Toronto Blue Jays 5 Tampa Bay Rays 1- Brett Cecil improved to 4-1 as a starter after he gave up one earned run on four hits in seven innings; the lone Tampa run was scored on a Carl Crawford solo shot in the 6th inning. Scott Rolen’s three-run home run in the 4th inning lifted the Jays to their 48th victory of the season. Rays starter Jeff Niemann suffered his first loss in his last six decisions.
New York Yankees 7 Oakland Athletics 5- A four-run 1st and a three-run 6th propelled the Yankees to their 60th victory of the season. Down 5-4 in the bottom of the 6th inning, Derek Jeter singled in two runs to give the Yankees a 5-6 lead; Mark Teixeira drove in an insurance run for New York. Mark Ellis went deep in the top of the 6th inning for Oakland, who fell to 41-56 on the year.
Baltimore Orioles 6 Boston Red Sox 2- David Hernandez allowed one earned run on five hits in seven innings as he improved to 3-2 as a starter. Nick Markakis hit a home run in the 5th inning for Baltimore, who improved to 42-55 on the year; Markakis finished the game with 3 RBIs. Jed Lowrie and Dustin Pedroia drove in the only Boston runs of the game.
Washington Nationals 3 San Diego Padres 2- Down 2-1 heading into the 9th inning, San Diego forced extra innings when Kyle Blanks hit a solo shot to tie the game at two. However, Washington was not to be denied as Austin Kearns’ RBI single lifted the Nationals to their 30th victory of the season. Josh Willingham hit a solo shot for Washington in the 7th inning.
Philadelphia Phillies 9 St. Louis Cardinals 2- Behind two-run blasts from Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Raul Ibanez, the Philadelphia Phillies won their 56th game of the season. Joe Blanton squandered two earned runs on seven hits in eight innings as he picked up Win #7 of the year. Mark DeRosa homered for the Cardinals, who fell to 53-48 on the season.
Atlanta Braves 10 Milwaukee Brewers 2- Behind a three-run blast from Casey Kotchman and a couple of great catches by Nate McLouth, the Atlanta Braves improved to 51-48 on the year with a 10-2 victory over the Brew Crew. Derek Lowe joined the 10-win club after giving up two earned runs on nine hits in six innings; Lowe gave up a two-run home run to Corey Hart in the 6th inning. Brian McCann and Kelly Johnson also went deep for the Braves.
Texas Rangers 7 Kansas City Royals 2- Ian Kinsler’s pop fly to second base in the 7th inning should have ended the inning. Instead, Alberto Callaspo dropped the ball, allowing Nelson Cruz to score the first run of the game. Two runs later, the Rangers led 3-0 heading into the stretch. Andruw Jones homered for Texas during a 4-run 8th inning as the Rangers improved to 54-42 on the year.
Minnesota Twins 10 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1- Anthony Swarzak gave up one earned run on four hits in 6.2 innings as he improved to 3-3 as a starter; he gave up a solo shot to Kendry Morales in the 4th inning. Justin Morneau homered twice while Denard Span went deep once for Minnesota, who won its 49th game of the season.
Cleveland Indians 12 Seattle Mariners 3- Cliff Lee gave up two earned runs on six hits in seven innings on his way to his seventh victory of the season; the two runs Lee allowed were scored on a two-run Franklin Gutierrez single in the 1st inning. Jhonny Peralta hit a grand slam for the Indians, who improved to 41-58 on the year; Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and Ben Francisco also homered for Cleveland.
New York Mets 8 Houston Astros 3- Livan Hernandez gave up three earned runs on eight hits in seven innings as he improved to 7-5 as a starter; he gave up all three runs in the 1st inning, but struck out a season-high seven. Luis Castillo, Jeff Francoeur, and David Wright each drove in two runs for the Mets, who improved to 46-41 on the year. For the Astros, they fell to 50-48 on the season.
Chicago Cubs 5 Cincinnati Reds 2- Rich Harden gave up one earned run on one hit in six innings as he improved to 7-6 as a starter; his only mistake of the game was allowing a solo shot to Joey Votto in the 1st inning. With this win, the Cubs improved to 51-45 on the year and moved a half-game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Colorado Rockies 4 San Francisco Giants 2- Aaron Cook squandered two earned runs on nine hits in seven innings as he won his 10th game of the season. Brad Hawpe, Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, and Yorvit Torrealba drove in the runs for Colorado, who improved to 54-44 on the year. Huston Street worked the 9th inning and earned his 25th save of the season.
Arizona Diamondbacks 9 Pittsburgh Pirates 0- Max Scherzer gave up five hits in seven scoreless innings as he improved to 6-6 as a starter. Mark Reynolds and Gerardo Parra each hit a two-run blast for Arizona, who won its 43rd game of the season. The Pirates were shut out for the second consecutive game and for the eleventh time this season, leading the majors.
Florida Marlins 8 Los Angeles Dodgers 6- The Marlins scored the first eight runs of the game and held on to win by a score of 8 to 6. Chris Volstad gave up four earned runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings as he picked up his 8th victory of the season. Dan Uggla homered for the Marlins, who improved to 51-48 on the year. Russell Martin went deep for Los Angeles, but it wasn’t enough as the Dodgers suffered their 36th loss of the season.
Chicago White Sox 5 Detroit Tigers 1- Clayton Richard gave up one earned run on five hits in eight innings as he improved to 4-3 as a starter; Ryan Raburn drove in the only run off Richard. Paul Konerko and Gordon Beckham both went deep for the White Sox, who improved to 51-48 on the year. As for the Tigers, they fell to 52-45 on the season.
Photo Source: www.photobucket.com
