Nationals 5, Braves 3

- I wonder how old Livan Hernandez is. He's listed at 36, but it wouldn't be surprising if that was two or three years short of the truth. Either way, he continues to be curiously effective and borderline fantasy-relevant, as he improved to 6-10 by holding the Braves to just a run on six hits in six innings. He struck out three.
- Jair Jurrjens (12-4), on the other hand, can't figure out the Nationals, as they bombarded him for the second time in two weeks, putting together five runs on seven hits in five innings. On July 17, Jurrjens spotted the Nats six runs in five innings. He's fared significantly worse against Washington in his career than against any other NL East opponent, with a 4.27 career ERA and 1.39 WHIP now in 11 starts.
- Rick Ankiel woke up with his first homer since July 10, and he liked the feeling so much, he did it again -- both solo jobs off Jurrjens, giving him a whole five long balls on the year.
- Dan Uggla is officially on FIYAH, stretching his hitting streak -- yes, hitting streak -- to 23 games with a 3-for-4 night, including two home runs, giving him 22 on the season.
- The second Uggla homer came off Nats closer Drew Storen, who's now given up a bomb in three of his last four appearances. He did hold on for his 27th save, though.
- David Ross added a homer (5). He's been quite productive in limited exposure as Brian McCann's backup the last few seasons and bears picking up in NL-only or two-catcher leagues while the big guy's hurt.
- Michael Bourn had a quiet Braves debut, going 1-for-4 with a single. No steal.

Cubs 5, Pirates 3

- Carlos Zambrano (8-6) somehow put 10 men on base (seven hits, three walks) in six innings of work, but the only run he allowed came on a Derrek Lee solo homer, and he struck out five. This, of course, is the quintessential Zambrano.
- Paul Maholm (6-11) looked more like the Maholm of old than the one who's been one of surprising Pittsburgh's best starters, spotting the Cubs four runs on six hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out three.
- Speaking of D-Lee, he had a monstrous Pirates debut against his old team, hitting the solo shot off Zambrano, then adding a two-run bomb off Kerry Wood later. He's back in the NL Central, where he had his best years, but this isn't the mid-2000s anymore, so tonight may well be the highlight of his Pirates tenure.
- Starlin Castro saw his average slip beneath .300 with a .250 month of July, but he got off on the right foot in August with a 3-for-5 night.
- Carlos Marmol kept it clean for his 21st save, which has to be a relief for his owners. (Note from one of his owners, me: It is.)

Indians 9, Red Sox 6

- Josh Tomlin and John Lackey both served the ball up on a tee to the opposing offenses, as Tomlin surrendered five runs on 10 hits in six innings, while Lackey managed to last two outs into the seventh while surrendering five runs on eight hits. Neither walked a batter, and each gave up two home runs -- typical for Tomlin, who's now spotted 20 long balls this year.
- Rafael Perez (4-1) ended up with the win, Dan Bard (1-5) with an implosion and the loss.
- Big days by Asdrubal Cabrera aren't surprising anymore, but his numbers somehow still are. He went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers (video review helped with No. 2) -- giving him 19 on the year -- and four RBI. His 162-game pace: .293, 29 homers, 100 RBI, 100 R (yes, both on the dot), 20 steals.
- Jason Kipnis is starting to get a feel for hitting in the bigs, as he knocked out a single, a double and his second home run in as many days.
- Travis Hafner slugged his 10th homer of the season, but he still hasn't been collecting a whole lot of hits lately. His last multi-hit game was July 18, and the homer broke an 0-for-14 stretch.
- Carl Crawford homered (7) for the first time since June 8. He had a couple hits, but still hasn't been able to make much progress with his batting average, as it's still limping along at .248.
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia set himself a new career high in homers by slugging his 10th. Boston has treated him better than Texas ever did, but Salty may never have the job to himself between Jason Varitek sticking around and Ryan Lavarnway tearing up the high minors.
- Marco Scutaro left the game with dizziness. Doesn't sound too serious, but it may give Mike Aviles a short-term window at shortstop.

Marlins 7, Mets 3 in 10

- The increasingly frustrating Mike Pelfrey labored through six innings, needing 119 pitches to do it after he threw 108 in a complete-game win his last time out. Final line could have been worse, though. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks, striking out three, and proved very much unable to control the running game, allowing three steals that were all on him.
- Javier Vazquez got torched by the Mets for seven runs in his first start of the season, but this time, he held them to just a single run on six hits and a walk. He struck out just two, but looked very strong out there.

- Unfortunately for Vazquez, Leo Nunez (1-2) blew his fourth save by allowing a game-tying two-run bomb to Lucas Duda with two outs -- the second straight night that the Mets tied the game with a two-out, ninth-inning home run. Then he got the win. I think we've all learned a valuable lesson here: Blowing saves is good.
- Games like this can be about what you don't do as much as what you do... do. Daniel Murphy had a chance to make an out when DeWayne Wise made a boneheaded play on the bases, but his poor judgment was the final straw in a rough game defensively for the Mets, as it loaded the bases for Mike Stanton. Plays like that are why Murphy, even with his bat, may not be a long-time Met.
- Of course, all Stanton did was rip a grand slam (25) off Jason Isringhausen (2-1) to put the Marlins in front for good.
- Jason Bay controbuted his seventh homer of the year. He hadn't gone yard in nearly a month since he hit two on July 5 in Los Angeles.
- Isringhausen appeared to come off the mound awkwardly on his first pitch, but stayed out there despite visibly limping and gave it up. You have to wonder what the hell Terry Collins and the team's trainers were thinking, not even coming out to check on him.

Astros 4, Reds 3 in 10

- Bud Norris has had major troubles lately with a blister on his pitching hand, and it was really plaguing him tonight, as he had to leave after allowing 13 baserunners (10 hits, three walks) -- but somehow only three runs -- in five innings. He only struck out two, which is how you know he was really feeling it.
- Bronson Arroyo had his first good start in a million years, or at least that's what it felt like. He went eight innings and allowed three runs on six hits and two walks, striking out three. That broke a string of six consecutive starts (and eight of nine) in which he'd allowed at least four runs. It also came against the Astros, so... grain of salt.
- Said Astros had a bunch of rookies in the lineup. One of them, Jimmy Paredes, hit a two-run triple off Arroyo in his first MLB at-bat. Another, Jose Altuve, went 0-for-5, but drove in the game-winning run in the 10th. The one who may be the best of them, J.D. Martinez, went 1-for-4 with a run.
- Mark Melancon (6-3) pitched two solid innings fot the win, and Logan Ondrusek (4-4) imploded again for the loss -- third time in five appearances that he's allowed a run.
- Drew Stubbs stayed warm with a couple hits and his 27th steal -- that's six hits in his last two games after he'd only collected one multi-hit game in his prior 12 contests.

Brewers 6, Cardinals 2

- Zack Greinke (9-4) has been going to work on the ol' ERA lately. With another six solid (seven hits, a walk, two runs), he's down to 4.41 on the year -- not bad, considering that after his July 3 outing, he had a 5.66 ERA. Luck has been hard to come by for Greinke, but he's still got all the skills.
- Chris Carpenter (6-8) has been going good-start-bad-start lately, and it was bad start's turn. He lasted just five, allowing five runs (all in the fifth inning) on seven hits and two walks, though he did strike out six.
- Nyjer Morgan delivered the big blow with a bases-clearing double in the fifth; he went 2-for-5 with the three RBI.
- Matt Holliday picked up his 15th homer, a two-run shot in the first inning that accounted for all the scoring off Greinke and the Brewers.

Yankees 3, White Sox 2

- Someone in New York was watching Rex Ryan's "Lead The League In Wins" speech, and that someone was C.C. Sabathia, who went and got it with eight excellent innings of two-run ball for his 16th win of the year, best in the majors. He allowed 10 hits, but struck out six without a walk.
- Jake Peavy (4-5) took a tough loss on the other end, throwing seven solid (three runs, eight hits), striking out four and walking one. If you're a Peavy owner, though, you're just happy that he lasted seven innings without suffering a season-ending injury.
- Mariano Rivera did that thing he's done a couple times, firing a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his 28th save. Has anyone checked the guy for robot arms?
- Alexei Ramirez accounted for all the White Sox's scoring with a two-run homer (10) off Sabathia in the fourth.
- Fantasy team killer of note Adam Dunn struck out three times in four fruitless at-bats.

Phillies 4, Rockies 3 in 10.

- Jhoulys Chacin got it done despite facing a newly scary Phillies offense at Coors, pitching into the eighth inning and allowing just one run on six hits and a couple walks. He struck out a pair and also hit a batter. Chacin has been flagging badly of late, so it's nice to see him hold down a good offense. He still hasn't won since June 15.
- Cole Hamels took no decision despite being outpitched, but still allowed only two runs on six hits and a walk over six innings of work. He struck out five.
- Both of Hamels' runs came in on Seth Smith's solo shot (9). Smith clearly missed the home cooking, as he's hitting well over .300 at home, but only .266 on the road, and six of his homers have come at Coors.
- Antonio Bastardo (5-0) worked a scoreless inning for the win, while rookie Rex Brothers (1-2) allowed Shane Victorino's 10th-inning homer (and 10th of the year) for the loss.
- Ryan Madson collected his 19th save and is a perfect 4-for-4 since returning to that role.
- Huston Street, on the other hand, gave up John Mayberry's pinch-hit, game-tying two-run blast (his seventh of the year) in the ninth for just his third blown save.
- Chris Iannetta is still hitting for horrible average, but he does pick up the occasional long ball. He went 1-for-3 with his 11th, but is still at .223. You may be unsurprised to learn that he's hitting .290 at home and .154 on the road. Love the BB:K (59:65), though.

Dodgers 6, Padres 2

- Even in the NL West, those Petco starts are wonderful opportunities, and Clayton Kershaw (13-4) has made the most of his. Entering tonight, he had a 2.22 ERA at Petco, and he improved that slightly with a complete-game victory over the Friars. He struck out only four, a low number for the NL leader in that category, but allowed just six hits, two walks and two runs.
- Cory Luebke (3-6) let 'em hit the ball, and hit it they did. He allowed five runs on 10 hits (eight of them singles, the other two doubles) over 7.1 innings, walking none and striking out three. He's still in my circle of trust.
- Cameron Maybin went 1-for-3 and stole his 26th base. He's really provided nice return on investment this year, and should just keep improving.
- Of all people, Orlando Hudson homered (3) off Kershaw in the seventh.
- The ever-pesky Jamey Carroll had two hits and two steals (9); he's at .297, doing his best David Eckstein impression.
- Reliever Erik Hamren threw a scoreless eighth in his MLB debut. He took Mike Adams' roster spot.

Mariners 8, Athletics 4

- Blake Beavan doesn't strike out a whole lot of batters -- just three tonight -- but he pitches to contact as effectively as anyone, and that's a formula for some fantasy relevance in pitcher-friendly Safeco Field. He improved to 2-2, allowing three runs on seven hits over 6.2 innings and walking a couple.
- Trevor Cahill (9-10) had a lot more trouble with contact, as he allowed a whopping 12 hits (plus a couple walks to boot) and seven runs in just four innings. Since his amazing month of April, Cahill has regressed badly, walking too many batters and striking out too few while appearing quite hittable.
- Kurt Suzuki had the game's only homer (9), hitting it in garbage time off Brandon League in the ninth.
- Dustin Ackley doubled, tripled and drove home three. Kid is a legit young stud, collecting 19 extra-base hits in his first 37 big-league games.
- Coco Crisp notched three hits and his 33rd steal.
- Useless, horrible Chone Figgins suffered a hip flexor injury and left the game. He was replaced by Justin Smoak, who got on base in three of four opportunities with a single, a double and a walk.

Diamondbacks 5, Giants 2

- Ian Kennedy (13-3) has just been unstoppable this year for the D-Backs, and he continued his dominance with eight innings of two-run ball, striking out seven. Both runs came on solo homers; he scatted four more hits and a walk elsewhere. What can you say about Kennedy that hasn't already been said? He's a legit top-of-the-line starter at this point.
- Matt Cain (9-7) took a rare beating, allowing 11 baserunners (eight hits, three walks) and five runs while failing to record the third out of the sixth inning. He did strike out five, which is nice to see after he struck out just three in his two prior starts combined.
- J.J. Putz gave the Giants a shadow of a chance, allowing a couple hits in the ninth, but closed the door for his 25th save.
- Willie Bloomquist was an offensive catalyst once again, going 1-for-3 with a couple walks, a couple RBI and his 11th steal.
- Paul Goldschmidt made his MLB debut and went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. He beat the crap out of Double-A pitching, so he's a pickup of some note. As of earlier today, though, he wasn't in the Yahoo database, which is whack.