Matt Cain stole the show in the night's final game, turning in one of the most dominating performances in recent memory on the way to a perfect game against the Houston Astros. According to Baseball-Reference.com's game score statistics, Cain's "score" of 101 was the second-best since 1918, falling four points behind Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout performance in 1998. That, coincidentally, came against the Astros as well.
Cain wasn't the only hurler who found success on the mound on Wednesday — far from it. Here are some of the other dominant pitching performances from the day in baseball.
Stephen Strasburg
The Washington Nationals hurler became the first pitcher in the bigs this year to reach 100 strikeouts. Strasburg allowed two runs on five hits in six innings of work in one of the "lesser" performances of the day. Regardless, Strasburg sustained his dominant year, running his record to 8-1 to go along with a 2.45 ERA, continuing to make it difficult to see the Nationals actually shutting him down for the season.
Jake Arrieta
The Baltimore right-hander became the latest pitcher to take advantage of a weak Pittsburgh lineup, with a seven-inning gem. Arrieta was especially dominant early on, striking out six batters through the first three innings on the way to a nine-strikeout night, in which he allowed just one run.
Felix Doubront
The Red Sox left-hander continued to be the most consistent pitcher on the staff this season as he helped the Sox take a series with the Marlins. Doubront was actually working on a no-hitter, and carried it into the sixth until Jose Reyes took him deep, erasing thoughts of a no-no and a shutout simultaneously. Regardless, Doubront settled in, going seven strong and allowing just a pair of runs.
Wade Miley/Matt Harrison
In Texas, both starters tossed gems as the Rangers were able to scratch across a run late in the game for the win. The lines for Miley and Harrison were impressive, though, with the two of them combining to go 15 innings, allowing just the one run on nine hits to go along with 11 strikeouts. Naturally, Miley took a loss, while Mike Adams got the win out of the Rangers bullpen, meaning neither starter took home a win.
Lance Lynn
Another candidate to start the All-Star game for the National League, Lynn continued his breakout year with a dominating performance against the White Sox. The right-hander struck out 12 in 7 1/3 scoreless innings while walking just one and giving up three hits. He pounded the zone all night, with 77 of his 112 pitches going for strikes. Jake Peavy wasn't exactly poor on the other side, going seven innings and allowing the game's lone run. Another tough-luck loss.
C.J. Wilson/Nathan Eovaldi
The two Orange County clubs continued their series on Wednesday night with a pair of brilliant starts as well. Just like Miley and Harrison, though, neither Wilson nor Eovaldi came away with a win, despite tossing gems. That's nothing new for Eovaldi this season, as the 22-year-old right-hander has yet to get a win this season even though he boasts a 1.82 ERA through his first four starts.
R.A. Dickey
You could make the case that either Strasburg or Lynn should be the NL starter in Kansas City at next month's Midsummer Classic, but it may very well be Dickey who gets that honor. The knuckleballer has been sensational this season, and he continued that on Wednesday night. The righty had a near no-hitter, with the only hit coming on a controversial play in the first inning. Regardless, Dickey is now 10-1 this season to go along with his tidy 2.20 ERA. Perhaps most impressively is the fact that Dickey is averaging a strikeout per inning, a number that is way above his career rate.
Matt Cain
What can you say that hasn't been said already about Cain's masterpiece? It's unfair to make blanket statements about how impressive no-hitters and perfect games really are after a start like Cain's on Wednesday night. The San Francisco ace (he has surpassed Tim Lincecum at this point) was the definition of unhittable against Houston. Sure, he got a little help from his defense, but even if Cain hadn't been able to finish off the perfecto, it still would have been one of the finer performances in recent memory.
Honorable mention
The San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners played each other Wednesday night. Unsurprisingly, Jason Marquis and Hector Noesi both pitched very well against two AAAA offenses. Even so, they still managed to walk eight between the two of them, so they only get partial credit.
Dishonorable mention
Not everyone could dominate on Wednesday night. Just ask P.J. Walters or Cole Hamels. Walters, the Twins starter on Wednesday, faced four batters, and all four collected hits before Walters left the game with a shoulder injury. The Twins couldn't overcome that, making a winner out of Hamels, who still gave up six runs over six innings of work. Baseball.
