New York 5 – Milwaukee 0

W: C.C. Sabathia (11-4) L: Randy Wolf (6-5)
HR: Mark Teixeira (25)
SB: Brett Gardner 2 (19), Nick Swisher (2), Chris Dickerson (1)

- The story of the game was C.C. Sabathia who struck out 13 over 7.2 innings. All six hits he allowed were all singles and with the 7.2 shutout innings he lowered his ERA to 3.05.

- As a Yankee fan, you have to love Brett Garnder at the top of the lineup. For Mark Teixeira, that's four homers in five games.

Detroit 5 – New York 2

W: Justin Verlander (11-3) L: Mike Pelfrey (4-7) S: Jose Valverde (19)
HR: Daniel Murphy (5), Carlos Beltran (12), Andy Dirks (6)
SB: Austin Jackson (14), Andy Dirks (3)
CS: Jose Reyes (6)

- Despite getting caught stealing (barely), there's a strong argument that Jose Reyes has been the MVP both in fantasy and reality to this point. He had his 42nd game with two or more hits while going 14-for-24 (.458) over his last five games. If I'm a GM with a chance at the playoffs, I'm spending the holiday weekend calling the Mets about Reyes.

- While his breaking stuff wasn't working over the plate, Justin Verlander is on pace to have one of the best season's in recent history. After today, he's 11-3 and held a 0.86 ERA over six June outings (6-0) with a 48:4 K:BB ratio. Coming into the game, he was tied with James Shields with an average of 7.6 innings per start. If you double his current stats (the Tigers have played 82 games) Verlander would have 260 Ks with a 2.32 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP over 270 innings. The ERA and WHIP can't be emphasized enough considering that amount of innings.

- Andy Dirks has a home run in three straight games.

- Coming into Thursday's games the Mets had 52 runs over their previous four games, all of which were interleague games (13 runs per game.)

Boston 5 – Philadelphia 2

W: Jon Lester (10-4) L: David Herdon (0-2) S: Jonathan Papelbon (15)
HR: Dustin Pedroia (7), Jason Varitek 2 (5)
SB: Chase Utley (5), Shane Victorino (13)

- The story of this game was the removal of Cole Hamels after 4.2 innings after an Adrian Gonzalez come-backer hit him in the non-pitching hand/wrist. After the game a MRI revealed no damage to the right wrist and he's expected to make his next start.

- Jon Lester was once again brilliant, allowing no runs over seven innings with two singles and two walks.

Chicago 5 – San Francisco 2

W: John Grabow (1-0) L: Ramon Ramirez (2-1)
HR: Pablo Sandoval (6), Aramis Ramirez (10), Geovany Soto (8)
SB: Pablo Sandoval (2), Kosuke Fukudome (2)
CS: Miguel Tejada (3)

- Closer Brian Wilson blew his first save since May 18, giving up his first home run of the season.

- Carlos Zambrano left after the first inning with soreness in his lower back. Look for more news Friday on his condition.

- Soto now has three homers and four walks in his last six games. That means he's seeing the ball pretty well right now.

Houston 7 – Texas 0

W: Wandy Rodriguez (6-4) L: Matt Harrison (6-7)
HR: Carlos Lee (7), Jason Michaels (2)
SB: Elvis Andrus 2 (24)

-  Wandy Rodriguez bounced back to hurl seven scoreless innings against a tough Texas lineup. He struck out four and walked three.

- I'd guess Elvis Andrus (wrist) is feeling better as evidenced by his two hits and a walk which led to two stolen bases. With 24 stolen bags, he's within eight of last year's total.

- After hitting .316 in May, Carlos Lee hit .299 in June. While he only has seven homers, the 44 RBI are a nice return considering the reduced price he came at.

St. Louis 9 – Baltimore 6

W: Jaime Garcia (7-3) L: Brian Matusz (1-4) S: Fernando Salas (13)
HR: Jon Jay (6), Lance Berkman 2 (20), Mark Reynolds (15), Nolan Reimold (4)

- After another bad start the Orioles optioned Brian Matusz to Triple-A to work on his velocity. This was probably the best move for Matusz who could still have value if he gets back to his second-half form from last season.

- Jaime Garcia now has a 0.88/6.33 home/away ERA. Worth noting if you can stream him in and out of your lineup.

- I've been saying "sell" on Lance Berkman and he keeps proving me wrong. I'd still be looking to sell-high on him despite his steady production. I can't see him sustaining a pace where he hits 35-40 homers this season.

Chicago 6 – Colorado 4 (10)

W: Jesse Crain (4-2) L: Clayton Mortensen (2-4) S: Sergio Santos (17)
HR: Troy Tulowitzki (15), Gordon Beckham (7)
SB: Juan Pierre (11), Carlos Gonzaelez (13)
CS: Jonathan Herrera (4)

- Juan Pierre showed what a beast he is with a two-run single in the top of the 10th to win the game. He also stole his 11th base and is 9-for-19 (.473) over his last four games.

- It's kind of surprising that Troy Tulowitzki is hitting better on the road (.849 OPS) than at home (.805). After Thursday he has one more homer at home than on the road.

- The Rockies traded for Mark Ellis which is interesting if you play in the AL-only/deep league caveat. While his home/road splits on offense are not too drastic there is no way to tell how playing half his games at Coors Field will impact his bat. Remember, Clint Barmes was once fantasy relevant in Colorado.

Pittsburgh 6- Toronto 2

W: Jeff Karstens (6-4) L: Brett Cecil (1-3)
HR: Brandon Wood (3), Yunel Escobar (9), J.P. Arencibia (12)

- Like me, you probably don't think "Cy Young" when you hear Jeff Karstens name but he's had a spectacular June. Over six starts (41.1 innings) he had a 1.52 ERA but only a 15:7 K:BB ratio.

- Brett Cecil pitched much better than his six runs over 6.1 innings suggests. After a leadoff triple he didn't allow another hit until the fifth inning when the wheels started coming off.

- J.P. Arencibia is now tied for the second most home runs by a catcher with Miguel Olivio.

Florida 5 – Oakland 4

W: Chris Volstad (4-7) L: Trevor Cahill (8-6) S: Leo Nunez (22)
HR: Coco Crisp (3), Kurt Suzuki (6)
SB: Emilio Bonafacio (8)

- Trevor Cahill will be happy to see the calendar turn to July, after sporting a 5.16 ERA in June.

- Leo Nunez once again was shaky, giving up two runs but still collecting save No. 22. He held a 5.79 ERA in June and is now 4-for-7 over his last seven save opportunities.

- Outside of Jemile Weeks, no one in the Athletics lineup is hitting .270 or better. Outisde of Gaby Sanchez, no one in the Marlins lineups is hitting .267 or better. Therefore, these are two evenly matched teams.

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