Pitching around the league has been dominant early this season. Here are the top five performances: 5. Justin Verlander, Tigers » The AL Cy Young winner has pitched eight innings in each of his first three starts, but his best outing came on Opening Day against the Red Sox. Thanks to a blown save by Jose Valverde, Verlander didn’t earn the win, but he allowed just two hits and struck out seven in eight scoreless innings.
4. Jered Weaver, Angels » The right-hander stole the show in Albert Pujols’ Angels debut. Weaver struck out 10 in eight scoreless innings and allowed just four hits in a 5-0 victory over the Royals. He became the third Angels pitcher to have double-digit strikeouts on Opening Day.
3. Barry Zito, Giants »
The lefty pitched a shutout against the Rockies at hitter-friendly Coors Field in his first game of the season. He allowed just four hits in a performance that was reminiscent of 2002, when Zito went 23-5 and won the Cy Young Award. It was his first shutout in nine years.
2. Bartolo Colon, A’s » On Wednesday night, Colon pitched eight scoreless innings against his former team, the Angels. But the most impressive feat was that the 38-year-old threw 38 straight strikes at one point. He allowed just four hits and recorded his third win of the season.
1. Cliff Lee, Phillies » Giants right-hander Matt Cain pitched nine scoreless innings but still was topped by Lee’s outing Wednesday night. The Phillies lefty went 10 innings without allowing a run and struck out eight. But neither pitcher earned a victory. San Francisco went on to win 1-0 in the 11th inning.
– Jeffrey Tomik
