St Louis 6 – New York 2
W: Jake Westbrook (8-4) L: Jonathon Niese (9-8)
HR: Albert Pujols (21)
SB: Yadier Molina (2)
- Jake Westbrook got immediate run support on a Albert Pujols home run in the top of the first inning and cruised to the victory. He scattered four hits over eight innings, allowing only two earned runs. Despite a 5.04 ERA, Westbrook has a 8-4 record.
- Reports are out now that not only are the Mets keeping Jose Reyes but Jason Isringhausen as well. Call me a pessimist but this is exactly what I'd do if I was a seller trying to drive up the price of a player. At this point, I'd give it a 50/50 chance that both Reyes and Izzy are still in New York come August 1. New York has not said anything close to the same about Carlos Beltran, who has been rumored to be going to numerous teams.
Toronto 7 – Seattle 5
W: Jon Rauch (4-3) L: David Pauley (5-4)
HR: Miguel Olivo (13)
SB: Ichiro Suzuki (24), Franklin Gutierrez 2 (7), Chone Figgins (10), Rajai Davis (29)
- Both starting pitchers – Ricky Romero and Doug Fister – pitched much better than their lines indicate. Fister was the victim of a strike three ball lost by Olivo which gave Eric Thames first base and started a three-run seventh inning. After striking out the side in the seventh, Romero got a ground out before |STAR|two|STAR| infield singles and a walk loaded the bases. As I watched the Seattle telecast and they pointed out that Casey Jannsen (who relieved Romero) hadn't given up a home run all season, it was rather obvious what Miguel Olivo was going to do. After he hit a game-tying grand slam the Jays got two runs to win in the bottom of the eighth as Jon Rauch threw 1.2 scoreless innings temporarily solidifying his closer status.
San Diego 5 – Florida 3
W: Dustin Moseley (3-9) L: Javier Vazquez (6-9) S: Heath Bell (28)
SB: Will Venable (18), Jason Bartlett (21), Cameron Maybin 2 (19), Emilio Bonifacio (19)
- The Padres picked up right where they left off last game putting up a three-spot before the Marlins recorded an out. After a rain delay San Diego was able to hold on for the win. Marred by the win was a bad-looking injury to Orlando Hudson who crashed into the wall making an out on a foul ball. After being on the ground for an extended amount of time he was taken off the field in a stretcher. The good news is he was moving around after the game and was alert.
- Jack McKeon suggested that if Leo Nunez is traded as expected, look for Edward Mujica to take over the closer's role. Mujica did nothing to hurt his chances in the game tossing two scoreless innings. Jose Ceda (1.27 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 22 saves, 48:11 K:BB ratio in 35.1 innings at Triple-A New Orleans) is another potential closing option.
Los Angeles 1 – Texas 0
W: Jered Weaver (13-4) L: C.J. Wilson (10-4) S: Jordan Walden (23)
SB: Craig Gentry (12)
CS: Elvis Andrus (5)
- It was one of those strange games where C.J. Wilson didn't allow a hit through four innings and the only run was unearned on an Endy Chavez error in the second inning.
- Jered Weaver lowered his ERA to 1.81 and used the productive tandem of Scott Downs and Jordan Walden to close out the game.
- Mike Trout (0-3, .133 BA) needs to be sent down immediately in my opinion. Don't set the kid back by killing his confidence; it's obvious he isn't ready for the big show yet.
Atlanta 9 – Colorado 6
W: Tommy Hanson (11-5) L: Matt Reynolds (0-2) S: Craig Kimbrel (30)
HR: Carlos Gonzalez (15), Jason Heyward (10), Freddie Freeman (15)
SB: Brooks Conrad (2), Dexter Fowler (5)
- After hitting a home run, Carlos Gonzalez left the game to have his wrist examined. Luckily, the initial diagnosis is only inflammation so for now it looks like it's the best case scenario for CarGo.
- Jhoulys Chacin has had a rough go in July, sporting a 4.91 ERA over the month. He's got a 28:26 FB:GB ratio during July which so far is the first time that he doesn't have more GBs to FBs over a month.
Tampa Bay 2 – New York 1
W: James Shields (9-8) L: C. C. Sabathia (14-5) S: Kyle Farnsworth (19)
HR: Evan Longoria (12)
SB: Sean Rodriguez (6)
- James Shields threw a gem giving up only one run over 7.2 innings. He struck out six and walked only three. Kyle Farnsworth (an ex-Yankee) allowed one hit but struck out the side in the ninth for his 19th save.
- After not allowing a homer in eight consecutive games, the Yankees (C.C. Sabathia) promptly gave up a long ball to Evan Longoria in the first inning.
- The Yankees came into the game with the most stolen bases out of any team since the ASB but with James Shields and his 11 pickoffs on the mound, they attempted zero.
Detroit 6 – Minnesota 2
W: Justin Verlander L: Carl Pavano (6-7)
HR: Brennan Boesch (14), Jhonny Peralta (15)
- The story of this game, as it's been many times this season, was the dominance of Justin Verlander. En route to win #13 he struck out nine without a walk over eight innings. Wilson Betemit settled nicely in with his new team, committing his sixth error while starting at third base. In all seriousness, nice move on the Tigers part to get him.
- I noticed Alex Avila's name in the boxscore and realized it seemed like he hasn't done much lately. Well, he hasn't. For the month of July he's hitting .150 with no home runs. A 13:11 K:BB ratio with a .226 BABIP suggests a bit of bad luck here so this is a good buying opportunity if you need catching help.
Arizona 4 – Milwaukee 0
W: Ian Kennedy (11-3) L: Zack Greinke (7-4)
HR: Kelly Johnson (17), Justin Upton (16), Miguel Montero (11)
SB: Georardo Parra (7)
- Ian Kennedy tossed seven scoreless innings, yielding a double to Ryan Braun and three singles. If you're in a keeper league, would you rather have Kennedy or Dan Hudson on your roster?
- Prince Fielder has looked lost in Arizona and is now 1-for-16 (.063) over the four games there with six strikeouts.
- Zack Greinke continues to be plagued by the long ball giving up two solo shots in this game. His 1.34 HR/9 is almost double from last season (0.74) and triple from two seasons ago (0.43).