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Cincinnati Reds 5 Pittsburgh Pirates 3- Homer Bailey squandered three earned runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings as he improved to 5-4 as a starter. Brandon Phillips and Drew Stubbs each hit a solo home run for Cincinnati, who completed a four-game sweep over Pittsburgh to reach the 60-win milestone; it was the Reds’ first four-game sweep in Cincinnati in over thirty years. Brandon Phillips finished the game 3-for-4, leading all batters with 3 RBIs. Garrett Jones and Brandon Moss each went deep for the Pirates, who fell to 53-79 on the season and extended its losing streak to seven games. Jones’ long ball in the 2nd inning was the 10,000th home run in franchise history. However, it was not enough as Francisco Cordero shut down the Pirates in the 9th inning to earn membership in the MLB’s 30-save club.

Chicago Cubs 2 Houston Astros 0- A two-run home run from Derrek Lee was all Ted Lilly needed to join the MLB’s 10-win club. Lilly scattered four hits in eight scoreless innings to reach the 10-win milestone for a seventh consecutive year. Lee’s 27th home run of the season lifted Chicago to Win #67 of the season. Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless 9th inning and earned his 8th save of the year. Houston’s Carlos Lee was the only batter in the game to register two hits, but it was not enough as the Astros reached the 70-loss milestone.

Chicago White Sox 4 Minnesota Twins 2- With the Twins up 2-0 after eight inning, Joe Nathan took the mound to finish a three-game sweep over Chicago. It didn’t happen. Back-to-back home runs from Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko allowed Chicago to tie the game. Alexei Ramirez’s RBI single then broke the 2-2 tie and gave Nathan his second loss of the season. Carlos Quentin scored the other run for the White Sox on a wild pitch by Matt Guerrier. Jason Kubel singled in both runs for Minnesota in the 6th inning, but the Twins ended up losing their 66th game of the year.

San Diego Padres 7 Washington Nationals 0- Kevin Correia not only joined the MLB’s 10-win club, but he also helped San Diego complete a three-game sweep of Washington; Correia gave up three hits in 7.2 innings, striking out five in the process. Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley each drove in two runs while Will Venable, David Eckstein, and Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in the other runs for San Diego, who improved to 59-76 on the season. The Nationals, who have scored just three runs in their last 38 innings, suffered their 88th loss of the year.

Oakland Athletics 10 Kansas City Royals 4- Trevor Cahill improved to 8-12 as a starter after allowing three earned runs on six hits in five innings. Landon Powell, who started at catcher in place of Kurt Suzuki, hit his first career grand slam in the 2nd inning to lift the Athletics to their 59th victory of the season. Ryan Sweeney drove in three runs while Rajai Davis added 2 RBIs for the Athletics. Mike Jacobs blasted his 17th long ball of the year in the 3rd inning for Kansas City, but it was not enough as the Royals clinched a losing season with Loss #82 of the season.

San Francisco Giants 4 Philadelphia Phillies 0- In his first start for the Giants, Brad Penny earned the win after giving up five hits in eight scoreless innings. Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand hit back-to-back home runs in the 6th inning to lift San Francisco to Win #73 of the season. Andres Torres also drove in a run for San Francisco. Jimmy Rollins registered two hits for Philadelphia, who fell to 76-54 on the year.

Florida Marlins 8 Atlanta Braves 7- Wes Helms’ walk-off home run in the 9th inning lifted the Florida Marlins to their 69th victory of the season. Dan Uggla also went deep for Florida. Atlanta tied the game in the top of the 9th inning when Yunel Escobar hit a solo home run to level the score at seven. However, Helms’ solo home run in the bottom half handed the Braves their 63rd loss of the year. Leo Nunez, who gave up the home run to Escobar, was credited with his 4th win of the season despite blowing the save.

St. Louis Cardinals 10 Milwaukee Brewers 3- Chris Carpenter won his 10th straight decision while his Cardinals offense scored as many runs to earn Win #79 of the season. Carpenter scattered three earned runs on eight hits in six innings to join the MLB’s 15-save club. Skip Schumaker went 4-for-4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored for St. Louis, who now has a 10.5-game lead in the NL Central. Casey McGehee drove in two runs for the Brew Crew, but Milwaukee ended up suffering its 68th loss of the year.

Colorado Rockies 5 New York Mets 2- Jason Giambi’s two-run single broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 8th inning and lifted the Rockies to their 74th victory of the season. Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez earned his 13th win of the year after allowing two earned runs on five hits in eight innings; Jimenez struck out four and walked one. Seth Smith homered for Colorado in the 1st inning while Jeff Francoeur went deep in the 4th for the Mets, who fell to 59-74 on the season. Franklin Morales pitched a perfect 9th inning and earned his first major league save.

Seattle Mariners 3 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 0- Felix Hernandez earned his 14th victory of the season after squandering four hits in eight innings; Hernandez struck out six and walked three. Scott Kazmir made his debut with the Angels, giving up two runs (only one was earned) on three hits in 6.1 innings; Kazmir was issued his 8th loss of the year. In the 7th inning, Bill Hall drove in the first run of the game and scored the second run to lift the Mariners to the 70-win milestone.

New York Yankees 10 Baltimore Orioles 2- C.C. Sabathia earned his AL-leading 16th victory after scattering one earned run on seven hits in seven innings. Eric Hinske blasted his 7th long ball of the season in the 3rd inning for New York, who improved to 85-48 on the year. Alex Rodriguez registered his 2,500th career hit and drove in four runs for the Yankees, who completed a three-game sweep over Baltimore. Nolan Reimold hit a solo home run in the 8th inning for the Orioles, who reached the 80-loss milestone.

Detroit Tigers 4 Cleveland Indians 2- Rick Porcello improved to 12-8 as a starter after giving up two earned runs on five hits in seven innings. Miguel Cabrera, Wilkin Ramirez, and Magglio Ordonez each drove in a run for Detroit, who earned Win #71 of the season; Ordonez led all batters with three hits. Travis Hafner hit a solo home run in the 8th inning for Cleveland, but it was not enough as the Indians suffered their 74th loss of the year. Fernando Rodney earned his 31st save of the season after shutting down the Indians in the 9th inning.

Tampa Bay Rays 8 Boston Red Sox 5- Pat Burrell’s RBI single in the 8th inning broke a 5-5 tie and lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to their 72nd win of the season. Burrell, Carl Crawford, and Evan Longoria all went deep for Tampa Bay, who is now five games behind Boston in the AL Wild Card. J.P. Howell’s wild pitch in the top of the 8th enabled Joey Gathright to score the tying run for the Red Sox; nevertheless, Howell ended up taking his 7th win of the year. Jason Bay, David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, and Victor Martinez each drove in a run for Boston, who fell to 77-55 on the season.

Texas Rangers 6 Toronto Blue Jays 4- Tommy Hunter picked up his 7th victory of the season, squandering four earned runs on five hits in seven innings. Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz both went deep for the Rangers, who improved to 75-58 on the year. Texas is now 3.5 games behind the Angels in the AL West. Lyle Overbay and Randy Ruiz both homered for the Blue Jays, but it was not enough as Toronto fell to 59-73 on the season. Frank Francisco recorded the final two outs for Texas and earned his 22nd save of the year.

Arizona Diamondbacks 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 1- Behind a four-run 5th inning, during which Brandon Allen blasted a two-run home run, the Arizona Diamondbacks earned their 61st victory of the season. Stephen Drew and Gerardo Parra drove in the other runs for Arizona, who handed Chad Billingsley his third consecutive loss; it was Billingley’s first three-game losing streak since April 2008. Manny Ramirez singled in the only Los Angeles run of the game in the 8th inning; the Dodgers suffered their 55th loss of the year. Juan Gutierrez worked the 9th inning for Arizona and earned his third save in four chances.

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