Notables:
- Roy Halladay, helped by some bad defense, gave up 6 earned runs, over 5 2/3 innings. He only struck out only 1 and walked 2 against the Red Sox. Halladay won 6 of his first 7 starts, but is win-less in his last 3.
- C.C. Sabathia gave up 6 runs, 5 earned, on 10 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings. He managed to strikeout 6 batters, but it wasn't enough, as he lost to the Mets.
- Zack Greinke gave up 8 runs, 7 earned, on 9 hits, in 3 1/3 innings pitched. He walked none, but also only struck out 1. He's now 1-5 on the season, with a 3.57 ERA. Not even great run support would have helped him with a win today.
- Chris Carpenter gave up 4 earned runs on 8 hits, 2 of which were homers, and 2 walks in a no decision.
- Felix Hernandez struck out 6, walked 1, and gave up 2 earned runs, over 7 innings in a loss. King Felix hasn't won a game in over a month now.
- Johan Santana held the Yankees to 1 run over 7 2/3 innings. He struck out 5, walked 3, and gave up 6 hits in a win.
- Josh Johnson struck out none and walked 2 batters, but held the White Sox to zero runs, over 6 innings in a win.
- Jered Weaver gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 8, in the no decision.
- David Price won his 7th game of the season... that's the good news. The bad news is that he gave up 5 earned runs on 3 walks and 6 hits, over 5 innings... to the Astros.
- Shaun Marcum struck out 8 batters in a win. He gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 1 walk. He's now 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA.
- Mat Latos pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball in a win over the Mariners. He struck out 5 and walked 2, while giving up 4 hits.
- Ben Sheets struck out 8 in 6 scoreless innings pitched. He got a no decision, but was very effective as he walked 2 batters and gave up only 2 hits.
- Tim Wakefield pitched 8 scoreless innings in a win. He only stuck out 1, but against the Phillies, I'm nitpicking.
- Zack Duke struck out 5 and walked none as he pitched 7 scoreless innings. He didn't get the win, but wins are overrated anyhow.
- Bud Norris struck out 10 Rays batters, while only walking 3, over 5 innings. He gave up 4 earned runs, but there's talent here.
- Miguel Cabrera hit his 10th home run and stole a base. He's expected to miss the up-coming series against the Mariners for the birth of his second child. I bet it'll come out of the womb kicking, screaming, and hitting.
- Troy Tulowitzki hit his 4th homer of the season, in a 2-4 effort. Papi Tulo now has 3 dongers in his last 4 games... the Astros and Royals will do that.
- Carl Crawford stole his 12th, 13th, and 14th bases on Sunday, in a 2-5, 3 run, 1 RBI game.
- Jose Bautista his his 14th... yes, 14th homer of the season. He went 2-5 with 4 RBI and 1 run.
- Edwin Encarnacion hit his 7th donger on Sunday. He now has 5 over his last 3 games. These "swing first, ask questions later" Blue Jays are not messing around. They totaled 17 hits on Sunday.
- John Jaso hit 3rd for the Rays and went 2-4 with 4 RBI and 1 run. Where do the Rays find these guys?
- Scott Rolen hit his 9th and 10th homers of the season, on his way to a 3 RBI game.
- Mike Napoli went 3-4 with 1 homer and 3 RBI. Napoli now has 4 home runs and 9 RBI in his last 6 games.
- The Marlins' batters got 13 runs off 18 hits. You wanna talk home runs? Cody Ross hit 2, while Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu and Ronny Paulino each hit 1.
- Without Michael Bourn, the Astros 1-2-3 hitters went 3-5, 2-5, and 2-4. They only took 1 walk, but they also didn't strikeout... progress I suppose.
Chicks Dig the Long Ball:
- Jose Bautista (14), Dan Uggla (12), Miguel Cabrera (10), Kendry Morales (10), Scott Rolen (9 & 10), Kevin Youkilis (9), Alfonso Soriano (9), Corey Hart (9), Josh Willingham (8), Jorge Cantu (8), Prince Fielder (7), Hunter Pence (7), Edwin Encarnacion (7), Chris Young (7), Magglio Ordonez (6), Mike Napoli (6), Michael Young (5), Troy Tulowitzki (4), Eric Hinske (4), Ryan Doumit (4), Cody Ross (3 & 4), Ronny Paulino (3), Ben Zobrist (2), John Jaso (2), Pedro Feliz (2), Jason Giambi (2), Ross Gload (2), Hank Blalock (1), & Willie Bloomquist (1).
Stolen Bases:
- Carl Crawford (12, 13, & 14), Ryan Braun (10), Denard Span (10), Everth Cabrera (6 & 7), Andres Torres (6), Colby Rasmus (5), Orlando Cabrera (5), Corey Patterson (4), Albert Pujols (2 & 3), Jason Bay (2 & 3), Ian Kinsler (3), Trevor Crowe (3), Garrett Jones (3), Edgar Renteria (3), Julio Lugo (3), Miguel Cabrera (2), Brett Carroll (2), Melky Cabrera (1), & Gaby Sanchez (1).
Caught Stealing:
- Hunter Pence (4), Drew Stubbs (2), Julio Borbon (2), Pablo Sandoval (1), & Alex Cora (1).
Save Chances:
- Rafael Soriano, converted (13)... the definition of a cheap save. Got 1 out with the tying run on deck, up 4.
- Carlos Marmol, converted (9).... struck out 3 and walked 1. Marmol has now struck out at least 2 batters in 16 of his 21 appearances this season... wow.
- Andrew Bailey, converted (8)... a 1-2-3 9th inning.
- Francisco Rodriguez, converted (8).... came in with the tying run on deck and 1 out, up 4. He gave up 2 hits to cut the lead to 2, but struck out A-Rod to end it.
- Kerry Wood, converted (1)... 1 hit and 1 strikeout in a scoreless 9th for his first save of the season.
- John Axford, converted (1)... who? The Ax, that's who. He axed 3 hitters, but gave up 1 run on 3 hits and 1 walk. Just know it could have been much worse.
- Matt Capps, blown (1)... up 2 runs, he gave up 3 hits, which led to 2 runs, that tied the game.
Other Closer Outings:
- Joakim Soria, Jose Valverde, Neftali Feliz, Leo Nunez, and Manny Corpas pitched scoreless 9th innings.
- Ryan Franklin got a win after he struck out 3, over 2 scoreless innings.
- Trevor Hoffman came on in the 8th inning and got a 1-2-3 inning.
- Kevin Gregg gave up 1 earned run on 1 hit and 2 walks, over 1 inning.
- Octavio Dotel got the win after throwing a scoreless 10th inning against the Braves.
- Alfredo Simon pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, but he limped off the field. He is believed to be day-to-day with a leg injury.
Non-Closer Outings:
- Chris Perez walked 1 and struck out another on his way to getting 2 outs.
- Evan Meek gave up his 3rd earned run of the season. His ERA is now up to 0.96.
- Drew Storen pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
- Sean Marshall struck out 2 and walked 1, over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. The Marshall Plan is a good one.
- Frank Francisco struck out 3 on his way to a scoreless outing.
- Joaquin Benoit struck out the 3 batters he faced and now has 13 strikeouts in 8 games. Pretty good pick up by the Rays.
- Fernando Rodney gave up 2 earned runs on 1 hit and 3 walks. He was charged with a blown save, but I'm not sure he would have even been allowed to stay in long enough to earn one, as it was the 8th inning.
- Luke Gregerson, Kevin Jepsen, Jason Motte, and Scott Downs each struck out 1 in a scoreless inning of work.
Tough Days:
- C.J. Wilson surrendered 5 earned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, over 5 2/3 innings in a loss to the Cubs. He struck out 5 batters, but this is now back-to-back rough outings for Wilson.
- Homer Bailey continued his roller coaster season, giving up 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, over 2 1/3 innings. He left the game with shoulder stiffness... not good.
- Freddy Garcia gave up 7 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, over 2 1/3 innings.
- Chris Coghlan went 0-6 with 3 strikeouts and 0 runs from the lead-off spot. This wouldn't be that bad, but his teammates collected 13 runs on 18 hits in a stomping of the White Sox.
- B.J. Upton went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts and 6 left on base. Boss Man Junior is batting .213 this season.
- The San Francisco Giants only got 3 hits, 1 of which was a pinch hit, in a shutout. They struck out 10 times and managed to get on base a total of 6 times.
Lineup-ology:
- Miguel Cabrera is expected to miss the upcoming series with the Mariners, for the birth of his second child.
- Michael Bourn served his 1 game suspension for bumping into a ref.
- Felipe Lopez pinch hit for Brendan Ryan and produced the game-winning hit against the Angels. Look for Lopez's role to expand in the coming games.
- Omar Infante filled in for Chipper Jones again.
- Mike Sweeney started at first base for the first time since May 25th... last season.
- Wilson Valdez & Juan Castro are expected to split shortstop duties while Jimmy Rollins is out.
Comings/Goings:
- Activated: Ryota Igarashi (Mets) & Tim Byrdak (Astros).
- Called Up: Luis Durango (Padres) & Zach Braddock (Brewers).
- Recalled: Justin Maxwell (Nationals).
- Optioned: Manny Acosta (Mets), Mitch Stetter (Brewers), Gustavo Chacin (Astros), & Luis Perdomo (Padres).
- Designated for Assignment: Dana Eveland (Blue Jays).
- Transfered 15 to 60 Day DL: Mat Gamel (Brewers).
Injuries:
- Watch: Jason Heyward (thumb), Aramis Ramirez (thumb), Javier Vazquez (finger), Denard Span (shoulder), Austin Jackson (head), Carlos Gonzalez (wrist), Homer Bailey (shoulder), Alfredo Simon (hamstring), Coco Crisp (pulled side muscle), Nate Schierholtz (shoulder), Luis Castillo (foot), Ivan Rodriguez (back), Tony Abreu (forearm), Jeremy Affeldt (hamstring), Koji Uehara (elbow), Tom Gorzelanny (hand), Jason Hammel (groin), Andy LaRoche (back), & Nick Punto (finger).
- Surgery: Chris Coste (Tommy John).
- Back Soon: Brad Lidge (elbow), Rafael Furcal (hamstring), Mike Cameron (abdomen), J.J. Hardy (wrist), & Matt Harrison (biceps).
RIP Lima Time... Believe It!