Baltimore 4 – Toronto 3

W: Jason Berken (1-2) L: Jon Rauch (2-3) S: Kevin Gregg (13)
HR: J.J. Hardy (7), Adam Lind (14)
SB: Corey Patterson (10)

- Starter Jeremy Guthrie left the game after throwing five clean innings with a lower back strain. He allowed only two base runners and struck out five before departing.

- Kevin Gregg narrowly defeated Jon Rauch in a "who can implode worse" contest. Rauch was tagged for two earned runs without recording an out while Gregg gave up a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to Adam Lind.

- I discussed J.J. Hardy a couple of weeks ago in the MLB Barometer and he's done nothing to disappoint since. He's now 12-for-32 (.375) in the leadoff spot with three home runs.

Philadelphia 3 – Florida 0

W: Cliff Lee (7-5) L: Javier Vazquez (3-7)
HR: Ryan Howard (15)
CS: Gaby Sanchez (1)

- I was listening to the radio the other day and heard someone downplaying the awesomeness that is Cliff Lee. Huh? He pitched a complete game shutout and heading into the game was putting up elite numbers already. His 10.14 K/9 rate (1st in the bigs!) is by far the best of his career and both his BABIP and HR/FB stats are higher than any of his last three seasons.

- The Phillies have now won seven straight and look like the team to beat in the National League.

- Javier Vazquez had his third best outing of the season, surrendering only two runs over five innings. While this was in Philly against a hot team, I still have zero optimism about him going forward.

Minnesota 1 – Chicago 0

W: Nick Blackburn (6-4) L: Mark Buehrle (6-5) S: Matt Capps (9)
HR: Michael Cuddyer (10)

- Nick Blackburn continued his winning ways tossing eight shutout innings. He allowed seven hits but all were singles. How good has Blackburn been? Let's look at his last nine outings. In eight of those outings, he's allowed two or less runs. Over those nine contests his ERA is 2.32 and he has a 5-0 record. Five of those starts have been away so this isn't Target Field at play here.

- Michael Cuddyer is one of the hotter players in baseball right now. After Thursday's affair he's now 11-for-18 (.611) with three home runs and three steals in his last six games, all of which have been at Target Field.

Pittsburgh 5 – Houston 4

W: James McDonald (5-4) L: Jordan Lyles (0-2) S: Jose Veras (1)
HR: Garrett Jones (7)
SB: Matt Diaz (4), Jason Bourgeois (16)

- McDonald was good enough to earn the win as he gave up three earned runs over 5.2 innings. On the flip side, Lyles was more impressive even though he gave up five runs (three earned) in the same 5.2 innings. The difference? McDonald had a 4:4 K:BB ratio while Lyles was 8:1.

- Besides hitting the pivotal home run, Garrett Jones has shown signs of life at the plate in limited playing time in June. For the month he's hitting 9-for-21 (.429).

- Jason Bourgeois has to be one of the more frustrating fantasy players to own. He's done nothing but hit when given the chance and despite only 69 at-bats he now has 16 stolen bases. Prorated over 500 at-bats that would be a total of 116 stolen bases. Seriously, the guy has excellent plate discipline (only three Ks) and should be playing more than what he is (hint: move Jeff Keppinger to third and play Bourgeios at second, Chris Johnson to the bench).

- Don't worry Joel Hanrahan owners after three consecutive saves he deserved a day off. It's worth noting that Jose Veras got the call in his absence although he gave up a run.

Detroit 6 – Cleveland 2

W: Max Scherzer (9-2) L: Mitch Talbot (2-4)
HR: Jhonny Peralta (10), Ryan Raburn (6)
SB: Michael Brantley (9), Austin Jackson (11)

- Max Scherzer settled in after giving up two runs in the first, going 4.2 scoreless thereafter. After a few rough outings he's settled down over his last two (three earned runs in 12.2 innings).

- While he's gone 0-for-8 in his last two games, Austin Jackson has heated up in June sporting a .356 average for the month. The secret to his success has been cutting down on the Ks, as he's improved each month – 34.3|PERCENT|, 26.9|PERCENT| and 22.0|PERCENT|. This is obviously good news for owners as this is the biggest obstacle he has to overcome to be one of better leadoff men in the game.

Chicago 12 – Milwaukee 7
W: Matt Garza (3-6) L: Zack Greinke (6-2)
HR: Ryan Braun (15), George Kottaras (1), Kosuke Fukudome (6), Carlos Pena (10), Alfonso Soriano (13)
SB: Starlin Castro (8)

- Let me start by saying how happy I was that the wind appeared to be blowing out at Wrigley when I had both Greinke and Garza going in my hometown league. Oddly, Garza got 10 ground balls vs. four fly balls but two of those left the park. I consider both great buy-low candidates, especially Greinke (10Ks, 2BBs).

- Kosuke Fukudome fell a double short of the cycle and had his third three-hit game of the month, yet he's only hitting .250 in June. Feast or famine here.

- Did I mention to buy-low on Zack Greinke? He now owns a 70:6 K:BB ratio over 53.1 innings (11.8 K/9!). Yes, I know I said Cliff Lee was leading but Greinke doesn't have enough innings logged to be listed with the starters.

New York 3 – Texas 2 (12)

W: Cory Wade (1-0) L: Michael Kirkman (1-1)
CS: Elvis Andrus (2), David Murphy (5), Curtis Granderson (5)

- Note the two CSs on the Rangers in the extra frames. Give Russell Martin the save in this game.

- I'll admit I'm intrigued by the Yankees starter Brian Gordon. He was just signed by the Yankees after tearing it up for the Phillies Triple-A Lehigh Valley to the tune of a 1.14 ERA with a .835 WHIP and a 56:7 K:BB ratio in 55.1 innings. He's not a prospect at 32 but allowing only two earned runs over 5.1 innings against the Rangers isn't an easy task. While Bartolo Colon is expected back soon, I don't think Gordon will be the one demoted when Colon returns.

- Brett Gardner went 2-for-2 and is now batting .395 with a 1.044 OPS in the month of June. Now would be a good time to let him move him in the leadoff spot while certain players are on the DL.

Oakland 8 – Kansas City 4

W: Gio Gonzalez (6-5) L: Jeff Francis (3-7)
HR: Hideki Matsui (6)
SB: Coco Crisp (20), Melky Cabrera (9), Chris Getz (9), Alcides Escobar (11)
CS: Cliff Pennington (6)

- The Royals struck out 16 times, a season-high for their team yet they managed to score four runs.

- All four Oakland pitchers – Gio Gonzalez, Joey Divine, Michael Wurtz and Grant Balfour - all sport ERAs less than 3.00.

- Cliff Pennington was somewhat useful in the fantasy world considering his ability to steal bases (29-for-34 last season). This year he's been caught as many times as he's been successful (6).

- Hideki Matsui is in the zone and is now 7-for-23 (.304) with three home runs and seven RBI over his last seven games. If there's someone in your fantasy league who's a Yankee fan, try and peddle him for what you can.

Atlanta 9 – New York 8 (10)

W: Scott Linebrink (3-1) L: D.J. Carrasco (0-2)
HR: Chipper Jones (7), Brooks Conrad (2), Scott Hairston (3)
SB: Jose Reyes (23)
CS: Jordan Schafer (3)

- A 10th innings balk by Carrasco gave the Braves the win after Francisco Rodriguez blew the save by allowing a two-run homer to Brooks Conrad. Jonny Venters was shockingly bad giving up two runs in two innings of work.

- Dan Uggla's tough season continued as the second baseman went 0-for-5, left five men on base and lowered his batting average to .174.

- Mike Minor continues to look like a Quad-A type of pitcher. He allowed five runs over 4.1 innings before getting pulled from the game.

Boston 4 – Tampa Bay 2

W: Clay Buchholtz (6-3) L: David Price (7-6) S: Jonathan Papelbon (13)
HR: Adrian Gonzalez (14), Casey Kotchman (3)
SB: B.J. Upton 2, (16)

- David Price was wild in this one, issuing five free passes and five hits over five innings. He also struck out five. See a pattern here?

- If you own Matt Joyce as I do, you've been pretty disappointed lately. After his torrid start, he's only 6-for-47 (.128) in the month of June. One might wonder how much his shoulder is really bothering him.

- At some point do the Red Sox cut ties with Mike Cameron? He's not as good as he once was defensively and is batting .150 on the season.

Washington 7 – St. Louis 4 (10)

W: Sean Burnett (2-3) L: Fernando Salas (3-1)
HR: Albert Pujols (16), Matt Holliday (7), Yadier Molina (4), Jayson Werth (10), Roger Bernadina (2), Laynce Nix (10), Danny Espinosa (11)

- After Drew Storen blew the save in the top of the ninth, Danny Espinosa hit a walk-off three-run shot off Salas.

- Matt Holliday made a successful return off the DL, going 2-for-3 with a homer and two walks.

- Add Colby Rasmus to the list of those struggling this month. After his 0-for-5 effort he's now 10-for-49 (.204) in June.

Arizona 3 – San Francisco 2

W: David Hernandez (3-2) L: Santiago Casilla (0-1)
HR: Chris Young (14), Justin Upton (12)
SB: Cody Ross (4), Nate Schierholtz (4)

- This was another game that featured a blown save (J.J. Putz) and a walk-off homer by Justin Upton.

- Ryan Vogelsong is amazing and deserves consideration for the All-Star game. He now has eight straight starts where he's given up two or less runs. With Colorado (twice), St. Louis, Cincinnati, Arizona and Florida being played against during that run it's not like he's getting favorable matchups.

- I'm starting to think the Yankees could use Ian Kennedy right about now. The 26-year-old pitched eight innings of one-run ball (unearned) while striking out 10 and walking only one. The four hits he gave up were all singles.

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