Best. Rookie Crop. Ever., Ctd:

- Jason Heyward stayed hot, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored, four RBI and his 16th home run. He's got six multi-hit games in his last nine.
- Starlin Castro went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored.
- Brett Wallace went 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored and an RBI to give JA Happ more than enough run support.
- Peter Bourjos, who only homers on nights I recap, went 2-for-3 with a solo shot and a steal.
- Chris Valaika continues to enjoy the majors, going 3-for-5 to make him 8-for- his first-20.
- Chris Sale struck out the side, giving up one hit, in a scoreless seventh. He's got a 1.00 ERA and 14:5 K:BB ratio in his first nine big league innings. Might there be another name in the save mix in Chicago?
- Thomas Diamond, the one-time Rangers prospect, struck out three in 1.2 perfect innings and has a 9:1 K:BB ratio in six innings since moving to the bullpen. He seems to finally be turning into the fearsome short reliever everyone thought he would be.
- Aroldis Chapman is expected to get called up before Tuesday's game, and bring his "105" mph heat to the Reds bullpen.
- Buster Posey was back in the lineup after missing a couple of games with a forearm strain, and went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Notables:

- JA Happ threw a two-hit shutout, walking one and striking out four, to shut down the Cardinals.
- Jay Bruce went 3-for-5 with a home run and a game-winning RBI single hitting from the leadoff spot again. He's on one of his hot streaks, with five long balls in four games.
- CJ Wilson tosses 7.2 shutout innings, allowing two hits and walking four while striking out six, to win his 14th game.
- Nelson Cruz returned to the lineup from his latest bout of gimpiness, going 1-for-4 with a double.
- Javier Vazquez actually looked pretty good in relief, giving up just one run over 4.2 innings, striking out six while giving up just two hits and a walk.
- Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher each had three hits and three RBI to pace an 11-run, 13-hit attack by the Yankees.
- Jeff Larish went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBI.
- Alex Rios: 5-for-6, double, home run, steal, three runs and four RBI. The amazing thing might have been that he still managed to leave two men on base.
- Mark Reynolds went 3-for-5 with two bombs and five RBI.
- Jorge De La Rosa and Jonathan Sanchez traded sharp no-decisions, with each allowing just one run. De La Rosa struck out nine and walked four over seven innings, while Sanchez struck out six and walked two over eight.
- Hiroki Kuroda outdueled Roy Halladay, allowing just one hit with a 7:2 K:BB ratio over 7.2 shutout innings.
- Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-4 with two steals.
- Adam Dunn went 2-for-4 (his third straight two-hit game) with a home run and four RBI.
- Ryan Zimmerman also went 2-for-4 with a home run, scoring three runs and driving in three.

Save Chances:

- Neftali Feliz, converted (33). One hit and a K in a shutout inning.
- Huston Street, converted (13). No strikeouts in a perfect ninth.
- Hong-Chih Kuo, converted (7). 1.1 perfect innings to finish off Kuroda's shutout.
- Fernando Rodney, converted (7). He gave up a run on one hit and one walk, but he was working with a three run lead.
- Bobby Jenks, blown (4). Three run on three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings.
- Brian Wilson, blown (4). Gave up a run on two hits in the ninth.
 

Other Closer Outings:

- Francisco Cordero tossed a shutout 10th inning, giving up one hit and striking out one, to win his fifth game.
- Chris Perez struck out the side in a scoreless 10th, allowing one hit, only to see the Indians blow it in the 11th.

Non-Closer Outings:

- Tim Stauffer struck out three in three innings of shutout relief, bumping his K:BB ratio to 38:12 and dropping his ERA to 1.31 in 48 innings on the season.
- Aaron Heilman threw a perfect ninth inning, striking out one, to protect a five run lead.
- Joel Peralta, Tyler Clippard and Craig Stammen combined to strike out nine of the last 12 batters the Marlins sent to the plate, throwing a combined 3.1 innings with only a hit (allowed by Clippard) and a walk (from Stammen) to blemish their lines.

Tough Days:

- Pat Misch got smacked around for eight hits and five runs in just three innings.
- between them, David Wright and Ike Davis summed up the Mets' season nicely by going a combined 1-for-10 with six strikeouts and 12 men left on base. Davis tossed in a throwing error for good measure.
- Trevor Cahill got beaten by a rented mule by the Yankees, coughing up eight runs on nine hits (including back-to-back homers by Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano) over four innings.
- on a night when the White Sox and Indians combined for 16 runs and 35 hits, Jason Donald was the only starter on either squad to ring up an ohfer, going 0-for-5 and leaving five men on base.
- Mitch Talbot generously allowed five runs on 10 hits and three walks over five innings.
- Paul Maholm got plastered for eight runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings.
- Wade LeBlanc gave up two home run to Mark Reynolds en route to a three inning, six run outing.

Injuries:

- Dan Uggla was a late scratch with a groin strain, but given the wet conditions this seems very much like just a precaution.
- Adam LaRoche was also scratched with a sore knee.
- Gordon Beckham got hit by a pitch on the right wrist and left the game.
- Yunel Escobar missed his second straight game with a sore back.

Home Runs:

- Adam Dunn (33), Mark Reynolds 2 (31), Mark Teixeira (29), Robinson Cano (26), Carlos Pena (26), Ryan Zimmerman (25), Aaron Hill (20), Brian McCann (19), Hanley Ramirez (19), Alexis Rios (19), Jay Bruce (18), Hideki Matsui (17), Bobby Abreu (16), Jason Heyward (16), Rod Barajas (15), Jayson Nix (12), Miguel Tejada (10), Marcus Thames (10), Peter Bourjos (2), Brett Hayes (2), Jeff Larish (2), Brent Lillibridge (2), Juan Francisco (1), Carlos Zambrano (1)

Stolen Bases:

- Ichiro Suzuki 2 (34), Alexis Rios (28), Andrew McCutchen (27), Ryan Braun (14), Roger Bernadina (13), Rickie Weeks (9), Omar Vizquel (8), Miguel Olivo (7), Emilio Bonifacio (6), Michael Brantley (6), Marlon Byrd (5), Lorenzo Cain (5), Martin Prado (5), Peter Bourjos (4), Randy Wolf (1)

Caught Stealing:

- Juan Pierre (15), Jamet Carroll (4), Chris Denorfia (4), Kurt Suzuki (2), Eric Young Jr. (2)