Philadelphia Phillies 5 New York Mets 4 (Game 1)- Kyle Kendrick gave up two earned runs on seven hits in 7.1 innings as he won in his first Phillies start of the season. Ben Francisco and Shane Victorino each hit a long ball for Philadelphia, who improved to 81-60 on the year, clinching a non-losing season. Anderson Hernandez blasted a two-run bomb for New York in the 8th inning, but it was not enough as the Mets reached the 80-loss milestone. Brad Lidge scattered two earned runs in the 9th, but prevailed with his 29th save in 39 chances.
Philadelphia Phillies 1 New York Mets 0 (Game 2)- Pedro Martinez threw 130 pitches in eight shutout innings, giving up six hits and striking out seven en route to his fifth victory of the season. Chase Utley singled in the lone run of the game in the 1st inning to lift the Phillies to their 82nd win of the year, clinching a winning season for the leaders of the NL East. Ryan Madson worked the 9th inning and picked up his 8th save of the year. Mets starter Tim Redding, despite giving up the one earned run, scattered just three hits in six innings; nevertheless, Redding was issued his 6th loss of the season. New York clinched a non-winning season with Loss #81 of the year.
Pittsburgh Pirates 2 Hosuton Astros 1- Paul Maholm allowed six hits in eight scoreless innings as he picked up his eighth victory of the season. Ryan Doumit hit a solo shot in the 8th while Garrett Jones added an RBI single in the 1st to lift Pittsburgh to Win #55 of the year. Lance Berkman blasted his 21st long ball of the season in the 9th inning, but Houston ended up losing its 73rd game of the year. Despite giving up the home run to Berkman, Matt Capps picked up his 25th save of the season.
Atlanta Braves 9 St. Louis Cardinals 2- Javier Vazquez held St. Louis to two earned runs on seven hits, pitching all nine innings to improve to 13-9 on the season. Adam LaRoche hit a long ball in the 9th inning and doubled in two runs in the 3rd to lift Atlanta to its 75th victory of the year. Yunel Escobar and Matt Diaz each had 2 RBIs for the Braves, who completed a three-game sweep over the Cardinals. Matt Holliday singled in two runs for St. Louis in the bottom of the 9th inning, but the Cardinals ended up reaching the 60-loss milestone.
Chicago Cubs 5 Cincinnati Reds 2- Ted Lilly allowed six hits in as many innings en route to his 12th victory of the season. Derrek Lee homered in the 7th inning while Andres Blanco drove in two runs to lift the Cubs to their 73rd win of the year. Drew Stubbs singled in both Cincinnati runs in the 9th inning, but it was not enough as the Reds fell to 64-79 on the season.
Boston Red Sox 3 Tampa Bay Rays 1 (Game 1)- Dustin Pedroia’s two-run bomb in the 8th inning broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Boston Red Sox to Win #83 of the season. Pedroia’s 13th home run of the year enabled Hideki Okajima to pick up his 6th victory of the season; Okajima pitched a perfect inning of relief. Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the 9th inning to pick up his 36th save in 39 chances. Jason Bartlett singled in the lone Tampa Bay run of the game, but the Rays ended up losing their 10th straight game; Tampa Bay has now reached the 70-loss milestone.
Boston Red Sox 4 Tampa Bay Rays 0 (Game 2)- Jon Lester improved to 13-7 as a starter after scattering two hits in eight scoreless innings. Jason Bay blasted his 32nd home run of the season in the 8th inning for the Red Sox, who won their 84th game of the season. Jason Varitek singled in two runs in the 6th while Mike Lowell added an RBI groundout in the 2nd. Tampa Bay extended its losing streak to eleven games, which ties for the third longest in franchise history. The Rays now stand at 72-71 on the year.
Kansas City Royals 7 Cleveland Indians 0- Kyle Davies didn’t give up a hit until the 6th inning as he won his 4th straight start; Davies finished the game giving up one hit in six innings as he picked up his 8th victory of the season. John Buck hit his 7th home run of the season in the 3rd inning for Kansas City, who improved to 57-86 on the year. Shin-Soo Choo and Matt LaPorta each got a hit against the Royals, but the Indians ended up losing their 81st game of the year, clinching a non-winning season.
Detroit Tigers 7 Toronto Blue Jays 2- Rick Porcello scattered two earned runs on four hits in six innings as he improved to 13-8 as a starter. Gerald Laird drove in two runs for Detroit, who earned Win #76 of the season. Edwin Encarnacion and Aaron Hill each drove in a run for the Blue Jays, but it was not enough as Toronto fell to 65-78 on the year. The win snaps Detroit’s five-game losing streak.
New York Yankees 13 Baltimore Orioles 3- C.C. Sabathia picked up his AL-leading 17th victory of the season after squandering three earned runs on five hits in seven innings. Hideki Matsui homered during an eight-run 8th inning to lift the Yankees to their 92nd win of the year. Melky Cabrera drove in four runs for the Yankees, who registered more hits in this game (20) than they did in the first two games of the series combined (19). Justin Turner, Chad Moeller, and Jeff Fiorentino each drove in a run for the Orioles, but Baltimore ended up suffering its 84th loss of the season.
Minnesota Twins 8 Oakland Athletics 0- Brian Duensing allowed eight hits in seven scoreless innings as he picked up his third victory of the season; Duensing walked three and struck out six. Joe Mauer blasted his 27th long ball of the year for Minnesota, who improved to 71-72 on the season. The Twins remain 5.5 games behind Detroit for first place in the AL Central. Oakland fell to 64-78 on the year.
Washington Nationals 7 Florida Marlins 2- John Lannan won for the first time in seven starts, improving to 9-11 on the season after scattering one earned run on six hits in five innings. The game actually ended with no outs in the bottom of the 9th inning due to rain. Pete Orr blasted his first long ball of the season in the 3rd inning for Washington, who reached the 50-win milestone. Jorge Cantu and Cody Ross singled in the runs for the Marlins, but it was not enough as Florida fell to 76-67 on the year.
San Diego Padres 7 Colorado Rockies 3- Tony Gwynn’s sacrifice fly in the 6th inning broke a 3-3 tie and lifted the San Diego Padres to Win #65 of the season. San Diego has now won 2 of 3 games in three consecutive series, all against NL West playoff contenders (Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and Colorado Rockies). Adam Russell picked up his second victory of the season after pitching a scoreless inning of relief. Will Venable blasted his 11th home run of the year in the 2nd inning for the Padres. Garrett Atkins tripled in two runs in the 4th inning for the Rockies, but Colorado ended up suffering its 62nd loss of the season. Colorado’s lead in the NL Wild Card is now down to 4.5 games over San Francisco.
San Francisco Giants 7 Los Angeles Dodgers 2- Brad Penny won his third game as a San Francisco Giant after squandering two earned runs on five hits in seven innings. Juan Uribe hit a two-run home run in the 2nd inning for San Francisco, who improved to 77-66 on the season. Russell Martin drove in both Los Angeles runs on a long ball in the 7th inning; it was not enough, however, as the Dodgers fell to 85-59 on the year. Los Angeles’ lead in the NL West is still at three games over Colorado.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3 Chicago White Sox 2- Torii Hunter’s home run in the 7th inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Angels to Win #86 of the season; it was Hunter’s 21st long ball of the year. Bobby Abreu and Maicer Izturis drove in the other runs for Los Angeles, who took two of three games from the White Sox. Carlos Quentin singled in both Chicago runs in the 1st inning, but it was not enough as the White Sox suffered their 73rd loss of the season. Brian Fuentes recorded the last two outs to pick up his major league-leading 41st save in 47 chances.
Milwaukee Brewers 5 Arizona Diamondbacks 3- Prince Fielder’s home run in the 4th inning tied Milwaukee’s single-season RBI record and lifted the Brewers to Win #69 of the year. Milwaukee scored four more in the 7th inning en route to completing a three-game sweep of Arizona. Chris Young blasted a 4th inning home run of his own for the Diamondbacks, who fell to 62-82 on the year, clinching a losing season. Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect 9th inning and earned his 32nd save in 35 chances.
Texas Rangers 7 Seattle Mariners 2 (Game 1)- Tommy Hunter pitched his first complete game, squandering two runs (only one was earned) on six hits en route to Win #8 of the season. Chris Davis, David Murphy, and Nelson Cruz homered for the Rangers, who reached the 80-win milestone. Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the 3rd inning to give him 199 hits on the season; one more and Ichiro will have set a major league record with nine consecutive 200-hit seasons. Adrian Beltre singled in the other run for the Mariners, who reached the 70-loss milestone.
Seattle Mariners 5 Texas Rangers 0 (Game 2)- Ichiro Suzuki’s infield single in the 2nd inning enabled him to break the MLB record for most consecutive seasons with at least 200 hits; Ichiro’s single also scored Josh Wilson to make it 2-0 Seattle. Adrian Beltre hit a two-run bomb in the 5th inning for the Mariners, who won their 74th game of the year. Mariners starter Felix Hernandez earned membership in the MLB’s 15-win club after holding Texas to four hits in seven shutout innings; Hernandez walked one and struck out five. The Rangers fell to 80-62 on the season.
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