Jake Peavy led the pack on Wednesday... can Phil Hughes do it today?

Plenty of pitchers were really good Wednesday. John Lackey, Tim Hudson, Joe Blanton, Curt Schilling, Brandon Webb.

Two of them were great.

Jarrod Washburn allowed only 5 base runners, giving up 3 hits and 2 walks over 9 shutout innings to trump Joe Blanton's impressive game, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 2 - 0 victory.

Jake Peavy also allowed only 5 base runners; 2 hits, 3 walks. Except, he did it in 7 innings, and threw 117 pitches while it took Washburn only 104 to complete his game. So what is the big deal?

Well, Washburn struck out 2 batters.

Peavy struck out 16.

Peavy got 21 outs, and over 75% of them were via strikeout.

At one point in the game, Peavy struck out 9 straight batters, one away from Tom Seaver's record of 10 straight. The 10th batter he faced, Eric Byrnes, check swung on a 2 - 2 pitch; and barely kept his bat from going around. On the 3 - 2 pitch, Byrnes watched a pitch cross the plate right around his knees, but just slightly too low. That is how close Jake Peavy was to tying the record for most consecutive strikeouts.

Too bad it was all for naught, as Stephen Drew's walk off HR capped off a victory for the D-backs, spoiling Peavy's special night.

Thursday, I'll be watching 3 pitchers very closely.

Cole Hamels - I love this kid so much. He is so damn talented. Fresh off his 15 K shutout, he faces a weak Nationals lineup this time around. Gee, I wonder if this will be in my picks of the day?

Phil Hughes - Making his much anticipated debut, Hughes will have the tough task of facing a pretty formidable lineup in the Blue Jays, as well as a solid starting pitcher in AJ Burnett. Still, the potential Jered Weaver of this year has one thing that 29 other ball clubs don't; the best offense in baseball to back him up. If Hughes can pitch 5 innings of 3 or 4 run baseball, he'll get wins more often then not.

And lastly...

Russ Ortiz - What?? Why? Well, with Zito / Cain / Morris / Lowry all locked into roster spots, it is this guy right here that is keeping wonder-prospect Tim Lincecum from getting his shot in the bigs. I just hope the Dodgers crush the ball against Ortiz, and force SF to stop delaying the inevitable and give this kid his shot already!

May the best team win (yes, it may)

Everyone loves an underdogs. They are more fun to root for than the star teams. And, as has been said plenty of times before; every dog has his day.

Well, April 25th, 2007 was not that day.

The #1 seeded Dallas Mavericks, who fed into the upset hype with a loss in game 1 of their series against the Golden State Warriors, left little doubt as to who was the superior team Wednesday, taking care of business in a 112 - 99 victory.

In hockey, Detroit may have ended the season with the #1 seed, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone willing to argue that the Ducks weren't the best team in the West this year; and tonight they certainly played like it, lighting the lamp on Roberto Luongo 5 times en route to a 5 - 1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

As for the best in the East? The Buffalo Sabres, who sometimes looked a bit lethargic against the Islanders in the series that opened the playoffs, were anything but tonight, cruising to a 5 - 2 victory over the Rangers, who were riding the momentum of a sweep against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Do I love an underdog as much as anyone? Sure. But in a world of nonsense and drama, sometimes it is refreshing to just see the best be the best.

Isn't it?