St. Louis Cardinals 14 Pittsburgh Pirates 7- Adam Wainwright becomes the first member of the MLB’s 17-win club after holding the Pirates to six earned runs on nine hits in five innings; if not for Albert Pujols’ three-run blast in the top of the 6th inning, Wainwright would not have earned the win. Ryan Ludwick homered twice while Matt Holliday went deep once for St. Louis, who reached the 80-win milestone. Pittsburgh scored six runs in the bottom of the 5th inning, but it was not enough as the Pirates reached the 80-loss milestone.
New York Mets 6 Chicago Cubs 2- Fernando Tatis’ RBI single in the bottom of the 8th inning broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the New York Mets to their 61st victory of the season. Cory Sullivan hit his first long ball of the season and made a diving catch in left field for New York. Bobby Parnell shut down the Cubs, holding them to five hits in seven innings; despite the strong start, Parnell did not factor in the decision. Francisco Rodriguez recorded the last two outs for New York and earned his 29th save of the year.
Cincinnati Reds 3 Atlanta Braves 1- Bronson Arroyo improved to 12-12 as a starter after limiting the Braves to one earned run on six hits in seven innings. Jonny Gomes blasted his 17th long ball of the season while Brandon Phillips and Scott Rolen each drove in a run for Cincinnati, who improved to 61-73 on the season; the Reds extended their winning streak to five games with this win. Nate McLouth scored the lone Braves run of the game on a solo home run in the 6th inning. However, it was not enough as Atlanta suffered Loss #65 of the year; the Braves have now lost three consecutive games. Francisco Cordero earned Save #31 of the season after shutting down Atlanta in the 9th inning.
Texas Rangers 5 Baltimore Orioles 1- Scott Feldman joined the MLB’s 15-win club, squandering one earned run on four hits in 6.2 innings; Feldman tied a franchise record with 11 road wins this year. Nelson Cruz homered in the 6th inning for Texas, who improved to 76-58 on the season. Brian Roberts drove in the only Baltimore run of the game in the 6th inning, but the Orioles ended up clinching a non-winning season by suffering their 81st loss of the year.
Florida Marlins 9 Washington Nationals 6- Jorge Cantu and John Baker each hit a two-run bomb to lift the Florida Marlins to Win #71 of the season; Baker finished the game with 4 RBIs. Burke Badenhop earned his 6th win of the year after pitching three scoreless innings of relief. Josh Willingham blasted his 22nd home run of the season in the 3rd inning for Washington, but it was not enough as the Nationals fell to 46-89 on the year. Leo Nunez worked the 9th inning for Florida and earned his 18th save of the season.
San Francisco Giants 3 Milwaukee Brewers 2- Bengie Molina’s solo home run in the 8th inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted San Francisco to Win #74 of the season. The Giants scored two unearned runs in the 6th inning to level the score at two. Prince Fielder and Mike Cameron each drove in a run for Milwaukee, but it was not enough as the Brewers fell to 65-69 on the year. Brian Wilson earned his 33rd save of the season after shutting down Milwaukee in the 9th inning.
Houston Astros 7 Philadelphia Phillies 0- Wandy Rodriguez picked up his 13th victory of the season, giving up seven hits and striking out as many in as many scoreless innings; Rodriguez also doubled in the first two runs of the game in the 2nd inning. Kazuo Matsui also hit a two-run double in the 2nd inning for the Astros, who improved to 64-70 on the year. Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee drove in the other three runs for Houston off long balls. Philadelphia fell to 77-55 on the season.
Cleveland Indians 5 Minnesota Twins 2- Jeremy Sowers improved to 6-9 as a starter, scattering two earned runs on six hits in six innings. Jhonny Peralta drove in two runs while rookie Michael Brantley registered his first career RBI to lift the Indians to Win #59 of the season. Brendan Harris and Justin Morneau each drove in a run for the Twins, but it was not enough as Minnesota fell to 67-67 on the year. Kerry Wood shut down the Twins in the 9th inning to earn his 18th save of the season.
Toronto Blue Jays 6 New York Yankees 0- Roy Halladay pitched a complete-game one-hitter against the AL East-leading Yankees, lifting Toronto to the 60-win milestone; Ramiro Pena was the only Yankee to get a hit off Halladay, who improved to 14-8 on the season. Aaron Hill led all batters with 2 RBIs for Toronto, who handed the Yankees their 49th loss of the year.
Detroit Tigers 4 Tampa Bay Rays 3- Justin Verlander joined the MLB’s 16-win club after holding Tampa Bay to one earned run on four hits in eight innings; Verlander struck out seven and walked one. Miguel Cabrera blasted his 28th home run of the season in the 6th inning for the Tigers, who improved to 73-61 on the year. Detroit scored 3 in the top of the 9th inning to take a 4-1 lead, but Tampa Bay stormed back, scoring two runs off Tigers closer Fernando Rodney before Rodney was able to earn his 32nd save of the season. Evan Longoria drove in two runs for Tampa Bay, who fell to 72-62 on the year.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2 Kansas City Royals 1- Jered Weaver earned his 14th victory of the season after allowing one earned run on nine hits in seven innings; Weaver would not have earned the win had Vladimir Guerrero not hit a two-run single in the top of the 8th inning for Los Angeles, who improved to 79-54 on the year. Alberto Callaspo tripled in the only Royals run of the game in the 4th inning; Kansas City fell victim to its opponent for the 83rd time this season. Brian Fuentes closed the door on the Royals in the 9th inning and earned his 38th save of the year.
Chicago White Sox 12 Boston Red Sox 2- Chicago got the upper hand in the battle of colored Sox. Mark Kotsay hit a two-run blast and drove in another run to lift Chicago to Win #67 of the season. White Sox starter Freddy Garcia won his first game of the season after giving up one earned run on seven hits in six innings. Kevin Youkilis and George Kottaras drove in the runs for Boston, who fell to 78-56 on the year.
Seattle Mariners 6 Oakland Athletics 3- Ryan Rowland-Smith squandered three earned runs on four hits in eight innings as he improved to 3-2 as a starter. Jose Lopez blasted his 21st long ball of the season in the 9th inning for Seattle, who improved to 72-64 on the year. Ichiro Suzuki registered two hits and is now 4 shy of 2,000 career hits. Nomar Garciaparra blasted a two-run bomb in the 7th inning for Oakland, but it was not enough as the Athletics suffered their 76th loss of the season. Mark Lowe worked the 9th inning for Oakland and earned his second save in eight chances.
Colorado Rockies 5 Arizona Diamondbacks 4- Jason Giambi’s pinch-hit RBI single in the 8th inning broke a 4-4 tie and lifted the Colorado Rockies to their 75th victory of the season. Ian Stewart hit a solo home run in the 2nd inning and Seth Smith drove in two runs in the 7th inning for Colorado, who remained one game ahead of San Francisco in the NL Wild Card. Miguel Montero drove in two runs for Arizona, who fell to 61-75 on the season. Franklin Morales shut down the Diamondbacks in the 9th inning to earn his second save in three chances.
San Diego Padres 2 Los Angeles Dodgers 0- A run in each of the first two innings for San Diego was all Wade LeBlanc needed to earn his first victory of the season. LeBlanc held the Dodgers to just two hits in six innings. Kevin Kouzmanoff had the only RBI of the game for San Diego, who reached the 60-win milestone. Heath Bell recorded the last four outs for the Padres and recorded his 34th save of the year. Clayton Kershaw gave up two runs (only one was earned) on four hits in six innings; Kershaw was issued his eighth loss of the season.
Photo Source: Photobucket
