Cincinnati Reds 7 Chicago Cubs 5- Drew Sutton’s two-run double in the 9th inning broke a 5-5 tie and lifted Cincinnati to Win #64 of the season. Drew Stubbs, Brandon Phillips, Darnell McDonald, Joey Votto, and Scott Rolen each drove in a run for Cincinnati, who jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four innings. Geovany Soto led all batters with 2 RBIs for the Cubs, but it was not enough as Chicago fell to 72-68 on the year. Francisco Cordero worked the 9th inning for Cincinnati and picked up his 34th save in 37 chances.
Baltimore Orioles 7 New York Yankees 3- Behind a six-run 2nd inning, the Baltimore Orioles improved to 58-83 on the season after defeating the Yankees for the second straight day. Brian Matusz gave up one earned run on four hits in seven innings as he picked up his 5th victory of the year; Matusz struck out three as he won his third straight start. Brian Roberts blasted a grand slam while Nolan Reimold hit a solo shot in the 2nd inning for Baltimore. Mark Teixeira, Melky Cabrera, and Jorge Posada each drove in a run for New York, who fell to 91-52 on the season.
Oakland Athletics 4 Minnesota Twins 2- Brett Anderson improved to 9-10 as a starter after holding Minnesota to two earned runs on five hits in seven innings. Five of the six runs scored in the game were scored off sacrifice flies; Cliff Pennington’s RBI double drove in the other run of the game for Oakland, who earned Win #64 of the season. Eric Patterson, Rajai Davis, and Kurt Suzuki each hit a sacrifice fly for the Athletics. Denard Span and Jason Kubel hit the sacrifice flies for Minnesota, who fell to 70-72 on the year. Andrew Bailey worked the 9th inning for Oakland to earn his 23rd save in 27 chances.
New York Mets 10 Philadelphia Phillies 9- Down 9-8 in the top of the 9th inning, David Wright blasted his second two-run home run of the game to lift the Mets to their 63rd victory of the season; Wright finished the game with 6 RBIs. Carlos Beltran also hit a two-run blast for New York in the 1st inning. Pedro Feliz, Chase Utley, and Raul Ibanez each homered for the Phillies, but it was not enough as Philadelphia reached the 60-loss milestone. Ryan Madson blew his sixth save and fell to 5-5 on the season. Francisco Rodriguez, however, earned his 31st save of the year after shutting down the Phillies in the 9th inning.
Atlanta Braves 7 St. Louis Cardinals 6- Trailing 5-4 in the middle of the 8th inning, St. Louis scored two to take a 6-5 lead. However, in the top of the 9th inning, Atlanta answered back when Brian McCann hit a two-run double to lift the Braves to their 74th victory of the season. Ryan Franklin, who gave up the two runs in the 9th inning, blew his second consecutive save and his fourth of the year; Franklin fell to 2-3 on the season. Tim Hudson blasted his first career long ball in the 2nd inning to give Atlanta a 3-2 lead; on the mound, however, he squandered four earned runs on ten hits in five innings. Mike Gonzalez was credited with his 4th victory of the season despite giving up the two runs in the 8th inning, and Rafael Soriano worked the 9th inning for his 24th save in 28 chances.
Chicago White Sox 4 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3- Kevin Jepsen’s wild pitch in the 10th inning enabled Scott Podsednik to score the go-ahead run for Chicago, who ended up winning its 71st game of the season. Podsednik also scored on an inside-the-park home run in the 3rd inning. Gordon Beckham also hit a home run for Chicago, but of the outside-the-park variety. Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, and Maicer Izturis each drove in a run for Los Angeles, but it was not enough as the Angels fell to 85-56 on the year. Tony Pena picked up the save after recording the final two outs for the White Sox.
Houston Astros 4 Pittsburgh Pirates 2- Carlos Lee and Miguel Tejada each blasted a two-run shot to lift Houston to the 70-win milestone; Tejada’s long ball in the 7th inning broke a 2-2 tie and enabled Jeff Fulchino to pick up his sixth victory of the season. Ramon Vazquez and Andy LaRoche each drove in a run for the Pirates, but it was not enough as Pittsburgh fell to 54-86 on the year. Jose Valverde picked up his 23rd save of the season after shutting down the Pirates in the 9th inning.
Cleveland Indians 13 Kansas City Royals 6- David Huff joined the MLB’s 10-win club after scattering three earned runs on seven hits in six innings. Shin-Soo Choo homered in the 5th inning while Jhonny Peralta added 4 RBIs for Cleveland, who improved to 61-80 on the season. Willie Bloomquist and Mike Jacobs each drove in two runs for the Royals, but Kansas City ended up suffering Loss #86 of the year.
Toronto Blue Jays 8 Detroit Tigers 6- Aaron Hill’s two-run blast in the top of the 9th inning broke a 6-6 tie and lifted the Blue Jays to their 65th win of the season. Rod Barajas, Vernon Wells, and Marco Scutaro also went deep for the Blue Jays. Detroit scored all of its runs off home runs from Curtis Granderson, Alex Avila, and Miguel Cabrera; nevertheless, the Tigers suffered their 5th consecutive loss and fell to 75-66 on the year. Jason Frasor recorded the final out of the game for Toronto and earned his 10th save in 12 chances.
Florida Marlins 11 Washington Nationals 3- Jorge Cantu drove in the first five runs for Florida via a three-run blast and a two-run double to lift Florida to Win #76 of the season. Gaby Sanchez added his first career long ball for Florida, who won four of its last five games. Justin Maxwell homered twice for the Nationals, but it was not enough as Washington fell to 49-93 on the year. Tim Wood pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of relief and earned his first major league victory.
Milwaukee Brewers 9 Arizona Diamondbacks 2- Dave Bush earned a win for the first time in almost four months, squandering one earned run on five hits in seven innings; Bush struck out eleven en route to his fourth victory of the season. Casey McGehee blasted two long balls to lift Milwaukee to Win #68 of the year; McGehee finished the game with 6 RBIs. Gerardo Parra and Chris Young each drove in a run for the Diamondbacks; it was not enough, however, as Arizona fell to 62-81 on the year, clinching a non-winning season.
Los Angeles Dodgers 9 San Francisco Giants 1- Vincente Padilla held San Francisco to one unearned run on three hits in six innings, picking up his third victory of the season in a Dodgers uniform. Russell Martin and James Loney went deep for Los Angeles, who improved to 85-58 on the year. The Giants, who are now 76-66, have lost their fourth consecutive game and five of their last six games.
Boston Red Sox 9 Tampa Bay Rays 1- Josh Beckett won his first game in a month, and the game didn’t even last six innings; the game was called in the top of the 6th inning due to rain. Beckett pitched the whole five innings for Boston, giving up one earned run on four hits in five innings; Beckett struck out four before joining the MLB’s 15-win club. Boston scored eight in the 3rd inning en route to Win #82 of the year, clinching a winning season for the Red Sox. Kevin Youkilis added his 25th home run of the year in the 4th inning. Jason Bartlett singled in the lone Tampa Bay run of the game; the Rays, who fell to 72-69 on the season, have now lost nine consecutive games.
Seattle Mariners 8 Texas Rangers 3- Brandon Morrow picked up his first victory since September 26, 2008 after allowing three earned runs on five hits in five innings. Ichiro Suzuki homered and added another hit to lift the Mariners to their 73rd win of the season; Ichiro now needs two more hits for a record 9th consecutive 200-hit season. The game actually ended in the bottom of the 9th inning due to rain. Julio Borbon drove in all three runs for the Rangers: two on a 3rd inning home run, and one on a 5th inning groundout. It was not enough, however, as Texas fell to 79-61 on the year.
San Diego Padres 3 Colorado Rockies 2- A walk-off walk drawn by Nick Hundley lifted the San Diego Padres to their 64th victory of the season. Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley each drove in a run in the 1st inning for San Diego. Troy Tulowitzki went deep in the 6th inning for Colorado, but it was not enough as the Rockies fell to 82-61 on the season. The loss snaps Colorado’s eight-game winning streak. Yorvit Torrealba forced extra innings when his RBI single in the 9th inning drove in Dexter Fowler; it was the second straight night San Diego closer Heath Bell blew a save.
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