The 21 Greatest Days of His Life:

- 14-year minor league veteran Max St. Pierre gets his first big league start behind the plate, and goes 1-for-4 for his first big league hit. No word yet on his feelings about a Constitutional amendment banning Astroturf and the designated hitter.

Cooperstown Says Hi:

- Jim Thome homers twice to pass Mark McGwire for ninth place on the all-time home run list.

Notables:

- Joe Saunders tossed seven strong, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four. He also picked up his first two big league hits, first big league RBI and first big league stolen base.
- Austin Jackson went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and a home run.
- Josh Johnson struck out 12 Braves over six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and three walks. It wasn't good enough: Jair Jurrjens tossed seven shutout frames, striking out seven, to get the win.
- John Danks outdueled Clay Buchholz in the first game of a Sox-Sox doubleheader. Danks gave up one run over seven innings with five K's, while Buchholz gave up two over five innings.
- John Lackey and Gavin Floyd then went mano-a-mano in the nightcap. Floyd came away with the win, giving up one run over six innings with five K's to top Lackey's three earned runs (but only one earned) over seven innings with 7 K's.
- John Lannan's night was blemished by only a solo home run over seven innings, with a nifty 7:1 K:BB ratio.
- Ian Desmond went 3-for-5 with a double, run scored, RBI, and two more errors in the field to give him 31 on the year.
- Ivan Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI.
- for the first time in his career (342 games), Roy Halladay gave up four home runs in an outing. They were all solo shots though, and he still got the win.
- Corey Hart had two of those solo shots.
- Matt Tolbert, starting in place of Danny Valencia, went 2-for-5 with two triples and five RBI.
- Carlos Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and a steal.
- Trevor Cahill threw six shutout innings and won his 15th game despite walking six batters.
- Travis Wood gave up just one unearned run (on his own error, no less) over seven innings on five hits and two walks, striking out three. He atoned for the error by hitting a solo home off Adam Wainwright.
- Starlin Castro went 2-for-4 with a steal and a run scored, his sixth straight multihit game.
- Carlos Beltran went 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and a steal.
- Mitch Talbot gave up just one unearned run over 6.2 innings with a 6:1 K:BB ratio to pick up his first win since the end of June.

Save Chances:

- Brian Wilson, converted (39). Two hits allowed in a scoreless inning.
- Billy Wagner, converted (32). One hit and a K in a scoreless inning.
- Mariano Rivera, converted (29). Struck out two and gave up a hit in one inning of work.
- Bobby Jenks, converted and converted (26 and 27). One hit and a K in the opener, then one K in 1.1 perfect innings in Game 2 of a doubleheader.
- Carlos Marmol, converted (27). Gave up a hit and struck out the side in a shutout inning.
- Jose Valverde, converted (25). One K and one walk in a shutout inning.
- Andrew Bailey, converted (21). One K in a perfect inning.
- Brad Lidge, converted (20). One K in a perfect ininng.
- Chris Perez, converted (18). Two K's in 1.1 perfect innings.
- Brandon Lyon, converted (12). One hit in a boring inning. Did I say boring? I meant scoreless.
- Jonathan Broxton, blown (6). Struck out two but gave up three hits, including a game-winning two-run home run by Juan Uribe, in the top of the ninth.
 

Other Closer Outings:

- Koji Uehara, working with a six run lead, gave up two solo home runs in an inning of work.
- Francisco Cordero gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth pitching with a five run lead.
- Hong-Chih Kuo retired both batters he faced to snuff out a Giants rally in the eighth, but couldn't pitch the ninth after working Friday too. He then got to watch Broxton lose the game in the ninth.

Non-Closer Outings:

- Mike Gonzalez struck out the side in a perfect eighth inning.
- Aroldis Chapman walked one in a shutout eighth inning.
- Joba Chamberlain and Kerry Wood each threw a perfect inning with one K setting up Mariano Rivera.

Tough Days:

- Bud Norris gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks over 4.2 innings, striking out five.
- Paul Maholm got tagged for seven runs over 4.1 innings, on nine hits and two walks. He managed that despite starting the game with three no-hit innings.
- James Shields coughed up six runs over 4.1 innings on eight hits and a walk, striking out three.
- Colby Lewis was brutal, giving up nine runs on only eight hits and two walks over 3.2 innings. He's 0-7 with a 5.07 ERA over his last nine starts.
- Neither Javier Vazquez nor Mark Rzepczynski made it to the fifth inning, with Vazquez giving up five runs on four hits and four walks over 4.2 frames, while Rzepczynski surrendered five runs over four innings, on six hits and three walks.

Injuries:

- Danny Valencia was out with a tight hamstring, and could miss a few days.

Home Runs:

- Prince Fielder (29), Ryan Howard (26), Corey Hart 2 (25), Russell Branyan (22), Aramis Ramirez (21), Carlos Lee (20), Jim Thome 2 (20), Jayson Werth (20), Torii Hunter (19), Juan Uribe (18), Lyle Overbay (17), Ike Davis (16), Pat Burrell (15), Andrew McCutchen (13), Buster Posey (11), Marcus Thames (11), Nick Markakis (9), Brad Hawpe (8, but 1st in AL), Matt Joyce (8), Ian Kinsler (7), John McDonald (6), John Jaso (5), Alcides Escobar (4), Jay Gibbons (3), Austin Jackson (3), Kila Ka'aihue (3), Edgar Renteria (3), Ivan Rodriguez (3), Ryan Roberts (1), Travis Wood (1)

Stolen Bases:

- Michael Bourn (45), Brett Gardner (40), Coco Crisp (23), Carlos Gonzalez (21), Corey Patterson (20), Rafael Furcal (19), Shin-Soo Choo (17), Howie Kendrick (12), Luis Castillo (8), Starlin Castro (8), Ryan Spilborghs (3), Carlos Beltran (2), Ruben Tejada (2), Darren Ford (1), Joe Saunders (1)

Caught Stealing:

- Brandon Phillips (11), Alexei Ramirez (8), Omar Vizquel (6), Orlando Cabrera (4), Alberto Callaspo (2), Alex Gonzalez (2), Chase Utley (2), Ramiro Pena (1)