Touch 'Em All: Verlander almost made exclusive club

Justin Verlander already has "future Hall of Famer" stamped on his baseball card and has been in the history books for a year, ever since he became the 17th pitcher to throw two no-hitters.

But on Friday night he came very close to entering a much more exclusive club than the house in Coopertown.

The Tigers righthander came within two outs of a third no-hitter - a feat accomplished by only five pitchers in history.

Nolan Ryan, needless to say, heads the list with a stunning seven no-nos. He's followed by Sandy Koufax (four), Bob Feller (three), Larry Corcoran (three) and Cy Young (three).

Right now you're all asking, "Who's Larry Corcoran?"

The righthander retired after the '87 season - 1887. In 1882, Corcoran became the first pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a career. Two seasons later, while with the Chicago White Stockings, he became the first pitcher to throw three no-hitters, setting a record that would stand until 1965, when Koufax threw his fourth.

Umpire Bob Davidson was back behind the plate in Milwaukee after serving his one-game suspension for repeated violations of MLB's standards for situation handling.

That's what he gets for using profanity against Uncle Charlie.

Streaks

 The Giants' 4-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday was their 11th straight victory over their Bay Area rivals in San Francisco.

Hangin' tough

 Cleveland maintained its four-game lead in the AL Central with a 2-0 win over Miami.

The Indians are in first despite injuries to lefthander Rafael Perez, righthander Josh Tomlin, and outfielder Grady Sizemore; ace righthander Ubaldo Jimenez's inconsistent starts; and poor output from first baseman Casey Kotchman (.211) and outfielders Johnny Damon (.167) and Shelley Duncan (.202).

The Dodgers placed second baseman Mark Ellis on the 15-day disabled list with a banged-up left knee - the fifth position player and fourth regular manager Don Mattingly has lost in 11 days.

The Dodgers already have centerfielder Matt Kemp, third baseman Juan Uribe, leftfielder Juan Rivera, and utility infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. on the DL.

White Sox star Paul Konerko was out of the lineup, a day after he was hit near the left eye by a pitch by the Cubs' Jeff Samardzija. The first baseman hopes to play Tuesday, when the White Sox meet Minnesota.

Colorado's Wilin Rosario leads National League rookies with six home runs.