Chicago Cubs 5 New York Mets 3- Rich Harden picked up his 9th victory of the season after squandering two runs (only one was earned) on seven hits in five innings. Derrek Lee homered twice while Aramis Ramirez went deep once, providing all the runs for Chicago en route to Win #68 of the year. Cory Sullivan blasted his second home run of the season in the 2nd inning for New York, but the Mets ended up suffering their 75th loss of the year. Carlos Marmol earned his 9th save of the season after recording the last four outs for the Cubs.
San Francisco Giants 3 Milwaukee Brewers 2- Matt Cain outdueled Yovani Gallardo for Win #13 of the season as the Giants starter scattered two earned runs on four hits in seven innings. Gallardo allowed three earned runs on six hits in six innings, but was issued his 11th loss of the season. Juan Uribe hit a solo home run in the 4th inning while Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn added RBI doubles to lift San Francisco to its 75th win of the year. Prince Fielder and Felipe Lopez each drove in a run for the Brewers, but it was not enough as Milwaukee reached the 70-loss milestone. Brian Wilson gave up one hit in 1.2 innings and earned his 34th save of the season.
New York Yankees 6 Toronto Blue Jays 4- Andy Pettitte won his 4th straight start and improved to 13-6 on the season after holding Toronto to four earned runs on as many hits in six innings. Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira blasted long balls for the Yankees, who won their 87th game of the year. Randy Ruiz hit his 6th home run of the season in the 4th inning for the Blue Jays, who fell to 60-75 on the season. Phil Hughes pitched the last 1.1 innings for New York to earn his third save of the year.
Chicago White Sox 5 Boston Red Sox 1- Gavin Floyd scattered one earned run on three hits in eight innings, retiring the first 17 batters en route to Win #11 of the season; Floyd struck out eleven and didn’t walk a batter. Mark Kotsay and Paul Konerko each hit a solo home run for the White Sox, who improved to 68-69 on the year; Konerko finished the game with 2 RBIs. Jason Bay scored the lone Boston run of the game with his 31st home run of the year in the 8th inning; the Red Sox suffered their 57th loss of the season.
Baltimore Orioles 5 Texas Rangers 4- Brian Matusz picked up his 3rd straight victory and improved to 4-2 as a starter, holding the Rangers to four earned runs on six hits in seven innings; Matusz walked one and struck out four. Melvin Mora and Nolan Reimold went deep for Baltimore, who improved to 55-81 on the year and avoided clinching a losing season (for now at least); Mora finished the game 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Marlon Byrd and David Murphy each drove in two runs for Texas, but it was not enough as the Rangers suffered their 59th loss of the season. Jim Johnson earned his 8th save of the year after closing the door on the Rangers in the 9th inning.
Minnesota Twins 4 Cleveland Indians 1- Scott Baker won his seventh straight decision and improved to 4-0 against the Indians after holding them to one earned run on three hits in six innings; Baker picked up his 13th win of the season. Nick Punto drove in two runs with a double in the 4th inning while Brendan Harris and Orlando Cabrera each hit a sacrifice fly to lift Minnesota to Win #68 of the year. Andy Marte blasted his 5th home run of the season in the 3rd inning for Cleveland, but it was not enough as the Indians fell to 59-76 on the season. Joe Nathan earned his 36th save of the season after shutting down the Indians in the 9th inning.
Cincinnati Reds 3 Atlanta Braves 1- Kip Wells gave up just one hit in six scoreless innings as he won his first game in more than 16 months. Joey Votto hit a two-run home run in the 6th inning for Cincinnati, who extended its winning streak to six games. Scott Rolen singled in another run in the 6th for the Reds, who improved to 62-73 on the season. Nate McLouth singled in the only run of the game in the 7th inning for Atlanta, who suffered Loss #66 of the year. Francisco Cordero earned his 32nd save of the season after working the 9th inning for Cincinnati.
Houston Astros 5 Philadelphia Phillies 4- Houston went from a 4-3 deficit to a 5-4 win after Kazuo Matsui hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded. Hunter Pence drove in the other runs for Houston with a two-run blast in the 2nd and an RBI single in the 3rd. The Astros improved to 65-70 on the season. Ben Francisco, Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard, and Pedro Feliz each drove in a run for Philadelphia, but it was not enough as the Phillies suffered their 56th loss of the year.
St. Louis Cardinals 2 Pittsburgh Pirates 1- Albert Pujols’ pinch-hit home run in the 10th inning broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the St. Louis Cardinals to their 81st victory of the year, clinching a non-losing season. Ryan Franklin worked the 10th inning for St. Louis and earned his 37th save of the year. Lastings Milledge doubled in the only Pittsburgh run of the game in the 4th inning; the Pirates fell victim to their opponent for the 81st time this year, clinching a non-winning season.
Detroit Tigers 8 Tampa Bay Rays 6- Marcus Thames’ pinch-hit RBI single broke a 6-6 tie in the 8th inning and lifted the Detroit Tigers to Win #74 of the season. Placido Polanco and Alex Avila both went deep for Detroit, who trailed 4-1 after the first inning. Evan Longoria hit a three-run home run in that first inning for Tampa Bay, but the Rays ended up losing their 63rd game of the year. Brandon Lyon earned his second save of the season after shutting down the Rays in the 9th inning.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2 Kansas City Royals 1- Erick Aybar’s RBi single in the 11th inning broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Angels to the 80-win milestone; Aybar finished the game with three hits. Torii Hunter, who scored the winning run in the 11th inning, singled in the other Los Angeles run of the game in the 8th inning. Billy Butler drove in the only Kansas City run of the game in the 1st inning, but the Royals suffered Loss #84 of the season. Brian Fuentes worked the 11th inning for the Angels and picked up his 39th save in 44 chances.
Florida Marlins 9 Washington Nationals 5- Josh Johnson improved to 14-4 as a starter after scattering one earned run on two hits in five innings. Hanley Ramirez and Brett Hayes hit the long balls for the Marlins, who improved to 72-64 on the season. Josh Bard doubled in two runs for the Nationals in the 7th inning, but Washington ended up reaching the 90-loss milestone.
Colorado Rockies 4 Arizona Diamondbacks 1- Jose Contreras, who was acquired on Monday from the Chicago White Sox, gave up one earned run on eight hits in 6.2 innings, picking up the win. Carlos Gonzalez and Seth Smith each hit a solo home run while Todd Helton added two RBIs to lift the Rockies to their 76th victory of the season; Colorado remains one game ahead of San Francisco in the NL Wild Card. Seth Smith finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Brandon Allen scored the lone Diamondbacks run of the game with his third home run of the year, but it was not enough as Arizona fell to 61-76 on the season.
Oakland Athletics 9 Seattle Mariners 5- Brett Anderson picked up his 8th victory of the season after giving up three earned runs on seven hits in five innings. Cliff Pennington hit a two-run bomb in the 3rd inning to lift Oakland to the 60-win milestone. Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-5 with one run scored and now has 1,999 career hits. Mike Sweeney and Jose Lopez hit the long balls for the Mariners, but it was not enough as Seattle fell to 72-65 on the year. Andrew Bailey gave up the two-run home run to Jose Lopez, but managed to earn his 22nd save of the season.
Los Angeles Dodgers 7 San Diego Padres 4- What’s better than joining the MLB’s 10-win club? How about joining the MLB’s 10-win club AND earning your 100th career major league victory on the same day? That’s what happened to Dodgers starter Randy Wolf, who scattered two earned runs on four hits in seven innings. Andre Ethier hit a solo home run and doubled in another run to lift Los Angeles to Win #81 of the year, clinching a non-losing season. Kevin Kouzmanoff, Adrian Gonzalez, and Edgar Gonzalez each drove in a run for the Padres, but San Diego ended up suffering its 77th loss of the year. Jonathan Broxton worked the 9th inning for the Dodgers and picked up his 32nd save of the season.
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