Is CC the New Sandman?

The injury-riddled New York Yankees entered the All-Star break on a low note, losing to the Minnesota Twins 10-4. It was CC Sabathia’s first loss against the Twins since 2007, and left the Yankees in fourth place. ESPN Stats & Info tweeted,

Last time the Yankees entered the All-Star Break in 4th place was in 1995. Their starting pitcher last game before break- Mariano Rivera
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 15, 2013

Here’s the box score from that game. Fun fact: After his no-decision, Mariano Rivera had pitched 29 innings and allowed 20 earned runs for a 6.21 ERA.

That was then: Over his last 29 innings, he's allowed six earned runs, a 1.86 ERA. Or look at those 20 earned runs: It’s taken him over two years, all the way back to April 24, 2011 to amass the same earned run total that he allowed over the first half of his rookie season of 1995. (OK, I know, he missed almost all of last year with a knee injury, but still.)