.

Jeremy Hefner starts on the mound tonight for the Mets. They have lost all six of his starts this season (he’s 0-4), providing him just 3.3 runs per game of support in those starts.

The Mets have really struggled without Matt Harvey on the mound this year. They are 6-2 in his starts and 8-18 with other pitchers starting. The Mets rotation aside from Harvey has posted a 5.59 ERA.

Offense has also been a major issue for the Mets of late. The team has the league’s worst combined production from their 1, 4 and 5 spots in the lineup this year -- a .196 BA and .591 OPS, with the majority of those plate appearances coming from John Buck, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda and Ruben Tejada.

Wright on track
David Wright has been an exception to the Mets’ overall offensive woes this season.

From from 2009 to 2011, Wright struck out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances (23 percent of PA), and his average fell to .284 in those years accordingly, well below his previous career rate of .309.

But last year, Wright reduced his strikeouts to his previously established rates (15 percent of PA), and his batting average rose back up to .305.

Wright has adopted a much more disciplined approach at the plate - he's not swinging at pitches out of the zone as often. By laying off pitches outside the strikezone, Wright has increased his walk rate to a career-high 17 percent of plate appearances and his OBP has never been higher.

Pitching may have been the story of the day over the weekend, but also notable Sunday was that Jose Bautista's bat showed just the kind of power that the Toronto Blue Jays are looking for.

Bautista had his first multi-homer game of the season (his first since last June 19th) in the Blue Jays win over the Boston Red Sox, for their second straight win at Fenway Park.

Though Bautista is hitting only .246 this season, his other two slashline numbers (a .360 on-base percentage and .544 slugging percentage) are impressive. He only has 28 hits this season, but 16 are for extra bases.

Bautista is starting to heat up. He hit only .200 with an .836 OPS and 23 percent strikeout rate in April, but is hitting .333 with a 1.017 OPS and an 11 percent strikeout rate in May.

For the most part, pitchers have come to realize this and are pitching him more carefully. He’s drawn 10 walks this month after drawing 11 in April.

Bautista has been more selective. In his last 53 plate appearances, he’s only swung at 16 percent of pitches out of the strike zone.

In April, that chase rate was closer to one of every four pitches outside the zone.

What has been consistent for Bautista is that he has been hitting the ball hard. Except now his hard-hit balls are going either over the fence, or finding spots where fielders are unable to make plays.

One of the stats our data providers provide us is “hard-hit average” – in other words: how often is the player making solid contact. The judgment is subjective, but is based on careful video review and follow-up discussion to attempt to unify opinions.

Bautista had a .253 hard-hit average in April and a .262 hard-hit average in May.

But Bautista was only 12-for-19 when getting credited with a hard-hit ball in April. In May, he's 10-for-10.

He ranks eighth in the majors for the season with a .256 hard-hit average, one point behind Edwin Encarnacion, whose batting average has also been a bit low (.231) this season.

But keep this in mind as we watch what Bautista (and Encarnacion) do moving forward. The six hitters currently above them in hard-hit average (as noted in the chart on the right) are all hitting .290 or better.
Dan Braunstein and Justin Havens contributed research to this post

The wins keep coming for Tiger Woods, at a pace unlike any other year in which he's been a professional golfer.

Here's a recap of the best notes from his win at the PLAYERS Championship on Sunday.

• This was Woods’ 300th career PGA TOUR start and his 78th career victory. Woods has done well in round-number starts. He also won his 100th and 200th career starts.

• This was Woods’ fourth win in seven events this season. It’s the fewest starts he’s needed to reach four wins in any season in his career and marks only the second time he’s had four wins before June 1 (the other was in 2000, a year in which he won nine tour events).

• Woods has now won 53 of 57 tournaments, when leading or tied for the lead after 54 holes.

• Woods was a tournament-best 12-under on the par-5s this week. It was the second time this season that Woods led the field in par-5 scoring.

He also did it in his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He has won all four events this season in which he was 9-under or better or the par-5s.

• Woods’ average approach shot from the fairway stopped a season-best 26 feet, 5 inches from the pin during the Players Championship. His irons were the key.

He led the field in proximity to the hole from the fairway on shots from 100 yards or longer (27 feet, 8 inches).

Woods hit the green or fringe in regulation a season-high 79 percent of the time, fourth-best in the field.

It was the eighth time in the last two seasons that he hit the green or fringe in regulation on more than 75 percent of his attempts. In those eight events, Woods has four wins and eight top-10 finishes.

• Woods has now won on Mother's Day twice in his career. The other was a one-shot win over Jay Don Blake in the 1998 BellSouth Classic. Woods has won on Father’s Day three times (all being U.S. Open wins).

• This was Woods’ 78th PGA TOUR win. The only person he’s chasing on the PGA TOUR wins list, Sam Snead (82 career wins), didn’t win his 78th PGA Tour event until he was 46. Woods is 37 years old.