Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8 Kansas City Royals 5 (Game 1)- Ervin Santana allowed five earned runs on eight hits in six innings, but was able to pick up his third win of the season. Mike Napoli’s long ball in the 6th inning tied the game at 5, and the Angels would score three more to improve to 53-38 on the year. Billy Butler went deep in the 5th inning for the Royals, who lost their 55th game of the season.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 10 Kansas City Royals 2 (Game 2)- Sean O’Sullivan squandered two earned runs on six hits in 5.1 innings as he won his third game of the season. Kansas City scored the first two runs of the game, but a Robb Quinlan long ball in the 3rd inning started the 10-run rally for the Angels, who improved to 54-38 on the season. Erick Aybar registered seven hits in the doubleheader.
Atlanta Braves 8 San Francisco Giants 1- Derek Lowe allowed one earned run on seven hits in six innings as he improved to 9-7 as a starter. Brian McCann hit a three-run blast in the fourth inning for Atlanta, who won its 48th game of the season. The lone Giants run came off the bat of Juan Uribe, whose RBI single in the 5th inning scored Matt Downs.
Washington Nationals 4 New York Mets 0- John Lannan pitched a complete game seven-hitter to earn his seventh victory of the season; it was his first career shutout. Alberto Gonzalez, Wil Nieves, Adam Dunn, and Josh Willingham each drove in a run for the Nationals, who improved to 27-66 on the year. With this win, Washington snapped a six-game losing skid.
Milwaukee Brewers 2 Pittsburgh Pirates 0- Braden Looper squandered four hits in seven innings as he won his ninth game of the season. The Brewers scored both of their runs the same way: Prince Fielder singled in Craig Counsell and advanced Ryan Braun to third base. Pittsburgh starter Virgil Vasquez allowed the two earned runs on nine hits in 6.2 innings as he lost his fourth consecutive start.
Cleveland Indians 2 Toronto Blue Jays 1- Cliff Lee pitched the whole game, allowing one earned run on seven hits; the one run came off the bat of Scott Rolen, whose 7th inning blast gave Toronto a 1-0 lead. However, in the top of the 9th inning, Victor Martinez’s two-run double scored Grady Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera, allowing Lee to earn his sixth victory of the season.
Detroit Tigers 9 Seattle Mariners 7- Rick Porcello allowed five earned runs on nine hits in five innings, but it was good enough for him to pick up win #9 on the year. Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco, and Miguel Cabrera all homered for the Tigers, who improved to 49-42 on the year. Jack Hannahan went deep twice while Ryan Langerhans and Wladimir Balentien each hit one long ball for Seattle, but it wasn’t enough as the Mariners fell to 49-44 on the season.
Philadelphia Phillies 4 Chicago Cubs 1- Jayson Werth’s three-run blast in the 13th inning lifted the Phillies to their tenth consecutive victory, their longest winning streak in eighteen years. Jimmy Rollins also went deep for Philadelphia, who improved to 53-38 on the season. Kosuke Fukudome doubled in the lone Chicago run in the 4th inning.
Houston Astros 11 St. Louis Cardinals 6- Wandy Rodriguez allowed one earned run on four hits in seven innings as he picked up his tenth victory of the season. Carlos Lee hit a grand slam while Hunter Pence and Geoff Blum also went deep for the Astros, who improved to 48-46 on the year. Mark DeRosa went deep twice while Ryan Ludwick hit a three-run blast for St. Louis, who fell to 51-45 on the season.
New York Yankees 6 Baltimore Orioles 4- Sergio Mitre allowed four runs (only three were earned) on eight hits in 5.2 innings as he won his first game in two years. Robinson Cano hit a two-run blast in the 4th inning for New York, who took a one-game lead over Boston in the AL East. Mariano Rivera worked the 9th inning and earned his 27th save of the season.
Texas Rangers 4 Boston Red Sox 2- Tommy Hunter squandered just one earned run on four hits in six innings as he improved to 2-1 as a starter; Hunter outdueled Josh Beckett, who pitched all eight half-innings during which the Rangers were batting. With this loss, the Red Sox have lost four in a row and dropped out of first place in the AL East. C.J. Wilson allowed one run in the 9th inning, but was able to earn his 9th save of the season.
Tampa Bay Rays 3 Chicago White Sox 2- A two-run 9th inning propelled the Rays to their 52nd victory of the season. Tampa Bay didn’t even score their runs off hits; instead, two sacrifice flies and a bases-loaded walk were good enough for the Rays to achieve yet another come-from-behind victory. Jeff Niemann allowed two earned runs on eight hits in eight innings, but prevailed with his ninth victory of the season.
Arizona Diamondbacks 6 Colorado Rockies 5- Justin Upton drove in the first three runs for Arizona, who trailed 4-3 heading into the 7th inning. Miguel Montero scored the tying run on a Stephen Drew RBI single and hit the game-winning two-run blast in the 8th inning to lift the Diamondbacks to their 40th victory of the season. Chad Qualls shut down the Rockies in the 9th inning to earn his 18th save of the season. Troy Tulowitzki went deep in the 2nd inning for the Rockies, who fell to 51-43 on the season.
Minnesota Twins 3 Oakland Athletics 2- Michael Cuddyer finally got his revenge after being called out on a disputed play at the plate. His RBI-triple in the 10th inning scored Joe Mauer, lifting the Twins to their 48th victory of the season. Joe Nathan closed the door on the Athletics in the bottom of the 10th inning to earn his 26th save of the season.
Florida Marlins 3 San Diego Padres 2- For the second consecutive day, the Marlins defeated the Padres by a score of 3 to 2. Chris Volstad allowed one earned run on four hits in seven innings en route to his seventh victory of the season. Leo Nunez worked the 9th inning for Florida and allowed a home run to Kyle Blanks; fortunately for Nunez, he prevailed with his sixth save of the season.
Los Angeles Dodgers 12 Cincinnati Reds 3- Rafael Furcal went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored, leading his Dodgers to their 60th victory of the season; he hit a two-run blast in the 5th inning to give the Dodgers a 12-1 lead. However, the win came at a cost as Manny Ramirez was hit on his left hand by a Homer Bailey pitch in the third inning; he went to the hospital for X-rays, which were negative, and is listed as day-to-day. Randy Wolf improved to 5-4 as a starter after giving up two earned runs on four hits in 7.1 innings. Matt Kemp also went deep for the Dodgers in the 2nd inning. Jonny Gomes and Joey Votto went deep for the Reds, who fell to 44-49 on the year.
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