Trivia time: When is the last time the major league leader in ERA had fewer wins than the guy who finished last?The answer is coming up in a few paragraphs Pedro Martinez Jersey , but the question is relevant because it could happen again this year. Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox, currently bringing up the rear among pitchers who qualify for the ERA title, notched his 10th victory of the season Saturday night, which is two more than major league ERA leader Jacob deGrom has.DeGrom’s plight has been well documented. Pitching for the woeful Mets, he’s 8-8 with a 1.71 ERA. Giolito is 10-9 with a 5.85 ERA. It’s a stark example of why a pitcher’s won-lost record can be deceiving, but Giolito’s progress is worth watching over the final few weeks of the season. The White Sox are 18-17 since the All-Star break and showing signs that their rebuild is heading in the right direction.Left-hander Carlos Rodon has a 2.71 ERA in 13 starts this year, and highly touted prospect Michael Kopech is in the majors now — he earned his first career victory Sunday. If Giolito — a first-round draft pick by the Nationals in 2012 — starts performing better, then Chicago’s rotation could look even stronger going forward. Giolito had 63 strikeouts and 60 walks before the All-Star break. Since then, that ratio has improved to 40-to-15.Meanwhile, down in the minors, the White Sox have one of the game’s top prospects just waiting to be unleashed. Outfielder Eloy Jimenez is hitting .364 for Triple-A Charlotte.As for the answer to that trivia question: In 1992, Bill Swift of the Giants led the majors with a 2.08 ERA and went 10-4. Scott Sanderson finished with a 4.93 ERA, the highest among qualifying pitchers, but he went 12-11 for the Yankees. In 2004 http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-hanley-ramirez-jersey , there was a tie in wins between ERA leader Jake Peavy (15-6, 2.27) and last-place finisher Shawn Estes (15-8, 5.84).Other developments from around the majors:LONG WAY BACKSince divisional play began in 1969, the furthest any team has finished out of first place is 52 games, a mark set by the 1998 Florida Marlins in the NL East. (That was a dreary year for baseball in the Sunshine State. Tampa Bay finished 51 games behind the Yankees in the AL East.)This season’s Baltimore Orioles could end up a lot worse than that. They’re already 52 ½ games behind first-place Boston in the AL East, and there’s still plenty of time to sink lower. The Orioles are on pace for 116 losses, and their schedule down the stretch isn’t likely to ease up. Their final 10 games at the end of September are against the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros.HIGHLIGHTJose Altuve turned a routine flare into a double play with a bit of quick thinking Friday night. With a man on first and one out, the Houston second baseman let David Fletcher’s soft popup drop near the edge of the infield, then picked up the ball and threw to first in time to get the batter. Kole Calhoun, the Angels‘ runner on first, headed toward second when the ball dropped, but he was still caught in a rundown after the play at first. Calhoun was eventually tagged out.LINE OF THE WEEKPhiladelphia’s Aaron Nola struck out nine in eight innings, beating Washington’s Max Scherzer 2-0 in a matchup of National League Cy Young candidates Thursday. Nola allowed five hits and lowered his ERA to 2.13. DENVER — As a result of being forced to alter their rotation Bill Lee Jersey , the Colorado Rockies will start Chad Bettis on Tuesday in what will become a bullpen game against the Philadelphia Phillies.In the opener of a four-game series Monday, the Rockies (85-70) pounded the Phillies 10-1 for their fourth straight win and handed the Phillies (78-78) their season-high tying fifth straight loss.The Rockies are a half-game behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the second NL wild-card spot are 1 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Article continues below ...Shortstop Trevor Story returned to the Rockies lineup for the first time since he suffered right elbow inflammation last Monday and went 2-for-5 with two doubles. Story has 80 extra-base hits and became the fourth NL shortstop to reach that mark joining Jimmy Rollins (88) and Hanley Ramirez (81) in 2007 and Ernie Banks (82 in 1955, 81 in 1958 and 80 in 1960).“We’re full throttle right now,” Story said. “It’s a great position to be in. These games really do matter. We’re not where we want to be, but we feel like we will be in a few days.”Jon Gray, who supposed to start on seven days’ rest Tuesday, instead started on Monday and worked seven innings when left-hander Tyler Anderson was scratched from his scheduled start due to shoulder soreness.Bettis (5-2, 5.18) last started on Aug. 12 and was then moved to the bullpen where he has made six appearances totaling 8 1/3 innings. Bettis has worked in low-leverage situations and will be pitching for the first time since Sept. 13 when he worked one inning and threw five pitches.Rockies manager Bud Black said he expects Bettis to throw between 30 and 50 pitches. He threw 30 pitches in 1 2/3 innings on Sept. 9.Bettis is 2-0, 1.93 in six games (four starts) against the Phillies, whom he last faced in 2016. The Phillies have been in a major tailspin since mid-August. They’ve lost 16 of 22 games this month and are back to .500 for the first time since April 10.Vince Velasquez (9-11, 4.59) will start for the Phillies. He’s 2-0, 3.95 in five starts against the Rockies and 1-0, 3.27 in two starts at Coors Field.The right-handed Velasquez has been far more effective against right-handed hitters, limiting them to a .204 average and .598 OPS in 309 plate appearances. Lefties are hitting .282 with a .870 OPS against Velasquez in 300 plate appearances.In his last start Thursday at Atlanta Xander Bogaerts Jersey , Velasquez wasn’t involved in the decision in Philadelphia’s 8-3 loss. He gave up five hits and three runs in three innings. Velasquez has not gone more than four innings in each of his past three starts and is 0-1, 12.00 in those outings, allowing 16 hits and 12 runs in nine innings.Velasquez threw 73 pitches in four innings Sept. 9 at the New York Mets, 44 pitches in two innings against Miami on Sept. 15 and 57 in three innings in his last start. The Phillies are very analytically inclined, but manager Gabe Kapler said Velasquez’s recent short outings are performance-related and not based on any metrics.“What I’ve shared with all of our starters and this is also somewhat true for our relievers is if you are the best option, all things considered, to get the next hitter or three hitters out, you will go back out,” Kapler said. “And so, for Vince, when he’s the best version of Vince, he’s hard to take out of a game. I literally have to think about reasons why to take him out. I’m not putting any artificial limitations on Vince.”