Breaking News Department:

- there may have been a trade today.

Notables:

- Chad Billingsley tossed 6.2 shutout innings, with a 5:2 K:BB ratio, while Barry Zito nearly matched him by throwing seven innings with a 6:2 K:BB ratio, but a Casey Blake solo shot sprinkled in.
- Kevin Slowey fired eight shutout innings, striking out five without walking anybody, to outduel Felix Hernandez.
- Delmon Young extended his hitting streak to 10 games, during which he's merely 23-for-45 (.511) with just the 17 RBI.
- Dallas Braden wasn't perfect or nothin', but he did turn in a complete game victory, giving up two runs with a 5:1 K:BB ratio.
- David Ortiz went 2-for-5 with three RBI, including the game-winners. He's now got four home runs and 12 RBI in his last nine games.
- Robinson Cano went 3-for-4 with two doubles and the game-winning home run. But he struck out in his other at-bat. Slacker.
- Carlos Gonzalez went 4-for-4, hit for the cycle, and stole a base to boot. Oh, and his home run won the game. But did he balance the budget or cure cancer? No. Slacker.
- Rich Harden came off the DL and conceded just one run over seven innings, albeit with a pedestrian 3:2 K:BB ratio.
- Dan Haren did his best Cliff Lee impression, throwing a complete game for the Angels but taking the loss. He gave up two runs on five hits with a 6:2 K:BB ratio.
- Jeff Suppan threw 5.1 innings and 74 pitches, and completely failed to allow a run. He even posted a 5:0 K:BB ratio. That outing alone cements Dave Duncan's case for the Hall of Fame, if you ask me.
- Colby Rasmus made his fantasy owners happy, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a steal, and three each RBI and runs.
- Hisanori Takahashi struck out 10 in six innings, giving up just one run on seven hits and two walks.
- Wandy Rodriguez struck out nine over eight shutout innings to get the win. Somewhere, Joe Sheehan is as giddy as a schoolboy.
- Chris Johnson went 3-for-3, extending his hititng streak to 14 games.
- Josh Tomlin's second big league start went about as well as his first, and I mean that non-sarcastically. He gave up just one run over 5.1 innings, with a 5:2 K:BB ratio.

Save Chances:

- Neftali Feliz, converted (29). One inning, all zeros.
- Francisco Cordero, converted (28). Two hits and two K's in a shutout inning.
- Joakim Soria, converted (28). One K and a hit in a shutout inning.
- Leo Nunez, converted (26). Ricky Nolasco cruised through eight innings before faltering in the ninth, so Nunez came in to get the final two outs.
- Mariano Rivera, converted (22). One hit and one K in a shutout inning.
- Chris Perez, converted (11). Gave up a hit and a walk but struck out two in a scoreless inning. Kerry Wood won't be missed in Cleveland.
- Jonathan Broxton, blown (4). Gave up the game-winning home run to Pat Burrell, which is just embarrassing. How long until Joe Torre starts considering slotting savvy veteran Octavio Dotel in as closer?
- Brad Lidge, blown (4). A hit, a sac bunt, a walk, a Ryan Zimmerman home run, adios.
- Phil Coke, blown (2). With Jose Valverde gassed, Jim Leyland turned to Coke, which didn't work out so well - one out versus two hits and a walk, leading to two runs.

Other Closer Outings:

- Rafael Soriano took the loss, giving up a solo home run to Robinson Cano in the ninth inning of a tie game.
- Huston Street got the win after throwing a clean ninth inning.
- Francisco Rodriguez got the win, striking out two in a perfect ninth inning. Juan Gutierrez took the loss in the same game, giving up the winning run on a hit and two walks.

Non-Closer Outings:

- David Hernandez came in to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning and gave up a two-run home run to Billy Butler. Whoops. He might be the closer next season, but his apprenticeship isn't going so well.

Lineup-o-logy:

- Lance Berkman hit second in his Yankees debut, going 0-for-4.
- Jon Jay also hit second as the Cards' new right fielder, and also went 0-for-4. Bad day to be a new #2 hitter, I guess.
- Brett Wallace hit sixth as the Astros' new first baseman, but he too could not escape the Curse of the Oh-Fer.
- The new-look Rangers batting order had Cristian Guzman hitting sixth and Jorge Cantu hitting seventh. Oh, and David Murphy hitting third, presumably because he was filling in for Josh Hamilton and not because of an OPS barely north of 700.

Tough Days:

- Melky Cabrera gave Ryan Hanigan a tee ball home run, as the ball slipped out of his hand when he tried to throw it back to the infield after a double and allowed Hanigan to score on the two-base error. That's not impression you want to leave the game before competition for your playing time (i.e. Rick Ankiel) arrives in town.

Injuries:

- Carlos Pena left the game in the sixth inning with a sore foot.
- Aaron Cook, who wasn't even the scheduled starter, took a foul ball off the foot during batting practice and was taken for x-rays.
- Josh Hamilton was a late scratch due to his knee, but isn't expected to be out long.

Home Runs:

- Miguel Cabrera (26), Albert Pujols (24), Dan Uggla (23), Robinson Cano (21), Carlos Gonzalez (21), Vlad Guerrero (21), Mark Teixeira (21), Nick Swisher (20), Scott Rolen (18), Ryan Zimmerman (18), Colby Rasmus (17), Andruw Jones (15), Miguel Olivo (13), Derrek Lee (12), Casey Blake (11), Billy Butler (10), Scott Hairston (10), Raul Ibanez (10), Kevin Kouzmanoff (10), Michael Stanton (9), Pat Burrell (8), Howie Kendrick (8), Jeff Clement (6), Matt Joyce (5), Mitch Maier (4), Jose Molina (4), Carlos Ruiz (3)

Stolen Bases:

- Carl Crawford (38), Michael Bourn (32), Elvis Andrus (26), Rafael Furcal (18), Carlos Gonzalez (15), Dexter Fowler (11), Colby Rasmus (10), Jimmy Rollins (9), Dan Uggla (3)

Caught Stealing:

- Nelson Cruz (4), Rafael Furcal (4), Chris Young (4), Adam Kennedy (1)