The Full Count: Verlander finishes what Schilling can’t

1. No Hits for You!: Less than a week after Curt Schilling came within one out of a no-hitter but couldn’t finish it, Justin Verlander pitched a no-no against the Brewers. Verlander walked four, but other than that he was perfect as he went the distance. He struck out 12 and had 112 total pitches in the second no-hitter in the majors this season. It was also the first no-hitter for the Tigers since 1984, when Verlander was only one year old. Verlander threw over 100 mph on his fastball as he improved to 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA and made history along the way. The Tigers are now tied with Cleveland for first place in the AL Central. They have won three in a row, while the Indians have dropped three straight. With the no-hitter, Verlander has now secured his place as one of the best (if not the best) young pitchers in the game.

2. Here comes Philly: Their season seemed over in April, but now a great start to June has the Phillies in contention in the NL East. The Braves and Mets lost again on Tuesday, but the Phillies won for the seventh time in their last ten games. They beat the White Sox 7-3 on the strength of two of their best young players–Chase Utley and Cole Hamels. Utley went 3-3 with a homer and four RBIs, giving him 52 runs driven in this year. Hamels improved to 9-2 with eight innings, two runs allowed, and eight strikeouts in this contest. Philly is now a mere three games back of the Mets and just one behind the Braves.

3. Finally .500!: The Yankees improved to .500 for the first time since April 20 after winning their 7th straight game. They beat the Diamondbacks 4-1 on the strength of Chien-Ming Wang’s pitching. Wang, the most underrated pitcher on the Yankees’ staff, went seven strong innings, with one run allowed and no walks. Also for New York, red-hot Bobby Abreu hit a three-run homerun. Abreu has 12 RBIs in his last 8 games and is hitting .500 in that span. The Yankees still may be 9.5 out, but they are on a roll. They will be in contention by the All Star break.

Player of the Day: Justin Verlander, Tigers: No-hitter, 12 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over the Brewers.