I For One Welcome Our New Insect Overlords:

- two sections of Sun Life Stadium along the third base line were shut down due to a bee infestation. Given the size of the nests, the bees may have outnumbered the Marlins fans in attendance. Rumors that Jeff Loria tried to charge the bees admission can't be confirmed, but certainly sound plausible.

Yarrr:

- every Pirate starting hitter got a hit, and Andrew McCutchen was the only one not to get multiple hits.

Notables:

- In the opener of a double-header, Michael Brantley went 2-for-4 out of the leadoff spot with a walk, an RBI and his first major league stolen base of the season. Of course he went 0-for the nightcap but hey, baby steps.
- Fausto Carmona walked six batters and gave up six hits in seven innings, but the Tigers failed to make him pay for it and he won his ninth game of the season after allowing just three runs, all of them crossing the plate in the first inning.
- Cole Hamels gave up just one run (coming on a true suicide squeeze, no less) on eight hits and two walks in seven innings, striking out six, but almost took the loss because Randy Wells threw seven shutout innings against him, giving up seven hits and two walks while striking out five. Both came away with no-decisions, though, after Carlos Marmol melted down.
- Hiroki Kuroda lost his own pitcher's duel against Adam Wainwright, giving up one run on four hits and a walk over six innings while striking out eight while Wainwright was throwing six shutout innings of his own, winning his 14th game and lowering his ERA to 2.02.
- Carlos Pena went 4-for-5 with a double, home run and three RBI, while Ray teammate Reid Brignac hit two home runs and picked up five RBI.
- Josh Johnson won his 10th game, throwing six shutout innings and striking out seven.
- Edinson Volquez looked pretty dang good in his first start off the DL, striking out nine over six one-run innings to get the win. Pfft. Tommy John, Shommy John.
- Drew Stubbs homered twice with three RBI, and is now three home runs and about 25 batting average points from being Chris Young.
- Michael Stanton went 0-for-1 with two walks Saturday, and suddenly has a 4:0 BB:K ratio over his last three games after being a whiff machine in the majors up to that point. Of course he's also 0-for-6 in those three games, but if he has started to make adjustments and get better control of the strike zone, he's primed to explode. Stanton is long gone in keeper leagues, but now might be the time to consider him in one-year leagues if he's been cut loose, or was never grabbed.
- Justin Smoak went 3-for-4 with his second home run in as many days, and is doing his best to make Jack Zdurienczik look smart. Now the Mariners GM just has to hope Jesus Montero isn't the second coming of Albert Pujols.
- Cliff Lee tossed nine innings again, and once again came away without a win as the Rangers lost in 11. Maybe he shuld try shorter outings.
- Carl Pavano and Mark Buehrle also threw dueling complete games, although neither one was a sexy shutout or anything. Pavano got the win, but they're both winners in the eyes of their bullpens.
- Rick Porcello seemed to enjoy his minor league vacation, giving up one run over eight innings in his first start back in Detroit with a 6:0 K:BB ratio.

Save Chances:

- Heath Bell, converted (25). One clean inning, hold the anchovies.
- Brian Wilson, converted (25). Struck out the only guy he faced after Santiago Casilla struggled just enough to create a save situation.
- Leo Nunez, converted (21). Two K's and a hit in a scoreless inning.
- Andrew Bailey, converted (19). One hit and a strikeout in a scoreless inning.
- Brian Fuentes, converted (18). One walk and one K in a scoreless inning.
- Ryan Franklin, converted (17). Tony LaRussa let Trever Miller start the ninth inning and get the first two outs, then brought Franklin in to throw four pitches and close it out.
- John Axford, converted (11). Two K's in 1.1 pretty innings.
- Chris Perez, converted (8). One walk and one K in a scoreless inning during the top half of a doubleheader after Kerry Wood hit the DL earlier in the day due to a blister problem. Perez then threw a scoreless ninth in the nightcap as the Indians needed 11 innings to complete the sweep.
- Brad Lidge, converted (7). One walk and one K in a scoreless inning.
- Shawn Camp. converted (1). Jason Frasor and Scott Downs has already pitched, so when Kevin Gregg walked the bases loaded Camp got a chance to get the final out and delivered.
- Carlos Marmol, blown (4). This was as ugly a blown save as you're likely to see, with five walks (one intentional) and a wild pitch leading to four ninth inning runs.

Other Closer Outings:

- Francisco Rodriguez struck out two in a perfect inning of work.
- Jonathan Papelbon worked a perfect ninth and tenth, but had nothing to show for it other than a marginally lower ERA.
- Joakim Soria struck out two, but gave up a run on two hits to take the loss.
- Kevin Gregg came out to get a save, but then walked the bases loaded and got yanked, and made it clear he wasn't happy about it as he came off the field. Hopefully the sting of getting replaced by Shawn Camp will teach him a lesson.
- Octavio Dotel pitched a perfect ninth inning protecting a six run lead.

Non-Closer Outings:

- Sean Marshall pitched a shutout eighth inning, walking one batter and striking out two. Marshall's outstanding numbers have been lost in the noise of another disastrous Cubs season: 1.91 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, .198 OAV and a 54:15 K:BB ratio in 47 innings. I mean, he's no All-Star like Arthur Rhodes, but who is?

Lineup-o-logy:

- Placido Polanco returns from the DL and goes 1-for-5, but the hit drove in the tying run and he ended up scoring in the Phillies' big ninth inning.
- Yorvit Torrealba hit fifth for the Padres. FIFTH. And he went 3-for-4 with a home run. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 team of destiny.
- Alex Gonzalez hit third for the Braves. THIRD. He didn't homer, but he did go 1-for-3 with a walk. Atlanta fans should savor it, because it may be the last walk he draws in a Braves uniform.
- Omar Infante played right field in the same game and hit second, because he's an All-Star, dammit.
- Yunel Escobar hit second for the Jays, going 2-for-5 with a run scored. Fearless prediction: in the long run, that'll end up working out better than Gonzalez hitting third.

Tough Days:

- AJ Burnett gave up three runs in two innings, then cut open his palms on the plexiglass lineup card holders as he slammed open the doors they were hanging on. He lasted two batters into the third (HBP, WP, BB) before getting yanked.
- Jorge De La Rosa got shellacked for seven runs (six earned) on five walks and four hits, including three home runs, in 3.1 innings.
- Hisanori Takahashi was about as bad as De La Rosa, giving up six runs on seven hits, including two home runs, in 2.2 innings.
- Ryan Rowland-Smith tried to match those two ugly outings but couldn't quite manage it, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits but only one home run in 3.1 innings.
- Ross Ohlendorf couldn't get out of the second inning, but only gave up four runs (on five hits and two walks) doing so.
- Magglio Ordonez went 0-for-7 over 20 innings in the doubleheader against the Indians, leaving five runners on base combined. The Tigers lost each game by a single run.

Injuries:

- Russell Martin didn't play Saturday due to a sore thumb, and will probably be out at least through the weekend.
- Manny Ramirez also missed Saturday's game with a sore right calf, and will also likely miss Sunday's game as well.
- Michael Saunders didn't play due to a jammed middle finger, which hopefully wasn't a product of rudeness, but you never know with these kids today.
- Chris Coghlan tried to gut out a lower back strain Saturday, after he hurt himself making a diving catch Friday night, but couldn't answer the bell for the sixth inning. He'll likely sit on Sunday.
- Chipper Jones didn't get the start due to a hamstring problem, but was able to pinch-hit.

Home Runs:

- Jose Bautista (25), Prince Fielder (21), Paul Konerko (21), Adrian Gonzalez (20), Carlos Pena (19), Mark Teixeira (18), Chris Young (16), Mike Napoli (15), Ike Davis 2 (13), Hunter Pence (13), Brandon Phillips (13), Drew Stubbs 2 (13), Jonny Gomes (12), Jorge Posada (11), Juan Rivera (11), Justin Smoak (10), Buster Posey (8), Andres Torres (8), Yuniesky Betancourt (7), Jerry Hairston (7), Eric Hinske (7), Fred Lewis (6), Carlos Santana (6), Reid Brignac 2 (4), Tony Gwynn (3, an inside-the-park job), Josh Bard (2), Matt Diaz (2), Yorvit Torrealba (2)

Stolen Bases:

- Juan Pierre (33), Andrew McCutchen (21), Angel Pagan (20), Bobby Abreu (16), Austin Jackson (16), Cliff Pennington (14), Carlos Gonzalez (13), Chase Headley (12), Justin Upton (12), Orlando Cabrera (11), Adam Kennedy (10), Kelly Johnson (9), Ian Kinsler (9), Jason Kendall (6), Jason Bartlett (5), Jimmy Rollins (4), Raul Ibanez (3), Brandon Inge (2), Daric Barton (1), Michael Brantley (1), Francisco Cervelli (1)

Caught Stealing:

- Juan Pierre (12), Julio Lugo (6), Ryan Theriot (5), Vlad Guerrero (4), Alcides Escobar (3), Raul Ibanez (3), Derrek Lee (3), Corey Patterson (3), Shane Victorino (3), Orlando Cabrera (2), Jon Jay (2), Ryan Langerhans (1), Adam LaRoche (1)