Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4



- the regression monster continues to nip at Bartolo Colon's heels, as he gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk over 6.1 innings, striking out seven. He's got a 5.68 ERA over his last four starts, although Colon's 20:3 K:BB ratio in 25.1 innings over those starts is still pretty choice.

- Ricky Romero couldn't survive a couple of rough innings, and wound up getting tagged for five runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings with a 5:3 K:BB ratio. That breaks a string of seven straight quality starts for Romero, although the last two before this one (both three runs-in-six inning jobs, with more walks than K's) weren't exactly what you'd call stellar.

- Eric Thames left the game early for the Jays due to an as-yet undiagnosed illness.

- with Mariano Rivera getting the day off, having pitched in four of the Yankees' last five games, David Robertson tossed two shutout innings and struck out three to notch his first save of the year.

W: Boone Logan (5-2) SV: Robertson (1) HR: Adam Lind (24), Dewayne Wise (1), Francisco Cervelli (3) SB: Brett Gardner 2 (41) CS: Cervelli (1)





Pirates 7, Cubs 5



- Derrek Lee avenged his broken hand by coming off the DL and launching a game-winning grand slam off the guy what plunked him, Carlos Marmol, as part of a 3-for-5, five RBI game.

- Marmol's hung slider wasted a solid start from Casey Coleman, who gave up two runs (one earned) with a 6:3 K:BB ratio over six innings.

- it also bailed out Ross Ohlendorf, who got chased after having allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks in just four innings.

W: Chris Resop (5-4) SV: Joel Hanrahan (34) HR: Lee (15) SB: Alex Presley (6), Starlin Castro (19)





A;s 3, Mariners 0



- Brandon McCarthy had the M's number, tossing a three-hit shutout with a masterful 10:0 K:BB ratio.

- Michael Pineda turned in a bare-minimum quality start on his end, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over six innings with seven K's.

- all the scoring came on two swings of the bat: Cliff Pennington's two-run double, and Scott Sizemore's solo shot.

W: McCarthy (8-7) HR: Sizemore (8) SB: Dustin Ackley (3)





Tigers 9, White Sox 8



- the Sox were leading this game 8-1 in the top of the fifth. Then the Chicago bullpen got involved.

- the comeback was capped by a Ryan Raburn two-run shot in the ninth off Sergio Santos, followed by the game-winning solo blast off Miguel Cabrera's bat.

- neither starter distinguished themselves. Gavin Floyd gave up four runs on eigt hits in five innings, while Brad Penny served up three home runs in five innings to spot the White Sox their lead (although his owners lucked out a bit, as four of his eight runs were unearned). In fact, between the two teams, seven balls in total left the park.

W: Luis Marte (1-0) HR: Alexei Ramirez (14), Alejandro De Aza (4), Brent Morel (3), Delmon Young (7), Wilson Betemit (6), Raburn (12), Cabrera (25) SB: Juan Pierre 2 (25), Austin Jackson (20)





Cardinals 6, Reds 4



- Jaime Garcia returned to the hill after getting an extra couple of days off and looked strong, allowing two runs (one earned) over six innings with a 6:1 K:BB ratio.

- Homer Bailey did not, getting smacked around for five runs (four earned) on six hiits in just three innings, his shortest outing of the year.

- the Cards' closer carousel landed on Jason Motte, who picked up his second save of the week.

W: Garcia (11-7) SV: Motte (2) HR: Jay Bruce (29) SB: Brandon Phillips (10) CS: Drew Stubbs (9), Lance Berkman (5)





Red Sox 12, Rangers 7



- another tense pitcher's duel between these two old school, pitching-and-defense clubs. Carl Crawford, who 24 hours earlier couldn't keep food down due to the dreaded flu-like symptoms, bounced back and went 2-for-4 with a double and a grand slam. I'd mention that Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2-for-5 with a home run and a steal, but then I'd have to type his name out an extra time.

- on the Texas side, Josh Hamilton went 3-for-5, while Esteban German (!) hit a pinch-hit solo shot.

- Erik Bedard eked out his first win in a Boston uniform, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks over six ininngs, striking out six.

- Colby Lewis got things off on the wrong foot for Rangers' pitchers, coughing up four runs on seven hits and three walks over 3.1 frames. Yoshinori Tateyama, Merkin Valdez and Martin Hamburger then proceeded to get crushed for a combined eight runs in the next 2.2 innings.

W: Bedard (5-9) HR: German (1), Saltalamacchia (14), Crawford (11) SB: Saltalamacchia (1)





Rays 6, Orioles 3



- B.J. Upton pretty much won the game single-handedly, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI.

- Wade Davis fought his control but still got the win, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks over 6.2 innings, striking out five.

- Aldredo Simon fought, well, everything, getting hammered for six runs on seven hits and four walks over five innings.

W: Davis (9-8) SV: Kyle Farnsworth (23) HR: Nick Markakis (14) SB: Adam Jones (11), Desmond Jennings (15)





Brewers 8, Astros 2



- George Kottaras carried the heavy lumber for Milwaukee, hitting for the cycle with two runs scored and two RBI.

- Chris Narveson became the fifth Brewer pitcher to hit the double-digit win mark this season, albeit barely, as he gave up two runs on four hits and four walks over five innings with four K's.

- Bud Norris got roughed up for six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a walk over 5.1 innings, K'ing five.

- Carlos Lee extended his hitting streak to 14 games, going 2-for-4 with a homer. He's batting .444 (24-for-54) with three home runs and nine RBI over that stretch.

W: Narveson (10-6) HR: Kottaras (4), Craig Counsell (1), Lee (14) SB: Nyjer Morgan 2 (12), Jason Bourgeois (25)





Nationals 8, Mets 7



- minor league slugger Tom Milone, who was batting .346 at Triple-A before he was called up, launched the first pitch he saw in the majors for a three-run hom... wait, he's a pitcher? Really? How'd he do on the mound in his debut? Oh. Four runs on six hits in 4.1 innings. Well, at least he got most of them back with his bat.

- Dillon Gee was the guy serving up Milone's dinger, one of three he surrendered (leading to six runs) in five innings.

- Ryan Zimmerman went 2-for-5 with two RBI including the game-winne,r the 14th walkoff hit of his still-young career.

W: Sean Burnett (5-5) HR: Nick Evans (4), Jason Bay (10), Ian Desmond (6), Milone (1), Roger Bernadina (6) SB: Angel Pagan (29), Jayson Werth (15) CS: Zimmerman (1)





Royals 5, Indians 1



- Luke Hochevar took advantage of an underpowered Cleveland lineup to go eight strong, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts

- Alex Gordon continues to adapt to his leadoff role, going 1-for-3 with a walk, run scored, RBI and two steals. It took him almost 1500 at-bats to finally click in the majors, but Gordon (.304/.377/.505 with 20 HR, 75 RBI, 92 R and 16 SB) at last looks like the guy he was in college.

- Jim Thome wore the golden sombrero, K'ing in all four at-bats, and is now hitting .179 (5-for-28) since his homecoming with 13 whiffs.

W: Hochevar (10-10) HR: Johnny Giavotella (2) SB: Jerad Head (1), Gordon 2 (16) CS: Kosuke Fukudome (6)





Dodgers 2, Braves 1 (10 innings)



- another tense pitcher's duel between these two old school, pitching-and-defense clubs. Nathan Eovaldi and Mike Minor traded no-decisions, with Eovaldi escaped with only one run allowed over six innings despite five walks, while Minor put up a stronger line (one run on six hits and two walks with seven K's) despite similar results.

- the Braves' regulation run came on a Dan Uggla solo shot. The Dodgers' regulation run came on an A.J. Ellis solo shot.

- the big three in the Atlanta bullpen (Eric O'Flaherty, Johnny Venters and Craig Kimbrel) did their usual, which is combine for three shutout innings and giving up only one hit and two walks with five K's. Incredibly, Kimbrel (the likely NL Rookie of the Year) has the highest ERA of the three at 1.60.

W: Mike MacDougal (2-1) SV: Javy Guerra (15) HR: Ellis (2), Uggla (32) CS: Matt Kemp (9), Juan Rivera (3)





Marlins 8, Phillies 4



- Florida hoisted Philly on their own petard, launching five home runs in the game including two from Mike Cameron.

- Ricky Nolasco served up four runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings. It's been almost a month since he turned in even a bare minimum quality start, and including that disaster he had in Denver Nolasco's got an ERA of 9.27 over his last four starts.

- Cole Hamels actually outpitched Nolasco, allowing three runs on four hits over seven innings witha 7:3 K:BB ratio. He also went 2-for-3 with two RBI, making you wonder where the rest of the team was.

- Edward Mujica got the win, his ninth of the year. Add in an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP under 1.00, and he's been the most valuable fantasy reliever nobody pays attention to.

W: Mujica (9-5) HR: Cameron 2 (9), Mike Stanton (32), Gaby Sanchez (18), Greg Dobbs (7) SB: Emilio Bonifacio (34)





Rockies 5, Padres 4



- Alex White continues to struggle but managed to get his first win as a Rockie since coming over in the Ubaldo deal. He gave up four runs on five hits and three walks over five innings, although he did strike out six.

- Coby Luebke got spanked for five runs in 4.1 frames on eight hits and a walk with five K's.

- Dexter Fowler went 3-for-5 with a couple of doubles, two runs scored and a steal. He's teasing another breakthrough, with seven hits in his last four games.

W: White (2-1) SV: Rafael Betancourt (6) HR: Will Venable (6) SB: Fowler (10), Seth Smith (8)





Diamondbacks 7, Giants 2



- Ian Kennedy cruised to his 18th win, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks over seven innings, K'ing six.

- Tin Lincecum didn't have his best stuff, gettint tagged for five runs on nine hits and three walks over five innings with seven strikeouts.

- Paul Goldschmidt cranked his sixth homer since being called up. Two of them have come against Lincecum.

- Carlos Beltran was about the lone bright spot for the Giants, going 3-for-3. He's now reached base in eight straight plate appearances.

W: Kennedy (18-4) HR: Goldschmidt (6) CS: Willie Bloomquist (10)





Angels 10, Twins 6



- Jered Weaver uncharacteristically struggled in a home start, getting stung for six runs on eight hits in five innings with an 8:3 K:BB ratio, but still snuck away with the win.

- bad as Weaver was Brian Duensing was much, much worse, like five runs in 1.1 innings worse.

- Mark Trumbo helped send Duensing packing with a first inning grand slam. His 25 HR are nice, but his sub-.300 OBP should have the Angels praying Kendry Morales can actually make it back next season.

W: Weaver (16-7) HR: Danny Valencia (15), Trumbo (25), Vernon Wells (19), Peter Bourjos (10)