Chicago Cubs 8 Pittsburgh Pirates 5- Carlos Zambrano picked up his 1st win since July 22 after holding the Pirates to two earned runs on five hits in six innings; Zambrano struck out 8 as he earned Win #8 of the season. Micah Hoffpauir hit a solo home run and drove in another to lift Chicago to its 71st victory of the year. Ronny Cedeno hit a three-run blast in the 8th inning while Andrew McCutchen added a two-run double in the 4th for Pittsburgh, but it was not enough as the Pirates fell to 54-84 on the season. Pittsburgh has now lost 12 of its last 13 games. Carlos Marmol picked up his 11th save in 15 chances after shutting down the Pirates in the 9th inning.
Texas Rangers 10 Cleveland Indians 0- Five runs in the first inning and five more in the last propelled Texas to Win #79 of the season. Scott Feldman improved to 16-4 as a starter after scattering five hits in seven scoreless innings; Feldman walked two and struck out five. The Rangers scored their five runs in the first inning off long balls from Marlon Byrd and Ivan Rodriguez; Byrd and Rodriguez drove in a combined seven runs for Texas. Texas completed a three-game sweep over Cleveland in a 24-hour period; the Indians fell to 60-79 on the year.
St. Louis Cardinals 5 Milwaukee Brewers 1- Adam Wainwright picked up his league-leading 18th victory of the season after giving up five hits in seven scoreless innings; Wainwright walked one and struck out six. Albert Pujols homered not once, but twice to propel the Cardinals to their 84th victory of the year; Pujols finished the day with 3 RBIs. Felipe Lopez scored the lone Milwaukee run of the game in the 8th inning on a solo home run; the Brewers ended up suffering their 73rd loss of the season.
San Diego Padres 4 San Francisco Giants 2- Wade LeBlanc improved to 2-1 as a starter, squandering two earned runs on four hits in seven innings. Adrian Gonzalez and Oscar Salazar each hit a long ball to lift the Padres to their 63rd victory of the season; Gonzalez finished the game with 3 RBIs. Andres Torres drove in both San Francisco runs of the game on a home run in the 3rd inning. However, the Giants fell to 76-64 on the year. Heath Bell picked up his 37th save in 40 chances after working the 9th inning for San Diego.
Philadelphia Phillies 6 Washington Nationals 5- Cliff Lee improved to 6-2 as a starter after scattering five runs (four earned) on ten hits in seven innings. Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz each homered in the 8th inning to lift Philadelphia to its 79th win of the season. Adam Dunn and Cristian Guzman each drove in two runs for the Nationals, but it was not enough as Washington fell to 47-92 on the year. Ryan Madson earned his 6th save in as many chances after working the 9th inning for Philadelphia.
Florida Marlins 6 New York Mets 3- Ricky Nolasco picked up his 11th victory of the season after scattering three earned runs on four hits in 6.1 innings. Cody Ross and Dan Uggla went deep for Florida, who improved to 74-65 on the season; Ross and Uggla combined for 5 RBIs. Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, and Fernando Tatis each drove in a run for the Mets, who suffered their 77th loss of the year. Leo Nunez joined the MLB’s 20-save club after shutting down New York in the 9th inning.
New York Yankees 4 Tampa Bay Rays- Good news for Yankees fans: Derek Jeter is now tied with Lou Gehrig on the Yankees’ all-time hit list. Even better news for Yankees fans: The Yankees won their 91st game of the season. Jeter went 3-for-4 to match Gehrig with 2,721 hits as a Yankee, and Jorge Posada’s three-run blast in the bottom of the 8th capped a four-run inning for New York. Jason Bartlett hit a long ball in the 1st inning for Tampa Bay, but the Rays ended up losing their 68th game of the year. Posada’s 21st home run of the season enabled Jonathan Albaladejo to earn his 5th victory of the season and Phil Coke to pick up Save #2 of the year.
Minnesota Twins 4 Toronto Blue Jays 1- Justin Morneau’s solo home run in the 8th inning broke a 1-1 tie and lfited the Minnesota Twins to the 70-win milestone. Orlando Cabrera also hit a long ball, and Michael Cuddyer added a two-run double for Minnesota. Twins starter Carl Pavano picked up his 12th victory of the season after giving up one earned run on six hits in 7.1 innings. Travis Snider drove in the only Toronto run of the game in the 5th inning; the Blue Jays suffered Loss #77 of the year. Joe Nathan picked up his 38th save in 43 chances after shutting down the Blue Jays in the 9th inning.
Houston Astros 2 Atlanta Braves 1- Down 1-0 in the middle of the 9th inning, Houston rallied to score two in the bottom half to improve to 68-71, the antithesis of Atlanta’s record. Miguel Tejada’s two-run single in the 9th enabled Jose Valverde to pick up his 4th victory of the season. Matt Diaz singled in the lone Atlanta run of the game in the 2nd inning, but it was not enough as the Braves have lost six of their last seven games. Tommy Hanson pitched eight solid innings for Atlanta, giving up five hits and striking out seven; however, Rafael Soriano was unable to close it out for Atlanta as the Braves closer fell to 1-5 on the year.
Colorado Rockies 4 Cincinnati Reds 3- Seth Smith’s two-out, two-run single in the 9th inning lifted the Colorado Rockies to the 80-win milestone; Smith ended the game with 3 RBIs. Garrett Atkins also drove in a run for the Rockies, who extended their winning streak to six games as well as their NL Wild Card lead to four games over San Francisco. Scott Rolen hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 9th inning for Cincinnati, but the Reds ended up suffering their 76th loss of the season.
Boston Red Sox 7 Baltimore Orioles 5- Billy Wagner earned his first win in a Red Sox uniform after pitching a perfect 7th inning; it was Wagner’s first win in over two years and his first decision in the American League. Victor Martinez hit a three-run double in that 7th inning to break a 4-4 tie and lift Boston to Win #81 of the year, clinching a non-losing season. Cesar Izturis, Nolan Reimold, Brian Roberts, Felix Pie, and Luke Scott each drove in a run for Baltimore, who fell to 56-83 on the year. Jonathan Papelbon recorded the last four outs for the Red Sox and earned his 35th save of the season.
Kansas City Royals 5 Detroit Tigers 1- Robinson Tejada improved to 2-1 on the season after scattering three hits in six scoreless innings. Billy Butler drove in two runs for Kansas City, who earned Win #54 of the year. Alex Avila’s sacrifice fly in the 9th inning drove in the only Detroit run of the game; the Tigers fell to 75-63 on the season. Joakim Soria recorded the final two outs for Kansas City to earn his 24th save in 27 chances.
Chicago White Sox 4 Oakland Athletics 3- A.J. Pierzynski’s walk-off double in the 13th inning lifted the Chicago White Sox to the 70-win milestone. Alexei Ramirez, who scored on Pierzynski’s RBI double, drove in two runs for the White Sox, who have won six of their last eight games. Octavio Dotel pitched three scoreless innings to pick up Win #3 of the season. Scott Hairston, Ryan Sweeney, and Kurt Suzuki each drove in a run for Oakland, but it was not enough as the Athletics fell to 62-77 on the year.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6 Seattle Mariners 3- Jered Weaver joined the MLB’s 15-win club after scattering two earned runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings. Kendry Morales hit a three-run double in the 1st inning while Juan Rivera blasted a two-run shot in the 8th to lift Los Angeles to Win #83 of the season. Kenji Johjima and Jose Lopez each hit a solo home run for Seattle, but it was not enough as the Mariners fell to 72-68 on the year. Brian Fuentes earned membership in the MLB’s 40-save club after shutting down Seattle in the 9th inning. The Angels’ lead in the AL West remains at 4.5 games over Texas.
Arizona Diamondbacks 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 3- Mark Reynolds is known for his home-run hitting, but he may also be known for his drawing bases-loaded walks (at least for this game). Reynolds’ walk-off walk lifted Arizona to its 62nd victory of the season. Juan Gutierrez, who pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief, earned his 4th win of the year. Miguel Montero and Chris Young hit back-to-back home runs in the 2nd inning for the Diamondbacks. Manny Ramirez and James Loney hit back-to-back long balls of their own in the 3rd inning, but it was not enough as the Dodgers fell to 83-58 on the season. Los Angeles’ lead in the NL West is now down to 2.5 games over Colorado.
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