Chicago Cubs 5 New York Mets 2- Alfonso Soriano’s three-run blast in the 8th inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Chicago Cubs to Win #64 of the season. Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez singled in the other runs for Chicago. Carlos Marmol shut down the Mets in the 9th inning to earn his 6th save of the year. Omir Santos and Fernando Tatis drove in the runs for the Mets, but it was not enough as New York fell to 58-71 on the season.
Cincinnati Reds 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 2- Homer Bailey scattered seven hits in eight scoreless innings as he picked up his 4th victory of the season. Jonny Gomes blasted his 16th long ball of the year in the 6th inning for Cincinnati, who improved to 56-71 on the season; Gomes finished the game with 2 RBIs. Los Angeles scored both of its runs in the 9th inning: one on a James Loney solo home run, and the other on an Andre Ethier RBI strikeout. However, the Dodgers ended up losing their 53rd game of the year.
San Diego Padres 9 Florida Marlins 5- Behind a six-run 2nd inning, the San Diego Padres won their 55th game of the season. Kevin Correia improved to 9-10 as a starter after squandering four earned runs on eleven hits in 6.2 innings. Kyle Blanks went deep in the 2nd inning for the Padres; it was Blanks’ 10th home run of the year. Wes Helms drove in two runs for the Marlins, but Florida ended up suffering Loss #61 of the season.
Milwaukee Brewers 8 Pittsburgh Pirates 6- Manny Parra won his 9th game of the season, allowing six earned runs on ten hits in six innings; Parra also drove in a run with an infield single in the 1st inning. Prince Fielder, Jason Bourgeois, and Ryan Braun all homered for the Brew Crew, who earned Win #62 of the season. Andrew McCutchen hit his 10th home run of the year in the 6th inning, but it was not enough as the Pirates fell to 53-73 on the season; McCutchen ended the game with 4 RBIs.
St. Louis Cardinals 3 Washington Nationals 2- Albert Pujols’ 41st home run of the season was a walk-off solo shot that lifted the Cardinals to their 75th victory of the season. Khalil Greene tied the game in the bottom of the 8th inning when his solo home run leveled the score at two. Jason Motte, who pitched a scoreless 9th inning for St. Louis, earned his 4th victory of the season. Pete Orr and Josh Bard drove in the runs for the Nationals, but Washington ended up losing its 83rd game of the year.
Philadelphia Phillies 4 Atlanta Braves 2- Ryan Howard blasted two home runs to lead the Phillies to their 74th victory of the season. The game was delayed for 63 minutes due to rain in the bottom of the 2nd inning; after seven minutes of baseball, the game was delayed for an additional 45 minutes. Matt Diaz and Chipper Jones drove in the runs for Atlanta, but it was not enough as the Braves fell to 67-61 on the year. Brad Lidge pitched a perfect 9th and earned his 26th save of the season.
Baltimore Orioles 13 Cleveland Indians 4- Jason Berken won his second straight start, giving up two earned runs on five hits in five innings; Berken was credited with his 4th victory of the season. Felix Pie and Nick Markakis blasted long balls for the Orioles, who improved to 53-76 on the year; Pie ended the game with 3 RBIs. Matt Wieters led all batters with 4 RBIs for Baltimore. Matt LaPorta went deep for Cleveland in the 6th inning, but the Indians ended up losing their 71st game of the season.
Detroit Tigers 6 Tampa Bay Rays 2- Behind a five-run 4th inning, the Detroit Tigers earned Win #68 of the season. Brandon Inge hit a long ball in the 2nd inning and scored another run in the 4th for Detroit, who held Tampa Bay to six hits. Rick Porcello was credited with his 11th win of the year after scattering one earned run on four hits in 5.2 innings. Gabe Kapler hit a solo home run in the 9th inning for Tampa Bay, but the Rays ended up on the short side of an MLB baseball game for the 58th time this year.
New York Yankees 5 Chicago White Sox 2- Robinson Cano’s three-run blast in the 10th inning lifted the Yankees to the 80-win milestone. Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon also homered for New York, who stranded nine men on base. Chicago scored both of its runs in the 7th inning on an Alex Rios RBI double and a Gordon Beckham RBI single; it was not enough, however, as the White Sox suffered their 65th loss of the season. Brian Burney, who worked the 10th inning for New York, earned his 4th victory of the year.
Minnesota Twins 3 Texas Rangers 2- Three runs in the 1st inning were all Brian Duensing needed to earn Win #2 of the season. Duensing gave up one earned run on three hits in seven strong innings for Minnesota, striking out eight batters in the process. Joe Mauer, Jason Kubel, and Michael Cuddyer each drove in a run for Minnesota, who improved to 64-64 on the year. Joe Nathan gave up a run in the 9th inning, but managed to earn his 33rd save of the season. Josh Hamilton and David Murphy drove in the runs for Texas, who fell to 71-56 on the year.
Arizona Diamondbacks 14 Houston Astros 7- John Hester hit a big-time long ball in his first major league at-bat, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks to their 57th win of the season. Miguel Montero and Alex Romero also went deep for Arizona, who won three of its last twelve games. Jeff Keppinger and Hunter Pence homered for Houston, but it was not enough as the Astros fell to 62-66 on the year. Max Scherzer scattered six runs (five earned) on five hits in six innings as he picked up his 8th victory of the season.
San Francisco Giants 2 Colorado Rockies 0- Tim Lincecum ended a four-start winless streak, striking out eight in as many innings to improve to 13-4 on the season; Lincecum gave up four hits and three walks. Pablo Sandoval hit a solo home run in the 5th inning for the Giants, who reached the 70-win milestone. Eugenio Velez drove in the other run for San Francisco, who pulled to within two games of Colorado in the NL Wild Card.
Seattle Mariners 6 Kansas City Royals 3- Felix Hernandez squandered three earned runs on five hits in seven innings as he picked up his 13th victory of the year. Josh Wilson registered his first 3-RBI game in over two years to lift the Mariners to their 67th win of the season. Mitch Maier hit a two-run home run in the 5th inning for Kansas City, but the Royals ended up losing their 79th game of the season. David Aardsma earned Save #31 of the year after shutting down the Royals in the 9th inning.
Boston Red Sox 6 Toronto Blue Jays 5- Jason Varitek’s play at the plate prevented Toronto from scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the 8th inning. In the bottom half, Casey Kotchman broke the 5-5 tie with a fielder’s choice that scored David Ortiz; Boston went on to win its 74th game of the season. Jason Bay blasted his 29th home run of the season in the 5th inning to level the score at five. Josh Beckett allowed five earned runs on as many hits in as many innings, but did not factor in the decision; Beckett allowed a three-run home run to Aaron Hill in the 2nd and two-run bomb to Rod Barajas in the 5th. Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the 9th inning to earn his 31st save of the year.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 11 Oakland Athletics 7- Behind seven runs in the seventh inning, the Angels improved to 76-51 on the season. Kendry Morales went 5-for-5 with 6 RBIs, hitting two long balls for Los Angeles. Scott Hairston went deep for the Athletics in the 3rd inning, but Oakland ended up suffering its 72nd loss of the year. Brian Fuentes earned Save #37 of the season after recording the final two outs of the 9th inning.
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