Yawn ... Another No-Hitter:

- Amazingly, Matt Garza threw the fifth no-hitter of the season, facing the minimum number of batters against the toothless Tigers. Garza wasn't particularly hot coming into this game, but he did catch the Tigers at the right time, with three regulars out on the DL. He relied primarily on his fastball, more often than not high in the strike zone, and the Tigers' hitters couldn't catch up. It was the first no-hitter thrown by a Rays pitcher, after four were thrown against them, including three in the last season-and-a-half. The Mets and Padres still don't have a no-hitter, which is a surprise given their respective ballpark histories and some of the good pitchers that have passed through each team.
- Meanwhile, Max Scherzer took a no-hitter into the sixth against the Rays, only to load the bases on two walks and a catcher's interference (Gerald Laird's clearly superior defense over Alex Avila once again kicking in) before Matt Joyce had the first hit of the game, a grand slam.

Welcome Back, Catcher (Who writes these headlines, anyhow? Oh, wait, that's me.):

- Matt Wieters - Wieters came back from the DL on Sunday, but really came back on Monday, with two homers and two walks in a losing effort. Could this be the start of another second half surge to salvage decent overall numbers? Maybe so, but even if it does, his performance is overshadowed by ...
- Joe Mauer - Mauer had a nice week on Monday, going 5-for-5 with a homer, seven RBI and three runs scored. But the slacker didn't steal any bases.
- Victor Martinez went 1-for-4 in his first game back from the DL (thumb).

Notables:

- Curtis Granderson hit his third homer in the last two games, a two-run shot in the eighth to give the Yankees the lead. It's probably too late to buy low on him now (though we received a call on Monday morning asking about him on RotoWire Fantasy Sports Today - XM 147, Sirius 211).
- Jake Westbrook worked one inning too many, giving up Granderson's shot while protecting a 2-1 lead. If Kerry Wood is healthy, does Manny Acta let Westbrook pitch the eighth, or does he turn to Chris Perez instead? I think the lack of quality alternatives in the Cleveland bullpen pushed this decision in the direction of keeping Westbrook in there.
- Carlos Silva halted a recent slide, allowing one run on five hits and a walk, striking out four. Facing the Astros cure a lot of ills.
- John Danks outdueled Felix Hernandez, holding the Mariners to one run over eight innings, allowing six hits and a walk.
- Zack Greinke got pounded, giving up eight runs in four innings, raising his ERA to over 4.00. Danny Valencia hit his first major league homer against him en route to a 4-for-4 day, a grand slam in the first inning. The only bright side? He struck out seven.
- Ignored in the Twins' onslaught was Francisco Liriano's seven shutout innings. He allowed three hits and no walks while striking out six. He didn't make the All-Star game.
- Clay Buchholz won the pitching duel with Dan Haren, going seven innings while allowing just Bobby Abreu's solo homer while striking out seven.
- Ricky Nolasco outdueled Barry Zito, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over 6.1 innings, striking out seven and avoiding the long ball.
- Michael Stanton homered and hit an RBI double which ultimately provided the margin for victory for the Marlins. The K's haven't really abated (54 in 142 at-bats), but he's still hitting for plenty of power, with a .458 SLG despite a .225 BA.

Save Chances:

- Brad Lidge, "converted" (10). This one didn't exactly do much to engender the confidence of the Phillies management or fan base. Entering with a three-run lead, Lidge gave up a two-run homer to Seth Smith with two outs. He then walked the next hitter, gave up a weak single to left (it looked like Jimmy Rollins had a reasonable shot at getting it, but he was hit by a pitch on his foot earlier in the game), then a wild pitch that forced an intentional walk to load the bases. He finally got out of it by inducing a dribbler from Ryan Spilborghs and throwing him out at first.
- Mariano Rivera, converted (21). One leadoff hit, then nothing else allowed. This just in - he's still good.
- David Purcey, converted (1). A lot had to happen to create Purcey's save chance. First, the top three relievers in the back end of the bullpen were pretty well spent after playing three games the last two days, four if you count Shawn Camp. Next, Purcey needed the scarcely-used Casey Janssen to give up three innings to put the game inside the three-run leather. Then, after getting the final out in the eighth, he needed the Jays to score another run to make it a non-save situation for the Jays' top back-end relievers.
- Carlos Marmol, converted (19). Ho-hum, two more strikeouts in an inning of work. He now has a sick 91 strikeouts on the year.
- John Axford, converted (15). Axford gave up a double to former Brewer Laynce Nix, but then got bailed out a little by Nix's baserunning error on the next batter before recording his second strikeout to end the game.
- Jonathan Papelbon, converted (23). Papelbon had to come in for a four-out save as the Red Sox's non-Dan Bard middle relievers once again struggled.
- Leo Nunez, converted (24). It was a little dicey, as Nunez gave up two singles to start the inning, and he ultimately allowed one run before striking out Edgar Renteria to end the game.

Other Closer Outings:

- Chris Perez pitched the ninth with a one-run deficit, walking one, throwing a wild pitch, then intentionally walking another before emerging without allowing a run.

Non-Closer Reliever Outings:

- Taylor Buchholz threw two shutout innings, striking out eight for the Rockies. It's not a stretch to see him becoming the next in line behind Huston Street eventually.
- David Robertson and Boone Logan split the eighth for the Yankees instead of the struggling Joba Chamberlain.
- Scott Atchison couldn't give the Red Sox a comfortable eighth with a three-run lead, giving up a two-run homer while recording just two outs.

Lineup-o-logy:

- Brad Hawpe has been completely marginalized by his injuries and his lack of performance. With stinky Joe Blanton, a righty, on the mound, the Rockies opted to use Jason Giambi at first and Ryan Spilborghs in right field over Hawpe. What is it with Rockies hitters and their walk years? Hawpe has only five homers on the year and has started just six games in July. Is this a "buy lowest" situation for you, or a flat-out cut if you're in a mixed league?
- Dustin Moseley will replace Sergio Mitre in the Yankees' rotation on Thursday.
- The injury-wracked Tigers became the hitless wonders on Monday, starting Wil Rhymes at 2B, Donald Kelly at 3B, Gerald Laird at C, and Danny Worth at SS. They're the winners of the bad timing with injuries award so far this year.
- Ty Wigginton had his suspension reduced from three games to two and began serving it immediately on Monday. Jake Fox started in his place at first.
- Yuniesky Betancourt was a late scratch for the Royals because of a "personal emergency." (scare quotes came from the wire story, not from us)

Injuries:

- Dan Haren left after getting a line drive off his right wrist from the bat of Kevin Youkilis - initial exams revealed just a contusion. Prior to leaving he allowed two runs in 4.2 innings, striking out eight.
- Chris Coghlan has a torn MCL and is on the DL, and might need surgery. Coghlan reportedly suffered the injury while "pieing" teammate Wes Helms in the face in a victory celebration on Sunday. The Marlins called up Logan Morrison, who will split time with Emilio Bonifacio for now. If the Marlins trade Dan Uggla, then Bonifacio presumably would move to second and Morrison would play every day.
- Jimmy Rollins fouled a ball off his foot but stayed in the game, despite limping a little. X-rays after the game were negative.
- Brian Roberts (back/abdominal muscle) will get the day off on Tuesday - the playing surface at Skydome (yeah, I know that's anachronistic) is a good incentive to give Roberts a break.
- Geovany Soto fouled a ball off his left foot and will probably miss Tuesday's game and perhaps Wednesday's as well.
- Scott Rolen (hamstring) returned after missing nine games. He went 0-for-3 with a HBP and a run scored - and he seemed to run well on the bases when he was on.
- Cory Hart (right thumb) remained out - how much does this injury squash his trade value? He said after the game that his thumb was still aching and that he isn't able to grip a bat.
- Russell Branyan remained out with a bad back but good return on Tuesday. Justin Smoak sat out with sore legs (and sore bat).

Stolen Bases:

- Carlos Gonzalez (14); Shane Victorino (19); Jason Bartlett 2 (8,9); B.J. Upton (27); Michael Bourn (31); Chris Johnson (2); Jonny Gomes (3); Milton Bradley (8); Juan Pierre (36); Omar Vizquel (5); Alexi Ramirez (5); Scott Podsednik (30); Kevin Youkilis (4).

Caught Stealing:

- Carlos Quentin (1) - all of a sudden he's been running more lately - what's gotten into him? Please go back to hitting homers; Andres Torres (5).

Home Runs:

- Seth Smith (14); Nick Swisher (18); Curtis Granderson (10); Travis Hafner (9); Luke Scott (17); Matt Wieters 2 (7,8); Jose Bautista (28); Adam Lind (14); Aaron Hill (14); Carl Crawford (12); Matt Joyce (3) - a grand slam that gave Matt Garza plenty of cushion to work with; Ryan Theriot (1); Rickie Weeks (21); Jim Edmonds (8); Paul Konerko (22); Joe Mauer (6); Danny Valencia (1); David Ortiz 2 (20, 21); Bobby Abreu (11); Hideki Matsui (14); Dan Uggla (19); Michael Stanton (8); Aaron Rowand (9).

Tough Days:

- Bradley Bergesen dropped his seventh consecutive decision by allowing eight runs on 10 hits over five-plus innings. Why again does he get a long rope but Chris Tillman doesn't?

Transactions:

- Josh Tomlin will make his major league debut for the Indians on Tuesday against the Yankees, getting the call ahead of Carlos Carrasco. He's an extreme control guy, usually averaging less than two walks per nine innings throughout his minor league career, though he's given up a few more at this level. He had a 2.68 ERA at Triple-A Columbus, with a 80:33 K:BB in 107.1 innings. He was one of three Indians minor leaguers charged initially of assaluting a man in a nightclub, though that charged was reduced to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
- Logan Morrison got called up when Chris Coghlan went on the DL.