Chicago White Sox 4 Chicago Cubs 1- White Sox starter John Danks allowed just one earned run on five hits in seven innings as he was credited with his fifth victory of the season; the only run Danks allowed was scored on an Alfonso Soriano RBI groundout in the 8th inning. Alexei Ramirez went deep for the White Sox in the first inning.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4 San Francisco Giants 3- Behind a three-run 8th inning, the Angels defeated the Giants by a score of 4 to 3, ending Tim Lincecum’s six-game winning streak. Lincecum, who hadn’t lost a game since April 12, pitched eight innings, allowing four runs (only three were earned) on eight hits. Travis Ishikawa homered for San Francisco in the 7th inning to give the Giants a 3-1 lead. However, a Chone Figgins RBI double, Erick Aybar RBI infield single, and a Juan Rivera RBI groundout allowed the Angels to take a one-run lead in the 8th inning. The Angels held on as Brian Fuentes recorded his 18th save of the season.
Toronto Blue Jays 7 Philadelphia Phillies 1- Scott Richmond struck out eleven in eight innings as he helped the Toronto Blue Jays earn their 36th victory of the season. Richmond allowed just one earned run on five hits during his time on the mound; the one Phillies run came off the bat of Jayson Werth, who hid a solo shot to right field in the 4th inning. Rod Barajas, Aaron Hill, and Scott Rolen all went deep for Toronto, who handed the Phillies their 18th loss at home.
St. Louis Cardinals 4 Detroit Tigers 3- Colby Rasmus and Yadier Molina each went 3-for-4 as they helped the Cardinals defeat the Tigers by one run; Molina’s 5th home run of the season was a solo shot in the 2nd inning. Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer allowed two earned runs on six hits in 5.1 innings as he went on to take his 6th win of the season. Curtis Granderson went deep twice for Detroit, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers fell to 34-31 on the season.
Colorado Rockies 5 Tampa Bay Rays 3- One day after the Tampa Bay Rays ended the Colorado Rockies’ winning ways, the Rockies did the same to the Rays. With a two-run victory over Tampa Bay, Colorado ended the Rays’ six-game winning streak. Troy Tulowitzki’s three-run blast in the 2nd inning as well as Chris Ianetta’s solo shot in the 4th helped the Rockies earn their 32nd win of the season. Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria both went deep for the Rays, but it wasn’t enough as Tampa Bay fell to 35-32 on the year.
Seattle Mariners 4 San Diego Padres 3- Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley both went deep for San Diego, but it wasn’t enough as Seattle handed the Padres their 13th consecutive loss against an American League team; the 13 losses is an MLB record for most consecutive interleague games lost. Jose Lopez’s two-run home run propelled the Mariners to their 32nd victory of the season.
Cincinnati Reds 4 Atlanta Braves 3- Micah Owings not only won his 4th game of the season as a starting pitcher; he also scored the game-winning run. Owings’ three-run blast in the 5th inning gave Cincinnati a 4-2 lead. Jay Bruce also went deep for the Reds. Yunel Escobar hit his 7th home run of the year for Atlanta, but it wasn’t enough as the Braves extended their losing streak to four games.
Oakland Athletics 5 Los Angeles Dodgers 4- Rajai Davis and Jack Cust went deep for Oakland in the 3rd inning to give Oakland a 4-0 lead. The Athletics led 5 to 2 in the 7th inning when Andre Ethier’s RBI single scored two for the Dodgers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Oakland held on for their 28th victory of the season.
Baltimore Orioles 6 New York Mets 4- Matt Wieters and Aubrey Huff both went deep for Baltimore as the Orioles improved to 28-37 on the season; Huff’s 9th long ball of the year broke a 4-4 tie in the 7th inning. Gary Sheffield hit his 507th career home run for the Mets in the 6th inning.
Milwaukee Brewers 9 Cleveland Indians 8- Trevor Hoffman may have blown a four-run lead for the Brew Crew, but not even that could help the Indians avoid a sweep. Thanks to a J.J. Hardy sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, Milwaukee won by one run and improved their record to 37-29; Hardy also went deep for the Brewers in the 2nd inning.
Washington Nationals 3 New York Yankees 2- John Lannan allowed two earned runs on four hits in 8.1 innings of work on the mound as he was credited with his 4th victory of the season; the only runs he allowed were solo home runs from Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon. Adam Dunn went deep for the Nationals, who have won just their 17th game of the season. Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang gave up three earned runs on six hits in just 5 innings; he fell to 0-5 as a starter.
Boston Red Sox 6 Florida Marlins 1- With the Boston Red Sox’s 500th consecutive sellout comes Brad Penny’s 100th career victory. Penny allowed an unearned run on three hits in five innings as he helped the Red Sox win their 40th game of the season. Jacoby Ellsbury hit his third home run of the year in the 7th inning.
Texas Rangers 5 Houston Astros 4- Ivan Rodriguez has passed Carlton Fisk for most MLB games played behind home plate. Unfortunately, his team lost in his 2,227th game as a catcher. David Murphy’s RBI single in the 10th inning gave the Rangers their 37th victory of the season. Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence went deep for Houston, but it wasn’t enough as the Astros have lost their 34th game of the season.
Arizona Diamondbacks 12 Kansas City Royals 5- Mark Reynolds struck out three times in his first three plate appearances, but the fourth time was a charm as his two-run blast in the 7th inning chased Royals starter Zack Greinke off the mound; Greinke finished the night allowing six runs (only four were earned) on eight hits. The Diamondbacks scored six more runs in the 8th and 9th as they improved their record to 28-38.
Pittsburgh Pirates 8 Minnesota Twins 2- Andrew McCutchen and the LaRoche brothers all went deep for Pittsburgh as the Pirates improved to 31-34 on the season. Ian Snell allowed two runs on five hits in six innings as he won just his second game of the season. Minnesota scored their only runs of the game in the 3rd inning when Joe Crede’s RBI double scored Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel.
