- Matt Kemp was benched for the third consecutive game, though he came on after Manny Ramirez got hurt. I just don't see the logic in it - I think it's a classic case of overmanaging by Joe Torre. He buried Orlando Hudson for an inferior player last year, and you could even compare this to how he handled A-Rod in the playoffs against the Tigers. I don't think this ends well.
Oops:
- The Marlins named interim manager Edwin Rodriguez their manager for the rest of the year, after failing to close the deal on Bobby Valentine. Yeah, I'm sure that was their intention all along.
Notables:
- After actually walking a guy (Jorge Posada) for just the fifth time all year, Cliff Lee had to make up for it by going the distance against the Yankees. He allowed four runs (three earned), striking out just two while giving up two solo homers to Nick Swisher.
- Phil Hughes' first start after getting skipped didn't go so well - he allowed seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and two walks over 5.2 innings, giving up a homer to Franklin Gutierrez.
- Filling in for Dallas Braden, Vincent Mazzaro overcame six walks, two wild pitches and a hit batter to hold the Orioles to one run over six innings, giving up three hits while striking out two.
- Coco Crisp went 3-for-4 with two runs, a walk and two stolen bases.
- Adrian Beltre went 4-for-4 and now is hitting a scary-good .349.
- John Lackey had a big bounceback start, holding the Rays to a run over seven innings on eight hits and two walks, striking out three.
- Like Philip Hughes, Mike Leake didn't fare all that well after getting skipped for a turn, giving up six runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings against an injury-weakened Phillies lineup.
- Ted Lilly took advantage of the opportunity to face the Pirates, holding them to one run over seven innings. He also used the weather conditions to his advantage, with a cool wind blowing in.
- Prince Fielder homered twice, giving him 10 June homers, after homering just twice for all of April.
- Gavin Floyd gave up three runs (two earned) over 6.2 innings, his fifth good start in a row.
- Denard Span went 4-for-5 with three triples, knocking in five.
- Albert Pujols homered twice and knocked in five. Felipe Lopez went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, batting in front of Pujols. Lopez was starting at third base, with David Freese on the DL with his ankle injury. Adam Wainwright threw 6.1 scoreless innings, striking out seven.
- Dontrelle Willis walked six in his four innings pitched, giving up five runs over four innings.
- Bobby Abreu broke open a tie game with a bases-clearing double against lefty Darren Oliver.
Save Chances:
- Leo Nunez, blown (4). Nunez gave up two runs on three hits in the top of the ninth, only to see the Marlins score in the bottom of the inning to get the vulture win.
- Andrew Bailey, converted (15). Clean inning, one strikeout.
- Kerry Wood, converted (8). Wood hit a batter but didn't allow a hit or walk while striking out one in a scoreless effort.
- Jonathan Papelbon, converted (18). Papelbon came in after the rest of the bullpen not named Dan Bard gifted the save chance to him.
- Brad Lidge, blown (2). Lidge gave up a three-run homer to Joey Votto to tie the game. That's two blown saves and two homers in his last three outings. J.C. Romero (3) converted the save in the 10th inning after the Phillies regained the lead.
- Carlos Marmol, converted (14). Two strikeouts in a perfect inning.
- John Axford, converted (8). One run allowed on two hits and a walk, with two strikeouts. He started with a three-run lead.
- J.J. Putz, converted (2). With Bobby Jenks on bereavement leave, Matt Thornton came on with two outs in the seventh and finished that inning and got the first two outs in the eighth. Putz came on to get the final four outs. He allowed one hit and a walk while striking out one.
- Brian Fuentes, converted (14). Clean inning, two strikeouts.
- Huston Street, converted (1). Street got his first save of the year with two K's in a clean inning.
Other Closer Outings:
- Francisco Rodriguez threw a scoreless eighth in a "get-work" outing (he last pitched on June 25), with the Mets trailing by two. Meanwhile, Pedro Feliciano pitched the ninth after the Mets rallied to tie, and was left to face a pinch-hitter and then the meat of the Marlins' order (Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla). He retired the first two batters, but then gave up a double to Cantu and a game-winning single to Uggla.
Non-Closer Reliever Outings:
- Arthur Rhodes' streak of 33 scoreless appearances came to a crashing halt in the 10th inning against the Phillies. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk to get the loss, without retiring a batter.
Lineup-o-logy:
- Angel Pagan (side) returned to the lineup after missing five games, going 1-for-2 with a sac fly while batting second. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter late in the game.
- Russell Branyan hit third in the lineup in his first game back with the Mariners, going 1-for-4.
- Chad Huffman started in left field and went 0-for-4 in place of the injured Brett Gardner.
- John McDonald picked up a spare start at third base and gift-wrapped the first two runs for the Indians on a bad throw. He went 0-for-3 with two K's while batting ninth.
- Ian Desmond was given the day off after committing his league-leading 19th error on Monday. Alberto Gonzalez went 4-for-4 in his place.
- Bill Hall started at second base against the Rays, even with righty James Shields on the mound, and went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.
- B.J. Upton didn't start against the Red Sox, with Ben Zobrist sliding over to center field. According to Joe Maddon, he was just given the night off, and wasn't punished for the events that happened on Sunday.
- Dayan Viciedo got his third start since getting called up and went 2-for-4 while scoring a run. Mark Kotsay started at DH ahead of the slumping Andruw Jones.
Injuries:
- Brett Gardner sat out with a bruised wrist, though he was available to run and play defense. He will try to swing a bat on Wednesday.
- Dallas Braden was a late scratch with left elbow stiffness, and judging by his quote, it almost certainly looks like he's on his way to the DL: "I woke up and my elbow looked like a right triangle. It was just up and stiff. It's not painful. There's just no flexibility. ... I can't make 17 more starts, or however many we've got left. You can't pitch that way and I'm not doing my team a favor and I'm not doing myself any good."
- Asdrubal Cabrera took grounders before the game and hopes to return shortly after the All-Star break.
- Carl Crawford (shoulder) returned and went 4-for-5 with a stolen base.
- Both Neil Walker and Bobby Crosby sat with concussion-like symptoms after getting hurt on separate collisions on pop-ups to short right field. Andy LaRoche started at second base, with Ronny Cedeno getting the nod at shortstop.
- Stephen Drew sat for the fourth time in five games with a sore knee.
- Kevin Frandsen (thumb) was back in the lineup at third base and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
- Todd Helton (back) sat out again, but was expected back in the lineup on Wednesday.
- Manny Ramirez left with an injured right hamstring and won't play on Wednesday, at the bare minimum.
- Chase Utley (thumb) and Placido Polanco (elbow) both hit the DL before Tuesday's game. Greg Dobbs started at third and Wilson Valdez at second on Tuesday.
Stolen Bases:
- Chone Figgins (22); Coco Crisp 2 (2,3); Adam Rosales (1); Cliff Pennington (11); Nyjer Morgan (17); Roger Bernadina (7); Carl Crawford (27); Sean Rodriguez (5); Michael Bourn 2 (24,25); Jeff Keppinger (2); Dayan Viciedo (1); Mike Aviles (2); Felipe Lopez (5); Elvis Andrus (22); Michael Young (3); Nelson Cruz (8); Howie Kendrick (7); Bobby Abreu (13); Seth Smith (1); David Eckstein (5); Russell Martin 2 (5,6).
Caught Stealing:
- David Wright (7); Franklin Gutierrez (1); Kosuke Fukudome (4); Juan Pierre (8); Gordon Beckham (3); Willie Bloomquist (3); Matt Treanor (1); Chase Headley (3); Rafael Furcal (3).
Home Runs:
- Hanley Ramirez (12); Dan Uggla (15); Nick Swisher 2 (12,13); Matt LaPorta (2); Josh Willingham (14); Willy Aybar (5); David Ortiz (17); Bill Hall (6); Joey Votto (17); Brian Schneider (2); Wilson Valdez (3); Ryan Doumit (7); Alfonso Soriano 2 (12,13); Pedro Feliz (3); Prince Fielder 2 (16,17); Jonathan Lucroy (2); Yovani Gallardo (3); Jim Thome (8); Albert Pujols 2 (17,18); Ian Kinsler (3); Vladimir Guerrero (16); Michael Napoli (14); Carlos Gonzalez (12); Clint Barmes (6); Jerry Hairston Jr. (5); Pat Burrell (5).
Debuts:
- Omar Beltre will make his major league debut for the Rangers on Wednesday night against the Angels. His promotion gives Colby Lewis a couple of extra days of rest.
Transactions:
- The Mariners activated Josh Bard from the DL, waiving Eliezer Alfonzo. Rob Johnson still started behind the plate on Tuesday.
- Jair Jurrjens will come off the DL and start on Wednesday for the Braves. They sent down Cristhian Martinez to make room.
- Matt Diaz came off the DL on Tuesday and had a pinch-hit appearance. With Jason Heyward on the DL, Diaz could get a handful of starts at a corner OF spot against lefties.
- The Rays designated Hank Blalock for assignment and activated Gabe Kapler from the DL.
- The Rockies recalled Dexter Fowler and optioned Christopher Nelson back to Triple-A Colorado Springs.