Florida Marlins 5 St. Louis Cardinals 2- Josh Johnson joined the MLB’s 15-win club after holding St. Louis to one earned run on nine hits in six innings. Cody Ross had two RBI singles while Dan Uggla, John Baker, and Jorge Cantu each drove in a run to lift the Marlins to their 78th victory of the season. Julio Lugo and Albert Pujols each had 1 RBI for the Cardinals, who suffered their 62nd loss of the year. Leo Nunez recorded the final two outs for Florida to earn his 22nd save in 28 chances.
Los Angeles Dodgers 3 Pittsburgh Pirates 1- Down 1-0 after five innings, Matt Kemp hit a two-run bomb to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the 6th inning. Ronnie Belliard, who scored on Kemp’s 24th home run of the season, also went deep in the 8th inning for Los Angeles, who improved to 88-59 on the year. Dodgers starter Hideki Kuroda picked up his 7th win of the season after squandering one earned run on six hits in six innings. The Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh, who fell to 55-89 on the year. Jason Jaramillo singled in the lone run of the game for the Pirates in the 2nd inning.
San Diego Padres 6 Arizona Diamondbacks 5- Down 5-3 in the middle of the 9th inning, Adrian Gonzalez belted a two-run blast to level the score at five and force extra innings. In the 10th inning, Everth Cabrera’s walk-off RBI single scored Luis Durango and lifted San Diego to Win #66 of the year. The Padres avoided clinching a losing season (at least for now) as closer Heath Bell picked up his 6th win of the year. Augie Ojeda, Chris Young, Justin Upton, and Mark Reynolds each drove in a run for Arizona, but it was not enough as the Diamondbacks fell victim to their opponent for the 83rd time this season.
Minnesota Twins 7 Cleveland Indians 3- Nick Blackburn joined the MLB’s 10-win club after scattering two earned runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings. Michael Cuddyer homered in the 5th inning to lift the Twins to their 74th victory of the season; Cuddyer finished the game with 3 RBIs. Joe Mauer added a two-run single in the 4th inning for Minnesota, who completed a three-game sweep over Cleveland. Matt LaPorta drove in all three runs for Cleveland: two on a 7th inning home run, and one on an 8th inning RBI single. It was not enough, however, as the Indians fell to 61-84 on the year. Joe Nathan picked up his 41st save in 46 chances after striking out the final two batters. Minnesota extended its winning streak to four games while Cleveland has lost just as many games in a row.
Philadelphia Phillies 6 Washington Nationals 1- Jayson Werth’s grand slam in the 7th inning powered the Phillies to their 84th victory of the season. Joe Blanton joined the MLB’s 10-win club after limiting the Nationals to five hits in six shutout innings. Chase Utley stole home in the 1st, and Pedro Feliz drove in the other Philadelphia run in the 6th inning. Willie Harris singled in the lone Nationals run of the game in the 9th inning; Washington fell to 50-95 on the year.
Cincinnati Reds 6 Houston Astros 5- A wild pitch by Jeff Fulchino enabled Joey Votto to break a 5-5 tie and score the go-ahead run. It proved to be the game-winning run as the Reds won their 67th game of the season. Jonny Gomes and Drew Stubbs each hit a long ball for Cincinnati. Houston scored all of its runs off solo home runs: two from Jeff Keppinger, and one each from Kazuo Matsui, Carlos Lee, and Geoff Blum. However, not even a five home run day could prevent the Astros from suffering their 76th loss of the year. Francisco Cordero slammed the door shut on the Astros in the 9th inning en route to his 37th save of the season.
Milwaukee Brewers 9 Chicago Cubs 5- Braden Looper improved to 13-6 as a starter after scattering five earned runs on nine hits in five innings. Alcides Escobar led all batters with 3 RBIs while Corey Hart drove in two to lift Milwaukee to the 70-win milestone. Alfonso Soriano blasted a two-run shot in the 5th inning for Chicago, but it was not enough as the Cubs fell to 75-69 on the season.
Baltimore Orioles 4 Tampa Bay Rays 2- Matt Wieters’ walk-off two-run blast in the bottom of the 9th inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Baltimore Orioles to the 60-win milestone. The game, however, would never have reached a bottom of the 9th inning had Ben Zobrist not homered in the top half to level the score at two. Zobrist’s home run off Jim Johnson occurred shortly after a 100-minute rain delay. Despite blowing his 5th save of the season, Johnson ended up winning his 4th game of the year. Gregg Zaun also went deep for Tampa Bay, who fell to 73-73 on the season.
Detroit Tigers 4 Kansas City Royals 3- Zach Miner pitched just one scoreless inning of relief, but it was good enough to earn Win #7 of the season. Kansas City actually led 3-0 in the middle of the 4th inning before Detroit came back with a pair of two-run innings. Placido Polanco’s RBI single in the 6th inning broke a 3-3 tie and lifted Detroit to its 78th victory of the year. Mitch Maier, Miguel Olivo, and Alex Gordon drove in the runs for the Royals, who suffered their 87th loss of the season. Fernando Rodney worked the 9th inning and picked up his 33rd save in 34 chances.
New York Yankees 5 Toronto Blue Jays 4- Hideki Matsui’s two-run blast in the bottom of the 8th inning leveled the score at four. Francisco Cervelli’s RBI single in the bottom of the 9th inning broke the 4-4 tie and won the game for New York, who improved to 94-53 on the season. Cervelli’s walk-off hit gave Mariano Rivera his third victory of the year. Jose Bautista hit a solo home run in the 3rd inning while Adam Lind added two RBIs for Toronto, but it was not enough as the Blue Jays reached the 80-loss milestone.
Boston Red Sox 9 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8- Trailing 7-5 in the middle of the 8th inning, Boston scored two in the bottom half to level the score. Trailing 8-7 in the middle of the 9th inning, the Red Sox did it again, scoring two more in the bottom half to earn Win #86 of the season. Nick Green drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, and Alex Gonzalez hit a bloop single to left field to win the game for the Red Sox, who have won seven consecutive games. Brian Fuentes had converted 71 of his last 79 saves, but ended up with his 5th loss of the year. Torii Hunter homered in the 6th inning for the Angels, who suffered their 59th loss of the season.
Oakland Athletics 4 Texas Rangers 0- Trevor Cahill gave up just one hits in seven shutout innings en route to his 9th victory of the season. Landon Powell homered to cap off a 3-run 6th inning for Oakland, who improved to 67-78 on the year after completing a three-game sweep over Texas. Marlon Byrd registered the lone Texas hit of the game while Ian Kinsler drew two walks for the Rangers, who fell to 80-65 on the season. Texas has scored just once in its last four games, all of which resulted in a Rangers loss.
Seattle Mariners 4 Chicago White Sox 1- Ryan Rowland-Smith improved to 4-3 as a starter after giving up one earned run on nine hits in eight innings. Mike Carp blasted his first major league long ball in the 4th inning to lift Seattle to Win #75 of the season. Gordon Beckham scored the lone Chicago run of the game on a solo home run in the 8th inning; the White Sox suffered their 74th loss of the year. David Aardsma picked up his 35th save after working the 9th inning for Seattle.
Atlanta Braves 6 New York Mets 5- At least Luis Castillo isn’t the only one in the dark. This time, it was Daniel Murphy’s turn to cough up another game for the Mets. Same exact situation: Runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. What happens this time? No, Murphy didn’t drop a pop fly. Instead, he misplayed a simple ground ball and allowed David Ross to score the winning run from second base. At least Murphy’s blunder was committed when the game was tied. Nevertheless, the win was Atlanta’s 77th of the season. Omir Santos hit a solo home run in the 8th inning to give the Mets a 5-4 lead, but it was not enough as New York fell to 63-83 on the year.
Colorado Rockies 4 San Francisco Giants 3- Jorge De La Rosa earned membership in the MLB’s 15-win club after holding San Francisco to three hits in eight shutout innings. Troy Tulowitzki hit a solo home run in the 4th while Ian Stewart added a two-run blast in the 6th to lift Colorado to its 83rd victory of the season. The Giants made it a game in the bottom of the 9th inning when Franklin Morales squandered three straight singles to start the bottom of the 9th. Morales was charged with three earned runs, but in the end, Rafael Betancourt prevailed with his first save of the season after recording the final three outs for Colorado. The Giants fell to 79-67 on the year and are now 3.5 games behind the Rockies in the NL Wild Card.
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