Between The Lines

•When the Cardinals lost to the Pirates 4-3 on April 18, it marked their first loss at home since June 29, 1986, in a game in which they led after eight innings.

•It took 14 games for a Mariner pitcher to set the side down in order in the first inning. Oddly, it was lefthander Steve Trout (1-1, 9.24 ERA) who finally did it.

•Jeff Ballard is the first Oriole pitcher to win his first three starts in April since Dave McNally did it in 1973.

•When the Dodgers' Fernando Valenzuela threw five shutout innings against Cincinnati April 17, his fastest pitch was clocked at 78 mph.