Mets 2, Marlins 1; Mets 5, Marlins 1

- Both starters were dominant for the Mets today, with R.A. Dickey (6-11) knuckling his way to seven shutout innings and Dillon Gee (12-5) allowing just a run in six innings. They each struck out six batters and allowed eight baserunners. For Dickey, it was his first win since July 25.
- Florida's starters weren't quite as successful. Anibal Sanchez (7-7) allowed only two runs in six innings, but there was some luck involved there, as he put 11 men on base (seven hits, four walks) and struck out five. Ricky Nolasco (9-10) pitched deeper and allowed fewer baserunners -- 6.2 innings, nine hits, no walks -- but he gave up four runs.
- As per the norm, no homers for the Mets, but the Marlins got one in each game: Gaby Sanchez hit his 17th in the day game and Gregg Dobbs No. 6 in the nightcap.
- Bobby Parnell got the save chance in Game 1 and gave up thr solo homer to Sanchez, but nailed it down thereafter for No. 2 on the year.
- Nick Evans had a big doubleheader, going 4-for-8 with a double and a couple runs.
- Jose Reyes returned from the DL and played in the night game, going 1-for-4 with a run scored and an error.
- Lucas Duda went 3-for-4 in Game 1, but 0-for-4 in Game 2. He's up to .291 on the year.

Indians 2, Athletics 1

- What's with David Huff (2-2)? Aside from a horrendous mishap his last time out against Detroit, he's been surprisingly effective in his limited MLB time this year. He delivered six scoreless innings in this one, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out four.
- Brandon McCarthy (7-7) deserved a better fate than getting this loss hung on him, as he struck out 10 batters in an eight-inning complete-game effort, allowing only two runs on five hits and a walk. He's had some struggles since the All-Star break, so it's good to see McCarthy turn in his second strong start in a row.
- Carlos Santana became the fourth catcher this year to join the 20-homer club, his solo shot in the seventh proving to be the decisive run.
- Jemile Weeks picked up a couple doubles and an RBI for Oakland. It's been amazing to watch his batting average hover consistently between .290 and .310 since his call-up.
- Scott Sizemore collected a double and his third steal. He's not exactly putting up big numbers, but he's had more success with Oakland than he ever did with the Tigers -- probably because of more consistent playing time.

Royals 9, Tigers 5

- Where to begin? Let's start with Max Scherzer (13-8), who was bombed for seven runs and 10 hits in only three innings of work. He surrendered three homers. Tough break for fantasy owners who started him in anticipation of his double dip this week. He really hasn't fared well against the Royals for some reason.
- Faring somewhat better was the fortunately victorious Luke Hochevar (9-10), who did strike out seven batters in as many innings, but allowed five runs on eight hits and a couple walks. Good enough.
- Alex Gordon put together a four-hit day with his 19th homer, lifting his average to .305. He's a ridiculous 10-for-19 over his last three games.
= Apparent catcher of the future Salvador Perez hit his first major league home run off Scherzer in the fourth, and Alcides Escobar made it back-to-back with his third of the year.
- Johnny Giavotella snapped out of a 2-for-18 stretch with a couple hits, including a bases-clearing double.
- Blake Wood picked up his first career save via the "tying run on deck" rule, coming on in the eighth in relief of an ineffective Tim Collins and throwing two innings.

Yankees 3, Orioles 2

- Freddy Garcia (11-7) came off the DL and picked up right where he left off, allowing just two hits and a walk in six innings of work. He allowed one run via solo homer.
- Alfredo Simon (4-7) gave a hell of a good account of himself against a tough offense, allowing three runs in seven innings, but got stuck with the loss. He struck out six and walked two, but one of the four hits he allowed was a two-run homer...
-... By Nick Swisher (21), who also struck out on a pitch that was about a mile inside after seeing another pitch that was almost as far inside get called a strike.
- Mark Reynolds (31) hit the blast off Garcia; J.J. Hardy (26) went yard off David Robertson in the eighth and has hit in 12 straight.
- Brett Gardner swiped his 38th base despite going hitless. He walked and swiped the bag.
- Nick Markakis also stole a bag without the benefit of a hit. He walked twice and picked up his 10th steal.
- Up-and-coming young closer Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth for his 34th save.

Blue Jays 7, Rays 3

- Johnny Damon still refuses to believe he's old. He delivered homers 12 and 13, both off Ricky Romero, and added a walk, snapping a 1-for-15 stretch over his last three games.
- Romero (13-9) fared better against the guys not named Damon, allowing just three runs in six innings despite the two home runs among six hits and despite walking four batters while striking out just two. Thank the double plays.
- Wade Davis (8-8) didn't fare as well, as he was roughed up for six runs on nine hits in just 4.1 innings. He walked three and struck out three.
- Jose Bautista unloaded on homer No. 38, snapping a four-game homerless stretch in which he'd had a pair of three-strikeout games -- something he hadn't done all year until doing it three times in his last six games.
- Adam Lind added his 23rd, a two-run shot off Davis.
- Brett Lawrie finally added the speed to that power-speed combo, stealing second and third to give him three swipes since his promotion to go with a .333 average and five homers.
- John Jaso's arm is clearly not earning a lot of respect, as Edwin Encarnacion (5) and even J.P. Arencibia (1, on the back end of a double steal with Lawrie) took bags off him.

Phillies 3, Reds 2

- Cole Hamels could hardly have pitched better in his return from the DL, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out seven over six excellent innings, but he was charged with one run, which was enough for him to leave without a decision after six. Just 76 pitches and low stress, but maybe he would have liked to stay in an inning longer, as Antonio Bastardo struck out the side in the seventh and got some help from the offense to improve to 6-0.
- Homer Bailey (7-6) put together an impressive nine-strikeout effort over his eight innings, allowing three runs on six hits without a walk, but he couldn't outpitch Hamels and Co.
- Ryan Madson pitched around a hit for his 24th save.
- Shane Victorino did the most damage on offense, hitting a two-run homer (15) off Bailey in the top of the eighth.
- Drew Stubbs went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, but stole his 35th base.

Astros 7. Pirates 4

- Wandy Rodriguez, trade talk behind him, blew up with a career-high 13-strikeout mauling of Pittsburgh hitters, who somehow managed to score three runs on him in seven innings. He allowed four hits and four walks en route to improving to 10-9.
- Ross Ohlendorf put together five fantasy-relevant innings, striking out six and allowing two runs on five hits and a walk. Jason Grilli (1-1) lost it for him in relief.
- Mark Melancon had to come clean up trouble in the ninth, did so with a strikeout, and got credited with save no. 15 for his trouble.
- Andrew McCutchen accounted for much of the offense off Wandy with a two-run homer (19).
- Carlos Lee had a couple hits, including his 13th homer, a three-run shot.
- Jason Bourgeois stole his 24th base.
- Jose Altuve went 3-for-5 to improve to .310.

White Sox 3, Twins 0

- Mark Buehrle (11-6) went 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing only four hits and two walks while striking out four. That's how hw do.
- Kevin Slowey (0-3) was the victim of poor hitting on his side -- a familiar refrain for all Twins pitchers by now -- taking a loss despite allowing only two runs in seven innings. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out three.
- Sergio Santos made it 27 saves with a perfect ninth.
- Dayan Viciedo, starting at DH and hitting fifth in his second MLB game of the year, went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run, and a steal (1).
- Alejandro De Aza collected a couple hits and his fifth steal. He's up to a .319 season average (granted, in only 72 ABs) -- crazy for a 27-year-old guy with a .259 career mark in limited MLB action, but he has hit .300 or better each of his last three years in the minors.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 1

- Dan Hudson (14-9) is just so damn good. He ate up the Rockies over seven brilliant innings, striking out eight and giving up just three hits, three walks, and not a single run. He's not even close to being as good as he's going to be, either. Within the next couple years, he's going to work his way into the conversation of the top five NL pitchers. Book it.
- Alex White (0-1) made his second start as a Rockie and surrendered five runs for the second time in those two starts, walking six batters and giving up seven hits in six innings. He struck out just three. Things unraveled for him in a four-run sixth.
- J.J. Putz picked up a "tying run on deck" save, No. 34, with two-thirds of an inning -- no hits or walks, but he did plunk a batter.
- Ryan Roberts led off the bottom of the first with his 17th homer, his only hit of the day.
- Justin Upton went 0-for-1, but he made his way on three times -- via two walks and a hit by pitch -- and stole his 20th base of the year to go with 25 homers. He's about one step away from MVP candidacy.
- Carlos Gonzalez, already an MVP candidate after last year's mega-breakout, stole his 19th base to go with 24 homers.

Dodgers 4, Padres 1

- Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw improved to 17-5 with his fifth complete game of the year, striking out five and allowing just a run on six hits and two walks. How good has Kershaw been? Well, this was actually a downgrade for him from his last two starts, which were both of the scoreless variety. His numbers since the All-Star break? Glad you asked. Nine starts, 8-1, 1.32 ERA, 65 strikeouts against 15 walks in 68 innings.
- Mat Latos (6-13) has made major strides toward getting his season back on track since the All-Star break, but he took a step back in this one, allowing four runs on five hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out five and snapped a stretch of 11 consecutive starts in which he'd allowed three or fewer runs. Absolutely love him for next year, when he presumably won't miss much of spring with an injury.
- James Loney is crazy hot. He doubled and homered (9) to extend his modest hitting streak to eight games. In that stretch, he's 18-for-35 (.515).
- Matt Kemp is just awesome. No hits in this one, but a couple walks and his 35th steal. Now this is an MVP candidate -- he's easily over 30-30 with over 100 RBI, and it's not even September yet.

Mariners 5, Angels 3

- Blake Beavan delivered about as Blake Beavan-y a start as you could possibly expect from Blake Beavan -- seven innings, eight hits, three runs, no walks, no strikeouts. Ladies and gentlemen, Blake Beavan. Tom Wilhelmsen, not to be confused with British actor Tom Wilkinson (RocknRolla! Michael Clayton! The Ghost Writer! And other fine films!), improved to 2-0 with a scoreless eighth inning and some offensive support.
- In this game of no mistaken identities, Joel Pineiro did his Joel Pineiro thing, giving up three runs over six innings despite nine baserunners (seven hits, two walks) and a continued inability to miss bats (two strikeouts). Hisanori Takahashi (3-3) took the loss in his second inning of work, allowing a two-run homer to...
- Mike Carp (8), whose homer brought him at least part of the way to breaking out of a little slump that saw him go 3-for-27 over his last six games. He still hasn't had a multi-hit effort since August 16, but that course correction was kind of expected. Insane Triple-A numbers or no, do we really expect Mike Carp to hit .300 over a large sample?
- Dustin Ackley came up a homer short of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a couple RBI and a run. Somehow he's accumulated six triples in 230 at-bats despite not exactly being your classic burner.
- Mark Trumbo provided most of the Anaheim offense with a double and a two-run homer (24) off Beavan. If he can learn plate discipline, he's got a chance to become a crazy-good hitter, but you have to wonder what the Angels' future is at first if/when Kendrys Morales comes back next year.
- Ichiro Suzuki: hot. He doubled twice and has hit .370 over his 12-game hitting streak. Rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated, and all that.
- Brandon League: Save 32. That is all.

Cubs 7, Giants 0

- Tim Lincecum vs. Randy Wells. Who's going to throw the two-hit shutout? That'd be Wells, apparently. He allowed only a single, a double and a walk to improve to 6-4 with his first career shutout -- in fact, it was his first career complete game in 77 starts. Wells struck out seven and proved yet again that none of us have any idea what's going to happen in any given baseball game.
- Lincecum (12-11) struggled with his control, walking four and allowing six hits and five runs (four earned) in his six innings. He struck out four, but the big story is the walks. Tiny Tim's now walked nine in his last two starts and an alarming 29 in 61.2 innings since the All-Star break. He allowed three homers in a game for the first time in his career and set a new career high in losses with his 11th. But let's not get carried away; guy still has great numbers.
- Andres Torres was the only man who could do much of anything against Randy Wells, collecting a double, a walk and a steal (16).
- Blake DeWitt collected the two hardest cycle hits, the triple and the homer (5), but no single or double. Oh well.
- Four times on base for Carlos Pena -- a homer (24) and three walks.
- Also homering for the Cubbies: Alfonso Soriano (23) and Geovany Soto (14).