Indians 5, Twins 2

- David Huff (1-0) made his season debut for Cleveland, allowing five hits and over seven shutout innings. Huff, who had a miserable 37:34 K:BB last year, struck out five and walked two.

- Anthony Swarzk (2-3) was on the losing end, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits over his six innings. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter.
- Vinny Pestano had to come clean up for Chad Durbin in the ninth for his second save.
- Michael Cuddyer supplied the two-run homer (14) that chased Durbin, who didn't record an out, allowing a single to Joe Mauer (one of his three hits) in front of the big blast.
- Mauer played first base in the first game of the doubleheader, then caught the second.
- Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three-run bomb (17!) to account for most of the damage against Swarzak.
- Austin Kearns had a pinch-hit homer (2) off Matt Capps.
- Ezequiel Carrera, playing center in place of Grady Sizemore, went 1-for-3 with his first steal of the year.

Indians 6, Twins 3

- Fausto Carmona (5-10), fresh off the DL (quad), only struck out one batter, but he didn't walk any en route to six solid innings -- seven hits, two runs.
- Scott Diamond (0-1) made his first career start and, well, kept the Twins in the game, which is about all you can say. He was charged with four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a couple walks while striking out just one. Diamond's minor league numbers show a pitcher with a low K rate who's very hittable and has somewhat bad control, so yeah, not a great option.
- Danny Valencia contributed his 11th home run, but is still hitting .232.
- Trevor Plouffe hit his fifth homer.
- Lou Marson hit his first of the year. He started at catcher with Carlos Santana shifted to first.
- Ezequiel Carrera liked stealing a bag in the first game of the doubleheader so much that he went for it in the nightcap as well, and he succeeded for No. 2 on the year.
- Joe Mauer liked getting three hits in the first game of the doubleheader so much that he did it again in the nightcap, raising his average to .290. He's hitting .393 in July, but no homers on the season still.
- Michael Brantley picked up a couple singles and a double for the Indians.

Red Sox 15, Orioles 10

- Tim Wakefield and Brad Bergesen started this shootout, and neither factored in the decision. Both got knocked around (a total of 17 hits in 9.2 innings, and two homers each) and gave up a lot of runs (13 between them), but were let down by their defenses (six of the 13 runs were unearned).
- Dan Wheeler's 2.1 innings of scoreless relief put him in position to improve to... 2-1.
- Mike Gonzalez (1-2) took the loss, allowing three runs in an inning, thanks to a pair of walks. He threw only 18 of his 34 pitches for strikes.
- Josh Reddick hit his fourth homer, but it was his only hit of the day, dropping his average to .347.
- Carl Crawford (back) was activated from the DL and picked up a couple hits, an RBI and two runs.
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia had two hits, including his seventh homer.
- Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis each had two hits and three RBI.
- J.J. Hardy homered (14) and drove in three out of the leadoff spot for Baltimore.
- Adam Jones went yard, too, his 16th.

Pirates 2, Reds 0

- Charlie Morton (8-5) went the minimum five innings to win, but he did it in shutout fashion, if not altogether impressively. He allowed three hits, walked two (one intentional), and hit two batters. An uneven performance for the Roy Halladay clone -- perhaps he was affected by the heat.
- Dontrelle Willis (0-1) took a tough loss, getting pulled after 4.2 innings of two-run ball. He allowed five hits and a walk, and struck out five. He threw a lot of strikes (51 out of 69 pitches).
- Joel Hanrahan bounced back from his first blown save (in which he didn't allow a run, I might add) to collect No. 27.
- Neil Walker's hit in 12 straight.
- Chase d'Arnaud left the game with a stiff neck after sliding into third.

Yankees 5, Rays 4

- A.J. Burnett was the opposite of good over his 5.1 innings, walking six batters and allowing eight hits, but somehow only four runs (three earned). He struck out four.
- David Robertson (3-0) pitched a scoreless inning to win in relief.
- Alexander Cobb also struggled with his control, walking four over six innings, but he surrendered just three hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out three.
- Alex Torres, making his MLB debut in the ninth inning of a tie game against the Yankees (whose idea was that?), loaded the bases on a single and a couple walks, then walked in the lead run.
- There was even more Tampa Bay youth movement, as Robinson Chirinos made his MLB debut, going 1-for-3 with a run.
- Curtis Granderson took another day off from hitting homers (that's nine straight), instead things done the small-ball way (two walks, two singles, two steals to give him 17).
- Brett Gardner swiped his 27th.

Marlins 4, Mets 1

- Clay Hensley (1-2), fresh off the DL (shoulder), who last started a game nearly three years ago -- July 24, 2008 -- threw five innings of one-hit shutout ball for the win against a very depleted Mets lineup -- not only no Ike Davis or David Wright, but no Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran, either. He walked two and struck out three.
- Chris Capuano (8-9) lasted into the eighth inning, but ended up being stuck with that dreaded fourth run. He allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out five, and Terry Collins needs to learn that he needs to be taken out before he throws too many pitches -- and also that too many for him is a lot fewer than it is for other pitchers.
- Leo Nunez had to clean up Randy Choate's mess in the ninth for his 27th save.
- Emilio Bonifacio (18) and Hanley Ramirez (17) stole bags for the Fish.
- Willie Harris (4) swiped one for the Mets; he had two of their three hits.

Nationals 5, Astros 2

- What the hell, Jason Marquis? He improved to 8-4 with an eight-inning gem, allowing two runs on just six hits while striking out nine, tying his season high.
- Jordan Lyles (0-5) could have received a better fate than his final line (8.1 innings, four runs, five hits, a walk, six strikeouts), as he matched Marquis pitch for pitch and run for run through eight, but ran into trouble in the ninth.
- Drew Storen allowed one of two Carlos Lee doubles, but struck out the side for his 25th save.
- Noted beast Michael Morse collected three hits, including his 16th homer in the fifth.
- Ryan Zimmerman also homered (5) off Lyles.

Cubs 6, Phillies 1

- That Roy Halladay fellow had a tough day, as he was apparently significantly affected by the Chicago heat and humidity. He allowed three runs on seven hits over four very un-Halladay-like innings before being pulled because he didn't feel well, falling to 11-4. He's not supposed to miss his next start.
- Rodrigo Lopez (2-2) wasn't feeling it quite so much, as he allowed just a single run on five hits over 6.2 innings while striking out three and not walking a batter. Mexico, Lopez's country of origin, is probably a bit hotter this time of year than Halladay's Denver.
- Productive fantasy days from both shortstops: Starlin Castro had two hits and a steal (11), while Jimmy Rollins accounted for all the Phillies' offense with a solo homer (9).
- Carlos Pena went a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and his 20th homer.
- Aramis Ramirez hit his 17th homer.
- Koyie Hill collected his first steal of the year, and just the third of his career in 285 games.
- Carlos Marmol is still having trouble with the strike zone, as he walked two (but struck out two) in the ninth inning with no save situation.

White Sox 5, Royals 2

- Mark Buehrle did his Mark Buehrle thing, striking out just three batters, but delivering seven solid innings (five hits, a walk, two runs) to improve to 7-5.
- Kyle Davies fell to 1-9 -- 1-9! -- with a big assist from Alcides Escobar, whose error opened the door for Chicago's two-run sixth. He allowed four runs (just two earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out nine (!) over 5.1 innings.
- Can someone explain to me why Adam Dunn, now at .158 after tonight's 0-for-3 (two more strikeouts!), is still hitting cleanup for the ChiSox? Ozzie Guillen must be crazy. Oh, wait.
- Brent Lillibridge stole his 10th base, while Juan Pierre was caught for the 11th time (with just 15 successes).

Braves 7, Rockies 4

- Derek Lowe (6-7) was highly unspectacular, allowing 10 baserunners (eight hits, two walks) and four runs in 6.1 innings while fanning two. But hey, he won, and he sure got a lot of ground balls (15 of 'em).
- Jason Hammel (5-9) allowed six runs (four earned -- rare Todd Helton error) over five innings of ugly work -- eight hits, three walks, just one strikeout.
- Craig Kimbrel did his thing, walking a batter and striking out the side for his 29th save.
- Freddie Freeman had three hits, including a homer (14) and three RBI.
- Eric Hinske had a couple hits, including his ninth homer.
- Carlos Gonzalez stole his 16th bag, drove in a run, and scored a couple.
- Jason Heyward was scratched.

Diamondbacks 3, Brewers 0

- Josh Collmenter (5-5) turned in his best start of the year, striking out a season-high (and, therefore, career-high) seven over eight innings of shutout ball. He didn't walk a batter and allowed just three hits, all singles. Dominant.
- Randy Wolf (6-7) took a hard loss, allowing three runs (two earned, but both Milwaukee errors were his) in 7.1 innings. He allowed eight hits and a walk, striking out just three.
- David Hernandez needed just 10 pitches for his ninth save.
- Ryan Roberts went 2-for-4 with his 13th homer, a two-run shot off Wolf.

Giants 5, Dodgers 0

- Ryan Vogelsong's train keeps rolling, as he delivered 6.2 shutout innings, striking out five and allowing seven hits and a walk to improve to 7-1.
- Chad Billingsley (8-8) is still having trouble finding consistency, as he was touched for nine hits and five runs in 5.1 innings. He struck out four and didn't walk anyone.
- Pablo Sandoval had three hits, including a solo homer off Billinglsey, and is now at .310.
- With two more hits in four at-bats, Nate Schierholtz is now 11-for-26 (.423) as the Giants' cleanup hitter.
- Giants catcher Chris Stewart left the game after being hit in the head on an Aaron Miles backswing.