Headlines:

- As of press time, Francisco Rodriguezmay or may not have been arrested and charged with third-degree assault for attacking his father-in-law. What we do know is that there was an altercation, his father-in-law was being treated for facial abrasions, and K-Rod had been detained for questioning. (Subsequent Ed. Note: K-Rod has been suspended by the team for two games.)

- Not Ready For Prime Time Players: The Reds were outclassed in every which way in their three-game series against the Cardinals. Once Colby Rasmus hit his grand slam to put the Cards up 4-0, the game was over, with Adam Wainwright on the mound. The Cardinals' Big Three completely shut down the Reds offense, holding them to six runs while they were in the game and eight runs total in the series sweep. There's still plenty of baseball left, but with only three games left between the two teams, it's pretty clear which of the two teams is the favorite to win the NL Central.

- Joe Torre, Stealth Opposing Manager: Once again, Matt Kemp became the whipping boy for the Dodgers' struggles, sitting out in favor of Jay Gibbons. Torre wouldn't commit to starting him on Thursday, either: "We know what [Kemp] is capable of," Torre said. "He is struggling, and he has been fighting it. Gibby's first couple of days here have been good. I'm just going to sleep on it." I understand that Kemp isn't having a good season, but still, he clearly gives the Dodgers the best chance of winning. I'd rant further, but really, just read Jon Weisman. I'm with Liss on Joe Torre - he's not just overrated, he's outright harmful as a manager. Meanwhile, this has to be a buying opportunity for Kemp in keeper leagues, at least at a 5|PERCENT| discount, right?

St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 1:

- The Reds beat up on bad pitching quite well, but they also get shut down easily by the elite starters. They're awfully dependent on (a) the longball and (b) a high batting average on balls-in-play, and less reliant on getting on-base via the walk. They drew zero walks against Cardinals pitching on Wednesday, as Adam Wainwright shut them out over seven innings.
- Speaking of Wainwright, his fastball movement was especially nasty on Wednesday. I counted at least three weak grounders caused by hitters getting jammed on the fastball moving in on their fists. Yahoo's scoring system had him as their top-ranked fantasy player overall heading into Wednesday's game.
- Colby Rasmus' grand slam was the first of his career. Ever since the Ryan Ludwick traded he has started every game for the Cardinals. That's a happy accident for Cardinals fans - I had my concerns about how they were dealing with Rasmus, but this trade basically forced their hand into playing him daily.
- The Cardinals will have one whole to fill in the rotation, with Jeff Suppan hitting the DL with a groin injury.
- Steven Hill was called up to replace Jason LaRue, who was injured in Tuesday's brawl.
- It's possible that Homer Bailey will be called up to start if Johnny Cueto is suspended, or to replace Mike Leake in the rotation.

Detroit 3, Tampa Bay 2:

- Dan Johnson batted leadoff for the Rays. It's all about the OBP for manager Joe Maddon - Johnson was hitting .176 coming into the game, but with 11 walks to give him a .483 OBP. Alas, he went 0-for-4 with a walk against Justin Verlander.
- Ryan Raburn has had a pretty miserable season, but for at least one day he reprised his late-season run from last year by hitting the go-ahead two-run homer.
- David Price's next start has been pushed back to Monday, giving Jeremy Hellickson another start this week.
- The Tigers contemplated sending the slumping Brennan Boesch down to Triple-A but decided against it.

Atlanta 8, Houston 2 (10 innings):

- Pitching in his second of work on his third consecutive day of work, Brandon Lyon finally got hit hard, giving up five runs in the 10th inning, including Brian McCann's game-icing grand slam. His ERA went from 3.14 to 3.91 with the outing.
- Billy Wagner's blown save in part due to a bold but risky baserunning play by Hunter Pence, who went from first-to-third on a single to left, barely getting in.
- Wandy Rodriguez had another nice no-decision, as did Tommy Hanson, thanks to the blown save. Hanson allowed just one unearned run and Rodriguez allowed two runs, one earned, while striking out nine.
- Matt Lindstrom was unavailable due to a sore recent track record, er, back.
- Chipper Jones sat out with pain on the lower left side of his knee and will get an MRI on Thursday.
- Jason Heyward sat out again with a sore right knee, but should play on Friday.
- Martin Prado (finger) will take live batting practice on Friday.

Los Angeles Angels 2, Kansas City 1 (10 innings):

- Zack Greinke reverted to old form - pitch well, get no run support, get a no-decision.
- Ned Yost reverted to the form of Trey Hillman, managing by the save rule to not get Joakim Soria into the game. Soria hadn't pitched the previous two games, either. Jesse Chavez, however, pitched in two of the three games, giving up the walk-off homer to Bobby Abreu on Wednesday.
- Speaking of Abreu, he's thriving in the leadoff spot, going 2-for-5 with the game-winning homer.
- Peter Bourjos got a routine day off, with Reggie Willits starting in his place.
- Blake Wood's numbers aren't anything special (5.45 ERA, 14:15 K:BB in 34.2 innings), but he was throwing 98 mph according to the Angels' telecast. With Robinson Tejeda on the DL, Wood looks to be the Royals' top set-up guy.

Oakland 5, Seattle 1:

- Chris Carter went 0-for-3 with a walk and is now 0-for-9 with one walk and five K's since his promotion.
- Since returning from the DL, Dallas Braden has won three of his five starts, throwing two complete games. Only once all season has he walked more than two batters in a game.
- Franklin Gutierrez came |STAR|this|STAR| close to hitting a grand slam, instead settling for a sacrifice fly.
- Ben Sheets had Tommy John elbow surgery on Wednesday when the operating surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, found UCL damage.
- Adam Rosales had to leave with a right ankle injury - he was picking up a token start at shortstop before getting hurt.
- Michael Saunders (shoulder) didn't start for the sixth consecutive game.

Philadelphia 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 0:

- Roy Oswalt outdueled Chad Billingsley, shutting out the Dodgers over seven innings. After the game, his former catcher and current Dodgers catcher Brad Ausmus said that Oswalt relied on his changeup more than he's ever seen.
- Don't look now, but Brad Lidge has become some order of a stable closer, converting his last five opportunities. He threw a perfect inning with two strikeouts on Wednesday.
- Flavor of the <strike>Month</strike> <strike>Week</strike> Day Jay Gibbons went 0-for-4 while replacing Matt Kemp in the lineup.
- Ross Gload became the latest injured Phillies hitter, hurting his leg while running out a double.
- Chase Utley (thumb) has been cleared to hit, six weeks after suffering the injury. He'll end up coming back close to the original eight week estimate, maybe beating it by a handful of days.
- Rafael Furcal ended up having to go on the DL this week because of his back injury after all.

Baltimore 3, Cleveland 1:

- Josh Bell went 3-for-4 in the win over the Tribe. He's struggled since his promotion, hitting .212/.212/.231 in 52 at-bats - that's zero walks and just one extra-base hit so far, to go along with 20 strikeouts.
- Bradley Bergesen had his third good start in a row, allowing one run in a complete game effort against a watered-down Indians lineup.
- The Indians sent down David Huff and recalled Jess Todd.

Florida 9, Washington 5:

- Scott Olsen got lit up to the tune of seven runs on eight hits over 1.2 innings, giving up one homer. That gives him four homers allowed in his first three starts since returning from the DL.
- Leo Nunez managed to not give up two runs for the first time in four outings, throwing a shutout inning with two strikeouts.
- Ian Desmond homered twice, giving him nine on the year. For the season he's hitting .262/.296/.410. That's not enough to hold off Danny Espinosa, but it's possible that Desmond could still handle second base when Espinosa is ready.
- Oh yeah, Michael Stanton had a moderately good day. 5-for-5, four RBI, two runs and his 11th homer of the year.
- Josh Willingham sat out with a bad knee.
- The Nats fine-tuned Stephen Strasburg's arm exercises to help avoid the shoulder tightness he developed last month.

Boston 10, Toronto 1:

- Bill Hall has been a really nice find for fantasy owners and the Red Sox alike. His two homers on Wednesday gave him 15 on the year, and a .247/.323/.481 overall line - not great for a starter, but really nice for the $1 or $2 it cost you to get him in your AL-only leagues.
- How much does Adrian Beltre love getting out of Seattle? He hit his 21st homer of the year and is now hitting .335.
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia is up with the big league club after not getting a shot with the Rangers once he recovered from "Mackey Sasser disease." Kevin Cash became the latest Red Sox catcher to hit the DL.
- Both Vernon Wells and Yunel Escobar returned from injuries.

Colorado 6, New York Mets 2:

- Jon Niese was fantastic (7IP, 1R, 7K/0BB), but the Mets' bullpen was tragic, giving up five runs in the eighth, preventing the game from even getting to K-Rod. If K-Rod has to miss more than a couple of games, who would you gamble on to pick up the saves? Bobby Parnell? Pedro Feliciano? Craig Swan?
- Angel Pagan hit his 10th homer of the season - quietly he's had a great year, hitting .307/.366/.476 with 26 stolen bases. How much do you pay for him in an NL-only league next year?
- Melvin Mora hit the big blow for the Rockies, a grand slam that was just his third homer of the season.

New York Yankees 7, Texas 6:

- The Rangers failed to score in the ninth despite a lead-off triple by Elvis Andrus. Contrast that by the meltdown from the usually reliable Rangers bullpen. The lesson? Mariano Rivera is still the man.
- Kerry Wood threw two shutout innings to get the win. Between he and David Robertson, the Yankees have their two set-up guys to replace Joba Chamberlain if need be.
- Cliff Lee struck out 11 and walked none, though he gave up a high-for-him four runs on eight hits.
- Marcus Thames batted third with Mark Teixeira away from the team and had a huge homer and then the go-ahead single in the ninth.
- Neftali Feliz blew the save on Wednesday in his first opportunity since July 31, though he got the win on Tuesday, pitching two innings then. He gave up two hits and a walk while allowing two runs.

Arizona 8, Milwaukee 2:

- Ryan Braun (wrist) didn't start but was able to pinch-hit, though he struck out.
- David Bush has always had gopher ball issues, but Wednesday was silly, as he gave up four consecutive solo homers in the fourth inning.
- Dan Hudson had his third good outing in a row for the Diamondbacks, limiting the Brewers to two runs on seven hits and a walk over seven innings, striking out nine. The one negative was the two homers he allowed - he remains a gopher ball risk, a quality that will be heightened in Arizona.
- Corey Hart (back) returned to action after missing two games, but went 0-for-3 with a walk.

Chicago White Sox 6, Minnesota 1:

- Glen Perkins' spot start didn't go so well, but he also wasn't helped by his defense, as both Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy committed errors.
- Carlos Quentin had his typical day - two hits, a homer, and got hit by two pitches.
- J.J. Hardy reinjured his left wrist - the Twins currently say that he won't need to go on the DL, but they thought that last time, too.
- Jose Mijares left with an injured left knee.
- Jon Rauch was out with a sprained toe and is day-to-day.
- Gordon Beckham (groin) returned after missing two games.
- Andruw Jones was scratched with a sore back.

San Diego 8, Pittsburgh 5:

- Jerry Hairston Jr. is up to 10 homers and Will Venable now has 20 stolen bases, as two of the Padres' quiet over-performers on the year.
- James McDonald started off strong but ran out of gas in the fifth inning, givng up four runs in 4.2 innings. He did strike out six batters and from most appearances looks like he's going to be a part of the Bucs' rotation next year.
- Adrian Gonzalez went 4-for-4 with a walk.
- There's still no projected return date for David Eckstein (calf). At this point the Padres are in no rush, with Hairston playing well.

San Francisco 5, Chicago Cubs 4:

- For the second day in a row, Pat Burrell had the game-winner, this time a solo homer off of Justin Berg.
- Brian Wilson is up to 33 saves with his effort on Wednesday.
- Tyler Colvin hit his 18th homer of the year - I was a skeptic at the beginning of the year, and there still are some aspects of his game I question, most notably his plate discipline (23 walks, 79 strikeouts), but he's exceeded expectations.
- Aramis Ramirez was a late scratch with a sore ribcage. Jeff Baker started in his place.
- The Cubs were able to flip Mike Fontenot to the Giantas for outfield prospect Evan Crawford before the game, and Fontenot was able to report right away.
- John Grabow has a torn MCL and is out for the year.