1. The 500 Club: The 500 homerun club has twenty members (and counting), but the 500 save club just got its first member. Trevor Hoffman, one of the more underrated players in major league history, saved his 500th career game on Wednesday. Hoffman broke the career saves record last year, passing Lee Smith and his 478 saves. His mark compared with Smith’s is the statistical equivalent of 790 homeruns or 6000 strikeouts, but it of course is considered less prestigious and will receive very little attention after today. Hoffman closed out a 5-2 win over the Dodgers, which included a solid start by Greg Maddux as the Padres moved to 1.5 games ahead of Los Angeles. Next up for 500 saves is Mariano Rivera, who is 81 away but has played two fewer years than Hoffman.
2. The Cardinals are back: For the first time this season, the Cardinals are playing like a team that has won the division for three straight years. They’ve won six of their last seven games to move within five games of the once-dominant Brewers. On Wednesday the Cardinals topped the Brewers as Albert Pujols hit a key two-run homerun. Pujols has four homers and eight RBIs in his last eight games. Closer Jason Isringhausen, who sealed the deal for his 14th save of the year, is having a surprisingly good season. Isringhausen has a 1.50 ERA and 0.83 WHIP, unusually great numbers for the closer of a disappointing team. The Cardinals aren’t a playoff-caliber team, but they might make it to October if no one else in their division can.
3. Bat over mouth: Gary Sheffield’s racial comments have gone unpunished by the Tigers or the MLB. Maybe that’s because he’s one of the more dominant sluggers in the game, as he proved Wednesday with a great performance. Sheffield hit two homers to give him 15 on the year, and drove in five runs as the Tigers walloped the Rangers 10-0. It’s no wonder the team hasn’t done anything about his comments, which insulted both black and Latin players. Anyway, the Tigers’ win put them within 2.5 of Cleveland, who lost to Kansas City. Justin Verlander followed up a poor start last week with seven shutout innings and a win. Magglio Ordonez went 2-4 with an RBI and is now the AL leader in batting average in addition to RBIs. With .362 and 54 in those categories, Ordonez has been the best hitter in the majors by a mile.
Player of the Day: Chien-Ming Wang, Yankees: Complete game, five hits, one earned run in a 5-1 win over the White Sox. By the way, Roger Clemens will join Wang on the Yankees’ staff when he makes his debut this Saturday.