Stat of the Day

Entering July 8, Baltimore Orioles first baseman, Chris Davis, leads the MLB with 33 home runs. Davis has already tied his career-highs in home runs (33) and RBI's (85), which he set last season, and still has 73 games remaining in the season.

At this time last season, Chris Davis tallied 14 HR and 40 RBI, less than half the numbers he has put up already this season for the Orioles.

Davis' wins above replacement (WAR) has jumped up to 4.3 from 1.3 in 2012.

The Orioles begin a 4-game series against Chris Davis' former team, the Texas Rangers. Davis has never hit a home run or batted in a run against the Rangers and is only 2-for-17 (.118) in this career (all in 2012).

Stat of the Day

The Miami Marlins have allowed 3 runs or fewer in 13 of their last 14 games.They are 10-4 in that span.
They allowed 4 or more runs in the six games previous to that span. 

The Marlins young pitchers, Jose Fernandez (20), Nate Eovaldi (23), and Jacob Turner (22), have thrown a combined 23 IP, 13 H, 1 R, 5 BB and 17 K with a 0.39 ERA over the last 3 games in which the Marlins are 3-0. 

Miami begins a 3-game series in Atlanta tonight at 7:10 as Tom Koehler goes up against Kris Medlen for the Braves.

Stat of the Day

The Marlins had more wins in the month of June (15) than in the months of April and May combined (14).

Entering July, the Fish have won 7 of their last 9 games.

Jose Fernandez (4-4) takes the mound against Jason Marquis (9-3), as the Marlins look to capture 3 of 4 from the San Diego Padres tonight at 7:10.

Two games into the 2013 MLB Season and the Miami Marlins are already making their mark. The Fish have started 0-2 and rank dead last in every offensive category.

In 18 innings, the Marlins have totaled zero runs and only seven hits. Maybe the Nationals superior starters are to blame. Maybe it's the Marlins weak offense. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez combined for 13 IP, 0 R's, 8 K's, and 5 hits. The remaining five scoreless innings have come at the hand of the Nats bullpen.

The Marlins are last in the majors in runs scored (0), batting average (.123), on-base percentage (.180), and slugging percentage (.158).  The 5 thru 9 batters in the Marlins lineup are a combined 1-for-28.

Is the season over yet?

Kobe Bryant's Bittersweet Season

At 34 years old, most athletes experience a decline in their personal statistics as they face the tail end of their careers. Kobe Bryant, however, is not most athletes. Kobe is having a season statistically superior to his past four seasons. He is averaging 29.2 points per game, his most since the 2007-08 season (31.6) when he won his only NBA MVP award. He is also shooting 46.4%, his 2nd highest field goal percentage in his past 11 seasons, and his shooting efficiency is at a career-high 51.4%

While Kobe is having an anomalous season for his age, the Lakers are having an anomalous season for their history. The Lakers are off to their worst 41 game start (17-24) since Kobe has been a Laker. Los Angeles sits in 12th place in the Western Conference, four games behind the 8th place Houston Rockets. The Los Angeles Lakers are projected to need 45 wins in order to reach the postseason. In order to do so, they must go 28-13 for the remainder of the season.

The Lakers travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies, Wednesday at 8:00 PM EST (Kobe Bryant averages 32.2 PPG on Wednesdays, more than any other day of the week).