Phillies 5, Nationals 4

- Roy Halladay (7-3) is the weirdest Best Pitcher In Baseball ever. He allowed 10 hits -- his second straight game surrendering double-digit knocks -- and four runs, including a trio of solo homers, over seven innings of work, but won anyway. His five strikeouts were his second-lowest total of the year, but he also didn't walk anyone.
- Livan Hernandez helped himself with his fourth RBI of the year, but he also surrendered four runs over 6.1 innings. Not a lot to love about his fantasy game unless you're in a league that rewards innings pitched. Sean Burnett (0-2) was the one who blew the lead and took the loss, though.
- Ryan Howard had a couple hits, including his 12th homer, but his batting average is still sitting in that unpleasant .250 territory.
- The Raul Ibanez Comeback Tour homered, too -- his eighth.
- Chase Utley still isn't hitting (0-for-3, .208), but he stole a base (2) for the second straight game.
- Do the Nationals need a leadoff hitter or what? Rick Ankiel was it, and he even stole a base (6), but also went 1-for-5 and is hitting a robust .214.
- Nationals homering off Halladay: Danny Espinosa (8), Laynce Nix (8), Michael Morse (7).
- That's five homers in seven games and an eight-game hitting streak for Morse.
- Couple strikeouts and a handshake for Ryan Madson, his 12th save.

Tigers 6, Twins 5

- Battle of the bad starters in this one (sorry, Nick Blackburn fans, but you didn't really start believing, did you?) -- as both Blackburn and Brad Penny allowed five runs in six innings. Blackburn allowed three fewer hits than Penny's 10, but a pair of homers.
- The bullpens decided this one, and we all know that when the bullpens decide a Twins game, the outcome is all but certain. Alex Burnett (1-4) gave it up in the eighth, making a winner of Al Alburquerque (2-1).
- Jose Valverde converted on his 13th save. He's still perfect in save opportunities on the year, but he had been struggling of late, allowing six runs in his last five innings, so good to see a perfect ninth from him.
- Miguel Cabrera (10) and Victor Martinez (5) drove Blackburn pitches out of the yard.
- Brandon Inge collected his first steal of the year.

Padres 3, Braves 2 in 10

- Tim Hudson was terrific over six innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) and striking out seven without a walk, but he was stuck without a decision.
- That's because Aaron Harang was able to keep up with him, limiting the Braves to a pair of runs over six innings and striking out five. A useful non-Petco start from Harang? How 'bout that.
- George Sherrill (1-1) gave up a homer to backup catcher Kyle Phillips, his first of the season, to put the Padres ahead in the top of the tenth.
- Chad Qualls (3-2) was the beneficiary after pitching a scoreless bottom of the ninth; the former closer has a 2.15 ERA and 0.99 WHIP this year.
- Heath Bell collected his 13th save with a clean inning and a strikeout.
- Alex Gonzalez stole his first base of the year, then got picked off. Well done.
- Sub-Mendoza leadoff hitter Eric Patterson went 2-for-5 with a steal (7) and a run.

Astros 12, Cubs 7

- In case you didn't know, neither Aneury Rodriguez nor Rodrigo Lopez is a major league starter. Lopez was torched for six runs on 10 hits and couldn't escape the fifth, while Rodriguez allowed six runs (only four of them earned!) in four innings flat and didn't even make it out for the fifth.
- Perennial disappointment Jeff Samardzija (3-1) coughed up a couple runs in relief for his first loss of the year.
- Sergio Escalona (1-0) made lemonade from all those lemons, earning his second career win. The other one came in his first MLB appearance: May 17, 2009.
- In a statement on the horrendousness of the Houston offense, Jeff Keppinger hit fifth. In a statement on the horrendousness of these Cubs pitchers, he went 3-for-5 with a double, a homer and four RBI.
- Hunter Pence also doubled and homered, going 3-for-4 with four runs and two RBI. He's now at .312 for the year.
- J.R. Towles (3) and Clint Barmes (2) homered for Houston, too.
- Carlos Pena (7) provided the lone Cubbie homer and added an RBI groundout in the ninth for a three-RBI day.
- Person of interest Tony Campana started in center and stole four bases, including third twice. He's got massive, massive speed, but the bat is a question mark.
- Starlin Castro also swiped a bag (5) for the Cubs, while Michael Bourn (19!) had the lone Houston steal to go along with three hits and three runs.

Yankees 5, Athletics 0

- Bartolo Colon (3-3), wow, okay. Four-hit shutout, anyone? Six strikeouts, no walks. What can you say, the man has found the fountain of youth.
- Trevor Cahill (6-3) struggled with his control against the Yankees, as many pitchers do, walking five and allowing four runs over 6.2 innings. He allowed just four hits, which is a plus, but he's now walked five twice in a row.
- Mark Teixeira kept the runs rolling with his 16th homer, a first-inning job off Cahill. That's homers in four of five for the slugger.
- A pair of steals each for Brett Gardner (10) and Francisco Cervelli (2). Isn't that half-strange.

Mariners 4, Orioles 3

- Doug Fister (3-5) broke out his best stuff, striking out a career-high nine and allowing three runs on seven hits over 7.1 innings.
- Jake Arrieta, still unreliable: four runs on four hits and four walks over 2.1.
- Mark Reynolds cranked his seventh homer and is still below the Mendoza line at .198.
- Ichiro Suzuki had a couple hits, a couple runs, and his 13th steal.
- Brandon League cleaned up for his 14th save.
- Jack Cust (yeah) hit his second career triple.

Angels 10, Royals 8

- Biggest news from this game: The latest Joakim Soria (3-3) implosion has gotten him ousted from the closer's role, as he blew his fifth save, allowing three runs on four hits (including Torii Hunter's two-run bomb), though he did strike out the side. Aaron Crow takes that job over.
- Soria blew it for Luke Hochevar, who didn't pitch well enough to win anyway -- five innnings, four runs on seven hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
- Ervin Santana was touched up for six runs on seven hits and four walks over six innings, continuing his trend of being either awesome or awful. Really not much middle ground for Ervin, who has reverted to his old ways of being much better at home (3.56 ERA) than on the road (5.35).
- Torii Hunter ripped a pair of homers (8), including the big one in the ninth, and drove in four. His month of May now looks vaguely respectable.
- Mark Trumbo (10) and Peter Bourjos (3) also picked up a round-tripper apiece.
- Alex Gordon had a couple hits and his seventh homer for the Royals, while Eric Hosmer also had a couple hits and a homer (5), driving in four runs.
- Unexpected save: Fernando Rodney (3). Jordan Walden threw 37 pitches on Sunday, so he was probably just unavailable.

Giants 7, Cardinals 3

- Madison Bumgarner (2-6) was finally rewarded for pitching well, limiting the Cards to just two runs in seven innings. He struck out five, so he's still not all the way back to dominant.
- Kyle McClellan (6-2) was horribly awful, getting blown up for seven runs in four innings. He apparently tweaked his hip in the first -- nothing serious.
- Almost the entire Cardinals offense took the day off. The exceptions: Allen Craig (2-for-4, nice) and Albert Pujols (2-for-4, ninth homer, fourth steal). Nice to see Pujols contributing again. He's really still not himself.
- Brandon Crawford continued to be useful after getting called up from A ball, stealing his first major league base off none other than Yadier Molina.
- Aubrey Huff (3) managed the same feat somehow.
- Andres Torres (2, a grand salami) and Cody Ross (4) did most of the damage on McClellan.

Rangers 11, Rays 5

- Derek Holland (4-1) continues to post good strikeout totals -- seven in 5.2 innings -- but not much else, as he walked five and allowed five hits and five runs. He did win, though.
- Wade Davis got his bullpen plenty of work, thanks to being knocked around big-time -- 12 hits and seven runs in 2.2 innings.
- Mike Napoli's bat came alive big-time, as he doubled and slammed a pair of homers (10), driving in five runs. He's 7-for-12 with four homers and nine RBI in his last three games.
- Other Texas homers: Mitch Moreland (7, to go with four times on base and three runs) and Endy Chavez (2).
- Ben Zobrist hit his ninth homer, while Justin Ruggiano hit his first of the year (third career), a two-run bomb in the sixth.
- B.J. Upton stole his third base.

Blue Jays 11, Indians 1

- Holy Jo-Jo! That's Jo-Jo Reyes (1-4), who came into the game with 28 straight winless starts and threw a complete-game eight-hitter, allowing one run. The 4:4 K:BB isn't great, but let's not pick nits on the kid's big day.
- Fausto Carmona (3-6) got blown up on the other end for nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits in four innings.
- Shelley Duncan (2) homered for Cleveland, while Jayson Nix (3) homered for Toronto.
- Rajai Davis had three hits (including two doubles), two RBI and three runs out of the eight hole.

Mets 7, Pirates 3

- Once again, the Mets gave Dillon Gee (5-0) support after he fell behind early, and this time he turned in one of his best outings of the year, striking out a career-high eight and allowing three runs on five hits over seven innings. The Mets haven't lost a single one of his seven starts.
- Charlie Morton got tagged for 11 hits on the other end -- all of them singles. He allowed three runs, only one of them earned; it took a couple more, courtesy of Daniel McCutchen (1-1) to make it happen.
- Chris Snyder's third homer gave the Pirates their only lead of the day.
- With Jose Reyes on bereavement leave, Ruben Tejada started at short, Justin Turner shifted back to second, and Willie Harris played third.
- The Mets haven't homered in nine games.

Reds 7, Brewers 3

- Jay Bruce just doesn't stop. He hit his first triple and 16th homer of the year en route to falling a double short of the cycle, driving in three runs and lifting his average to .294. The May numbers: .346, 12 HR, 32 RBI in 27 games. And he's still got one more May game left.
- Travis Wood (4-3) did enough to win, holding the Brewers to three runs on seven hits in six innings. Quality start!
- Chris Narveson (2-4) didn't do enough. He struck out seven, but allowed five runs in just four innings. The strikeout numbers are nice, but we could be looking at another case of Jorge De La Rosa here, except not as good.
- Carlos Gomez (4) and Josh Wilson (1, a pinch-hit job) homered off Wood.
- Paul Janish stole his second base of the year.

White Sox 7, Red Sox 3

- Jake Peavy's (2-0) comeback continues -- seven solid innings, three runs on six hits. Just two strikeouts, but no walks. Can't complain.
- Jon Lester (7-2) got beat up, allowing seven runs and 14 baserunners (eight hits, four walks, two hit batsmen) in 5.2 innings.
- Adrian Gonzalez (10) made double-digit homers, and am I the only one who thinks the best is yet to come?
- Paul Konerko hit his 11th homer.
- Brent Lillibridge stole his fifth base.

Diamondbacks 15, Marlins 4

- Kelly Johnson hit too well for the cycle -- 4-for-6, a double, a triple and a pair of homers (9) made for a big day out of the leadoff spot. He drove in three runs and scored three of his own.
- Justin Upton was a big-time offensive contributor, too -- 5-for-5 (which is tied for his career best), his 10th homer and his 10th steal. He'd slumped to .242 entering the day's action.
- Miguel Montero had a three-run homer among his three hits and drove in five runs.
- Chris Young (6) and Stephen Drew (4) stole bases.
- All that offense made a winner of Joe Saunders (2-5), who posted his second-best strikeout total of the season, seven, though he allowed four runs in six innings.
- Chris Volstad (2-4) couldn't get out of the fourth, allowing five runs on eight hits.
- Gaby Sanchez contributed most of the Florida offense with a two-run homer (8) and an RBI single.

Dodgers 7, Rockies 1

- Chad Billingsley (4-4) allowed 11 hits and a couple walks over seven innings, but the only extra-base hit -- and only run -- he allowed was Ty Wigginton's solo homer (4). He also struck out eight.
- James Loney went 3-for-4 and hit his third homer of the year.
- Matt Kemp stole his 14th base.
- Eric Young, Jr. had a steal (2), as did Carlos Gonzalez (7).
- Todd Helton went 3-for-4 with a walk, his first multi-hit game since May 15, but he's been getting on base a ton in general.