Reds 4 - Rays 3

- Edinson Volquez only issued one first inning walk!  That alone is success for Volquez.  He held the Rays scoreless through five innings, until Evan Longoria hit a 2-run double off of him in the 6th.  In the end it was 6.1 inning with 3 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 walks.  He struck out 7 batters to put his K/BB at 29/15 in 28.2 innings, since coming back from the minors.
- James Shields' complete game streak was broken at three, as he only pitched 7 innings in this game.  He allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks with 10 strikeouts.  A 3-run homer to Ryan Hanigan did most of the damage.  This is what passes as a ho-hum start for Shields these days.
- Jay Bruce went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts for the Golden Sombrero.  Those hoping that his homer yesterday would lead to success today were sadly disappointed… maybe tomorrow.
- Drew Stubbs hit 8th for the third consecutive game.  He went 0-4 at the plate with 2 strikeouts.  He's sort of the NL version of B.J. Upton.
- W: Edinson Volquez (5-3), L: James Shields (8-5), SV: Francisco Cordero (16)
- HR: Ryan Hanigan (3), B.J. Upton (12)

Twins 1 - Dodgers 0

- Scott Baker continued to dominate at home with 7.1 innings of shutout ball.  Coming into this game he had a 2.70 ERA at Target Field.  Back to this game, he gave up 6 hits with just 1 walk and 9 strikeouts.  This was his fourth straight game without a home run given up, not surprisingly, three of those games have been at home.
- Rubby De La Rosa wasn't bad himself as he allowed just 1 earned run over 7 innings.  He gave up 6 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.  It was his best start in his young career and the first time he pitched more than 6 innings. 
- Tony Gwynn Jr. hit leadoff and went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts.  I get that he's getting on base at a higher clip than Dee Gordon, but should a .291 OBP guy really be leading off?  If they wanted a guy who can't hit for power, but gets on base more often, why not go with James Loney?
- With his 22nd stolen base, Matt Kemp is now a member of the 22/22 club.
- W: Scott Baker (6-5), L: Rubby De La Rosa (3-3), SV: Matt Capps (13)
- SB: Matt Kemp (22), Dee Gordon (6), Ben Revere (9), Jason Repko (6)

Padres 4 - Royals 1

- Tim Stauffer kept rolling with 7 innings of 1-run ball for his fourth win.  He gave up 4 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts.  He has now allowed 2 or fewer runs in 6 of his last 7 starts.  If you have a chance, look at Stauffer's player page and the pre-season prediction for his ERA & WHIP and compare them to his real stats… very, very close.  (I know, I know, we're not even half way through the season, but still.)
- Bruce Chen allowed 4 runs (all unearned) in his 6 innings for the loss.  He had 6 strikeouts to just 1 walk with 8 hits.  All of the runs came in the 3rd inning on 6 hits and 1 error.
- How are the Royals going with a 6-man rotation, when they didn't even have a 5-man rotation?
- Jeff Francoeur went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts.  He is who we thought he was.
- Anthony Rizzo went 1-4 with 2 RBI and his first stolen base.  He now has as many stolen bases as he does homers… Not what most owners expected after nearly a month in the bigs.
- W: Tim Stauffer (4-5), L: Bruce Chen (4-2), SV: Heath Bell (23)
- SB: Cameron Maybin (11), Anthony Rizzo (1), Alberto Gonzalez (1)

Braves 5 - Mariners 3

- Derek Lowe allowed just 1 run over 6 innings for his fourth win.  He induced 11 ground balls to with no fly balls as he's apt to do.  In addition, Lowe gave up 4 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts.  It was his first win since May 6th.
- King Felix Hernandez had a stinker with 7.2 innings pitched and 5 earned runs allowed.  He gave up 10 hits with 3 walks, in what was not your normal El Rey performance.  He did strikeout 6 batters, which is nice. 
- Craig Kimbrel is a strikeout machine.  In this save he struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced.  He now has 65 strikeouts in 41 innings, damn.
- Freddie Freeman went 3-4 with 2 RBI and a run.  The youngster is hitting .272/.339/.434 this season.  Dan Uggla went 1-4 and is still below the Mendoza line at .178/.247/.340.
- W: Derek Lowe (4-6), L: Felix Hernandez (8-7), SV: Craig Kimbrel (23)
- HR: Dustin Ackley (2)
- SB: Jordan Schafer (9), Brooks Conrad (1), Dustin Ackley (1)

Indians 6 - Diamondbacks 2

- Carlos Carrasco held the D-Backs to just 2 runs over 7 innings for his 8th win.  He gave up 2 homers, but both were solo shots.  Carrasco walked none and tied a season high with 7 strikeouts.  He has a 0.98 ERA over his last five starts (36.2 innings) with a 28/5 K/BB.
- Zach Duke gave up 4 earned runs over his 5 innings of work.  Two of his seven starts this season have been quality starts.  If you started him in your league for this game, please explain yourself in the comments.
- Orlando Cabrera went 4-6 with 1 RBI and 2 runs.  He's batting .257/.287/.350 on the season with Jason Kipnis (.292/.375/.502) breathing down his neck in the Triple-A.
- W: Carlos Carrasco (8-4), L: Zach Duke (1-3)
- HR: Stephen Drew (5), Justin Upton (13)
- SB: Ryan Roberts (12); CS: Asdrubal Cabrera (1)

Yankees 5 - Brewers 2

- A.J. Burnett pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks.  His ERA is now 4.05, which is about what you can expect from him most seasons (career 4.00 ERA).  He didn't give up a home run in this game, which is pretty much how you can tell if it was a good or bad outing for Burnett.
- Shaun Marcum gave up 4 earned runs over 5 innings for a loss, his third.  He struck out 6, but walked 3 and gave up 5 hits.  A 3-run homer from Russell Martin in the 4th inning did most of the damage.  His last three starts have totaled 9 innings with 8 earned runs allowed.  He has battled through a hip injury lately, so that explains most of his recent slide.
- Mat Gamel served as the Brewers DH and went 0-4.  Once interleague play ends, Gamel's time in the majors will likely end as well.
- Curtis Granderson went 0-2 with 2 walks.  He hasn't hit a homer in over 2 weeks, which is somewhat news, considering the pace he was on to start the season.
- W: A.J. Burnett (8-6), L: Shaun Marcum (7-3), SV: Mariano Rivera (21)
- HR: Jorge Posada (9), Russell Martin (10)
- SB: Curtis Granderson (14)

Cardinals 5 - Orioles 1

- Chris Carpenter pitched a 1-run complete game with 5 strikeouts.  He gave up 7 hits with just 1 walk and in the process lowered his ERA to 4.00.  Carpenter has received some undue flak for his performance this season (ie his W/L record), despite the fact that he has raised his strikeout rate and lowered his walk rate in comparison to last season.  He now has back-to-back wins for the first time all season.
- Chris Jakubauskas has a last name that is tough to spell.  He outing was just as messy with 5 earned runs allowed over just 5 innings with more walks (3) than strikeouts (2).  He has yet to pitch more than 5.1 innings in his 5 starts this season.
- David Freese went 1-4 with a RBI in just his second start since coming off the DL (hand).
- Colby Rasmus went 1-3 with a 2-run homer and a walk.  He's been a bit of a disappointment this season with a .262/.350/.441 batting line.
- W: Chris Carpenter (3-7), L: Chris Jakubauskas (2-1)
- HR: Colby Rasmus (8)
- CS: Colby Rasums (2)

Angels 1 - Nationals 0

- Dan Haren tossed 7.1 innings of shutout ball at the Nationals for his 8th win.  He allowed just 2 hits with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts.  Haren now has his ERA under 3.00 and a walk rate of 1.39 BB/9, which is a career low.
- Jordan Zimmerman took the loss, after he pitched 8 innings and allowed 1 run (unearned) on 4 hits and 1 walk.  He has now allowed 2 or fewer less in 13 out of his 16 starts this season - that sort of consistency is gold in head-to-head leagues.
- Jordan Walden gave up a double in the 9th, but was able to nail down his 18th save.  After blowing his last three save opportunities, Walden was/is on shaky ground.  Considering the alternatives, his job appears safe for now.
- Ryan Zimmerman went 1-4 with a double.  He's batting .245/.321/.404 on the season.  Considering the 3B options in the NL, I wouldn't have that big of a problem with him starting for the NL All-Star team.
- W: Dan Haren (8-5), L: Jordan Zimmerman (5-7), SV: Jordan Walden (18)

Mets 16 - Tigers 9

- Chris Capuano was this winner of this slugfest, after he pitched 5 innings and allowed 5 earned runs.  He gave up 3 homers - a Ryan Raburn solo shot, Miguel Cabrera solo shot, and a Cabrera 3-run homer.   Before this effort, he had pitched well lately with 2 earned runs or less in five of his last six starts.
- Phil Coke was tattooed for 8 runs (7 earned) over 4 innings.  While records aren't anything to judge a pitcher on, Coke is now 1-8.  With a 4.91 ERA, it might be time for him to transition back to the bullpen.
- Don Kelly, the Tigers OF, got Scott Hairston to fly out for the final out in the top of the 9th.  I'm not positive, but I think this is his lone pitching appearance in the bigs.  PitchFX had him topping at 86.4 mph with a cutter.  He also apparently has a curveball and a change-up. 
- Angel Pagan went 4-6 with two doubles, 4 RBI, and 3 runs.  Daniel Murphy and Miguel Cabrera also had 4 RBI nights.  In this 30 hit game, the only hitters to not register a hit were Austin Jackson, Victor Martinez, and Brandon Inge. 
- W: Chris Capuano (7-7), L: Phil Coke (1-8)
- HR: Andy Dirks (5), Miguel Cabrera (16, 17), Jhonny Peralta (13), Ryan Raburn (7)
- SB: Jose Reyes (30), Jason Bay (7, 8), Angel Pagan (13), Brennan Boesch (4)

Phillies 2 - Red Sox 1

- Vance Worley held the Red Sox to just 1 run over 7 innings for his third win.  He allowed only 5 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.  The lone run came via a John Lackey double, of all things.  Worley now has a 31/18 K/BB over 42 innings as a starter and reliever.  He's a fringe starter in the NL, but you could certainly do worse when interleague play ends.
- John Lackey pitched 7.2 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 8 hits and 1 walk.  A Raul Ibanez solo shot in the 7th broke up the 1-1 tie and saddled Lackey with a loss.  As earlier mentioned, Lackey did help his own cause with a RBI double.  He's been consistently useless in fantasy leagues this season.  That said, he has battled issues off the field relating to his family, so I do cut the guy some slack.
- Antonio Bastardo nailed down his 3rd save of the season with a clean 9th inning.  WIth Ryan Madson on the DL, Bastardo could be picking up the slack for him in high leverage situations.
- Josh Reddick went 2-3 with a run.  He continues to hit in his limited time and is now up to a .438/.474/.688 batting line in 38 plate appearances.
- Adrian Gonzalez played RF and David Ortiz played 1B.  If your league requires only 1 game played a position for eligibility there, well then these two guys just got some new homes. 
- W: Vance Worley (3-1), L: John Lackey (5-7), SV: Antonio Bastardo (3)
- HR: Raul Ibanez (9)
- SB: Chase Utley (4), Raul Ibanez (2)

Blue Jays 2 - Pirates 1

- Brandon Morrow struck out 10 as he pitched 7 innings and allowed just 1 earned run.  He gave up 4 hits with 3 walks with the lone run coming off a Ronny Cedeno single.  Morrow now has a 25/5 K/BB ratio over his last three starts (20.2 innings).  His 9 earned run outing against Boston has his ERA running high at 4.56.
- Paul Maholm allowed 2 earned runs over 7 innings with 2 walks and 1 strikeout.  While he's sporting a 3.17 ERA, he really hasn't pitched much better than a 4.00 ERA. 
- Alex Presley hit leadoff for the Pirates and went 0-3 with a walk, strikeout, and stolen base.  He stole 18 bases in Triple-A this season, prior to coming up, so he has a bit of speed.
- Eric Thames went 1-4 with a solo homer.  He hit .352/.423/.610 in Triple-A Vegas this season - a hitters park.
- W: Brandon Morrow (4-4), L: Paul Maholm (4-9), SV: Frank Francisco (9)
- HR: Eric Thames (1)
- SB: Alex Presley (1); CS: Garrett Jones (3)

Rangers 3 - Astros 2

- Colby Lewis pitched 6.2 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 6 hits and no walks with 6 strikeouts.  He gave up a homer, which he has done with frequency this season as he ranks 3rd in homers given up this season.  His adversary, Brett Myers, ranks 2nd in that category.  Lewis has a 24/4 K/BB ratio over his last three starts (20.1 innings).
- Brett Myers registered a quality start with 7 innings of 3-run ball.  He gave up 2 homers both of which were hit by Ian Kinsler.  He managed to strikeout 4 batters with 1 walk.  He ends the month of June with a 29/8 K/BB ratio, his best of any month this season.  As an Astros fan, I'd sure like to see him moved before the deadline for something of future value.
- Carlos Lee ended the game with a caught stealing of second base.  Matt Downs was at bat with 2 outs as Lee tried to get into scoring position.  Just another day at the office for the Astros.
- Matt Downs went 1-4 with a double and run at third base.  He's hitting .279/.382/.593 as a utility player, but should continue to see at-bats at the expense of Chris Johnson if he continues to hit.  Downs is a 1.0 WAR player, while Johnson is a -0.7 WAR player.
- Ian Kinsler went 2-4 with 2 solo homers.  That's now 3 homers and 4 extra base hits in his last two games.  Everyone gets healthy against the Astros.
- W: Colby Lewis (7-7), L: Brett Myers (3-7), SV: Neftali Feliz (16)
- HR: Ian Kinsler (10, 11), Carlos Lee (6)
- CS: Michael Bourn (4), Carlos Lee (2)

White Sox 3 - Rockies 2

- Ubaldo Jimenez & Mark Buehrle each pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 earned runs with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts in no-decisions.  Jimenez's command has really improved this month with 33 strikeouts and 9 walks.  Buehrle hasn't allowed more than 3 earned runs in a start in over 2 months now.  He also gave up 2 homers, which gives him 11 homers given up in his last 13 starts.
- Huston Street took the loss when he gave up a sac-fly to A.J. Pierzynski in the top of the 9th.  It was his first loss in almost a month and a half. 
- Sergio Santos threw his slider 8 times and got 7 strikes.  That's what you call effective.
- Ty Wigginton went 1-3 with a homer and walk.  He's hit 20+ homers in four out of his last 5 seasons and that mark looks to be well within reach again this season. 
- W: Brian Bruney (1-0), L: Huston Street (0-2), SV: Sergio Santos (16)
- HR: Jason Giambi (9), Ty Wigginton (13)
- CS: Juan Pierre (10)

Marlins 3 - A's 0

- Ricky Nolasco pitched a complete game shutout with 5 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts.  If Nolasco pitches and I don't hear people complaining about him on Twitter, it usually means he was effective, as he was tonight.  Coming into this game he had a 3.71 ERA at home and a 5.63 ERA on the road.  At this point he is the definition of a pitcher who pitches worse than his peripheral numbers suggest (the bizarro Matt Cain). 
- Guillermo Moscoso had a quality start with 6 innings and 3 runs (1 earned) allowed.  He allowed 4 hits with no walks and 8 strikeouts.  Despite the great display of command, it's tough to trust a guy who came into the game with 14 strikeouts and 17 walks in 37 innings. 
- Mike Stanton went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts for the Golden Sombrero.  The young slugger is now batting .252/.324/.519 on the season.
- Coco Crisp stole his 24th base.  He's in the top five in stolen bags and has a .268/.304/.386 batting line.  If he stays healthy, the sky is the limit to his speed.  Of course, that is a huge if, considering he's played in more than 118 games just once since 2006. 
- W: Ricky Nolasco (5-4), L: Guillermo Moscoso (2-4)
- HR: Hanley Ramirez (5), Logan Morrison (10)
- SB: Emilio Bonifacio (6, 7), Coco Crisp (24)

Cubs 2 - Giants 1

- Tim Lincecum pitched 7 innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks.  He struck out 9 and had a shutout going, until a Blake DeWitt single scored Carlos Pena in the 7th inning.  Timmay finishes the month of June with 1 win, but a 43/16 K/BB ratio in 35.1 innings.
- Ryan Dempster was every bit as good as he pitched 8 innings of 1-run ball with 3 hits, no walks, and 6 strikeouts.  His 4.99 ERA is a bit misleading as he had a 9.58 ERA in April, but has a 3.11 ERA since then. 
- Carlos Marmol blew a 1 run lead in the 9th, when Manny Burriss singled in Bill Hall.  He lucked into a win, after Aramis Ramirez singled in Tony Campana in the bottom of the 9th.  Marmol had converted 6 straight saves, prior to this outing.
- I didn't watch this game, but from what my Twitter feed told me, Tony Campana had an interesting game in the field.  The box score read 1-1 with a single.  If you can find any footage of his adventures, please link to it in the comments.
- W: Carlos Marmol (2-2), L: Sergio Romo (3-1), BSV: Carlos Marmol (5)
- SB: Blake DeWitt (1)