Observations:

- Zack Greinke went 8 innings, giving up 1 earned run, with 0 walks and 6 Ks, in a complete game loss.  He's now 0-3 with a 2.27 ERA.  If the Cy Young voting were today, I don't know how many votes he would get, but it wouldn't be enough.  "Hard-luck loser" doesn't begin to tell the story. 
- Alex Gordon got sent down to triple-A by the Royals.  Chris Getz will play second, while Alberto Callaspo mans third.  Coming off of a thumb injury, Gordon wasn't hitting all that well, but he was taking walks.  What the Royals have to gain by sending Gordon down, instead of Getz, eludes me.
- The Orioles swept the Red Sox.  Yes, swept.  After hitting 2 home runs on Saturday, Ty Wigginton got hit by pitches in his first two at-bats.  In the bottom of the 10th inning in a tied game, he doubled off Jonathan Papelbon to drive in Nick Markakis, for the game winning run.  That, my friends, is sweet, sweet revenge.
- Love the camo uniforms the Padres wear. 
- Astros 3-4-5 hitters are now batting .191, .211, and .213.  Their names have been removed to protect their families, but you know who you are.
- Ichiro still amazes me.  Today he took away a Justin Smoak home run at the wall.  I would say "robbed," but there was no doubt that Ichiro would find a way to come down with the ball.  He timed his jump perfectly, caught the ball, and made it look routine.  As a Smoak owner, I wanted to be mad, but it was too pretty. 

Notables:

- Justin Verlander got back on track with 8.1 IP of 1 run ball, in a win.  He had 0 walks and 7 strikeouts.
- Phil Hughes, Wade Davis, Chris Carpenter, Jon Garland, and Jhoulys Chacin all pitched 7 innings of shutout ball.  They struck out 6, 5, 8, 3, and 7 batters, respectively. 
- C.J. Wilson and Doug Fister went head-to-head in a pitcher's duel.  Wilson went 7 inning and gave up 1 earned run on 5 hits, while Fister went 8 innings and gave up no runs on 3 hits.  Ah, life in the AL West.
- Aaron Harang went 6 innings and struck out 6, with 0 walks.  He gave up 3 earned runs and 1 home run, but anyone who owns him will take it. 
- Tom Gorzelanny pitched a 10K.  That was somewhat unexpected. 
- Alex Gonzalez hit his 8th home run of the season.  As Ron Shandler says, once a player displays a skill, he owns it. 
- Robinson Cano is, dare I say, en fuego.  He went 2-4 with a home run (his 9th) and 3 RBI.  He's batting .387 and shows no signs of slowing down.
- Paul Konerko crushed his baseball leading 12th home run.
- Austin Jackson got another 3 hits to raise his average to .367.  He's going to stop hitting at some point... I think.
- Hanley Ramirez hit 2 home runs and how has 3 in the last 2 days.  Don't hold your breath waiting on the steals. 
- Alfonso Soriano went 3-4 and smacked his 5th and 6th home runs of the season.  That's 4 in the last 3 games.  Chris Liss may have been onto something when he wrote this.  Some of those "outrageous" predictions aren't looking too outrageous right now.
- Delmon Young got 4 hits on Sunday.  At 25 years old, it's much too early to give up on this former top prospect. 
- Austin Kearns just keeps hitting.  He went 2-3, with a walk, to increase his batting average to .373.
- Jason Heyward went 2-3 with 3 RBI and 2 runs.  Remember when he was in a slump?  Yeah, neither do I. 
- David Freese went 3-4, with 1 run and 1 RBI.  He's gotten a hit in 7 of his last 8 games. 
- Andre Ethier went 3-5 with 2 home runs.  He's batting .365 and has an OPS over 1.000.
- Shane Victorino hit a grand slam off of Johan Santana.  On Saturday, he hit a 3-run homer. 
- In the stolen base department Shin-Soo Choo (5th), Juan Pierre (10th), Fred Lewis (3rd), Darnell McDonald (1st), Chone Figgins (6th & 7th), Elvis Andrus (8th), Chase Headley (8th), Scott Hairston (2nd & 3rd), Troy Tulowitzki (2nd), Jason Giambi (1st), Eric Young Jr. (4th), Lastings Milledge (2nd), and Jeff Francoeur (2nd). 

Save Chances:

- Rafael Soriano, converted. He walked 1 and struck out another.  He now has 6 saves. 
- Neftali Feliz, converted.  Struck out 1 on the way to his 5th save.
- David Aardsma, blown.  Protecting a 1 run lead, he gave up a lead-off walk to Elvis Andrus and it cost him.  Andrus stole 2nd and scored on a David Murphy hit.  That's 2 blown saves for Aardsma this season. 

Other Closer Outings:

- Jon Rauch, Chad Qualls, and Francisco Rodriguez had a 1-2-3 outings.
- Jonathan Papelbon gave up 2 hits, a walk, and a run (unearned) for a loss.  He's now walked as many hitters (9) as he's struck out (9) this season.
- Jose Valverde gave up 1 hit and got 2 outs, to finish what Verlander started.
- Matt Capps got 1 out in the 9th. 
- Leo Nunez pitched a scoreless 9th inning, giving up 1 hit. 
- Billy Wagner gave up 1 hit, while getting 1 strikeout in an inning of work.
- Franklin Morales faced 2 hitters and struck out both of them.

Non-Closer Outings:

- Sergio Santos went 1 IP with 2 Ks.  The former shortstop has now gone 9.2 IP with 13 Ks, 4 BB, and 0 ER.  Matt Thornton who?
- Jason Motte got 1 strikeout in 1 inning of work.  He's struck out 9 and walked 4 this season in 10.2 IP. 
- Mike Adams and Dan Runzler both struck out 2 in 1 inning of work.  Don't sleep on the San Diego and San Francisco bullpens. 

Tough Days:

- Ben Sheets got hammered by the Blue Jays on Sunday.  He gave up 3 home runs, on his way to 9 ER in only 3.1 IP.  His $10 million, 1 year contract isn't looking so hot right now. 
- Edwin Jackson got hit around, again.  This time he gave up 8 earned runs in 4 innings.  Pitching in the NL is supposed to be easier, right?
- Johan Santana got abused by the Phillies tonight.  His line was an ugly 3.2 IP, 8 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 4 HR, and 1 walk to Jamie Moyer with the bases loaded.  This has to be one of Johan's worst outings ever. 
- Mike Napoli went 0-3 with 3 Ks.  Sigh....
- Gordon Beckham went 0-4 with 3 Ks.  He's batting .211 on the season and is in a serious funk, along with Alexei Ramirez, who had 2 errors today. 
- Luke Scott went 0-4 with 3 Ks.  Between Scott and Nolan Reimold, they went 0-8 with 11 left on base.  They're batting .187 (Scott) and .175 (Reimold). 
- Mark Reynolds went 0-4 with 3 Ks and 5 left on base.  This is part of the package.

Lineup-ology:

- Expect a Marcus Thames/Randy Winn platoon with Curtis Granderson on the DL.  Thames will be used against lefties and Winn against righties. 
- Mike Lowell started at first base for Kevin Youkilis, who is dealing with a groin issue. 
- Ryan Hanigan got another start at catcher for the Reds.  Hanigan has been swinging a hot bat lately and will continue to see starts over Ramon Hernandez, until he cools down.
 - Omar Infante got the start at shortstop for the Braves.  Yunel Escobar is dealing with a groin issue and might need a trip to the DL.
- Josh Donaldson got another start at catcher for the injured Kurt Suzuki. 
- Travis Snider was out for the Blue Jays with an illness. 
- Jeremy Hermida was out on Sunday with a left quad issue.

Comings/Goings:

- Mike Aviles has been reportedly called up from the minors to take Alex Gordon's roster spot.
- Donny Lucy was optioned to the minors.  Ramon Castro will be back with the White Sox, now that his heel is better.
- Aaron Rowand was activated from the DL.  Waldis Joaquin was optioned to the minors to make room for Rowand. 
- Wilson Ramos was recalled from the minors, to fill in for Joe Mauer.  Ramos is a prospect in the Twins system and could see plenty of at-bats, should Mauer need to go on the DL.  He started Sunday and got 4 hits.
- Mark Melancon was recalled by the Yankees.
- The Royals traded pitcher Carlos Rosa to the Diamondbacks for shortstop Rey Navarro.
- The Mariners have reportedly released Eric Byrnes, sent Matt Tuiasosopo to triple-A, and recalled Josh Wilson & Ryan Langerhans.

Injuries:

- Andrew McCutchen has a mild right ankle sprain.  He's thought to be day-to-day. 
- Curtis Granderson is expected to miss a month with a groin strain (grade 2). 
- Chris Dickerson is scheduled to have surgery on his right hamate bone.  There's no timetable for his return.
- Joe Mauer is dealing with a heel issue that may force him to the DL.  Mauer was thought to be day-to-day, but it appears he may now be week-to-week. 
- Pat Neshek was placed on the DL with an injured right middle finger.

Star Prospect News:

- Stephen Strasburg pitched what is believed to be his last start at double-A.  Look for him to move up to triple-A before his next start.