Stat Line of the Day: April 6th

D. Williams: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 21 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers vs. Timberwolves

For most players, hitting the game-winning shot with one second left on the clock would be enough to make it a successful night--but not Deron Williams (see left).  D-Will went off on the lowly Timberwolves last night, scoring 18 points and dishing out 21 assists.  He set a season-high and tied a career-high with 21 dimes, and he committed only two turnovers in the process.  That's a cool 10.5 assists per turnover, well above his two assists per turnover on the season.  Williams could not possibly have been more integral to the Nets' victory last night, recording assists on 50% of the team's field goals and racking up almost as many assists as the entire Timberwolves squad.  Williams' assists are up after the move to New Jersey; he averaged 9.7 assists/game this season in Utah, but he is now giving the Nets 12.8 assists/game.  His higher assists total has to be encouraging for coach Avery Johnson, since the Nets sent their starting point guard, Devin Harris, and several draft picks to the Jazz in exchange for Williams.   D-Will came through, though, slashing through the porous Timberwolves defense all night and setting up his teammates for buckets time and time again.

Honorable Mentions:

C. Young (NYM): 5.1 IP, 7 H 1 R (1 ER) 7 K's; 3-3, 1 R, 1 RBI (2-2 in 3rd inning) vs. Phillies

In his Mets debut, Chris Young pitched solidly, limiting the division-rival Phillies to only one run while pitching into the sixth inning--but that's not why he's here.  Young is getting an honorable mention because of his performance at the plate last night--a first for a pitcher in the short history of Stat Line of the Day.  In three at-bats Young recorded three hits--all singles--while scoring once and driving in another run.  His biggest impact came in the third inning, when he led off with a single and scored on David Wright's single.  Then, later in the third, Young punched a single to left that scored Ike Davis; it also knocked out Cole Hamels and put the Mets up 6-0.  This made him the first Mets pitcher ever to get two hits in an inning.  Regardless of how he fared on the mound, Young's night with the lumber was quite a sight to behold.

Y. Gallardo (MIL): CG, SO, 2 H, 2 K's; 1-3, 1 R vs. Braves

Like Chris Young, Yovani Gallardo contributed with his bat and with his arm.  He singled and scored the game's only run in the 3rd inning, and then went on to pitch a 2-hit shutout for the Brew Crew.  He delivered the second shutout of this young MLB season, and he did so in impressive fashion.  Gallardo didn't allow a hit other than two singles in the 1st and 8th innings.  He also didn't let any Braves baserunners past first base all night, inducing two double-play grounders in the process.  Though Gallardo did not pitch poorly in his opening day start (two runs allowed in six innings), he was utterly dominant last night in Milwaukee.