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Mariano Rivera and Kerry Wood both got themselves into trouble in the 9th inning this afternoon. With the Yankees leading 2-0, Rivera allowed the first four batters to reach base, his second hit by pitch of the inning loading the bases with one run in and none out. He comes back, however, to strike out Crisp, pop up Varitek, and then strike out Lugo to end the game. The Yankees offensive woes continue, but Mussina, Veras and Farnsworth allowed just four hits while walking one and striking out seven.

Wood wasn't as lucky as Rivera. The Cubs led 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Like Rivera, the first four batters reached, three on walks, then last intentional. That also pushed across one run. Wood gets a force at the plate and a pop up for two outs. Then Ankiel delivers a single to center, and the Cardinals split the first two games by a score of 5-4. Wood blows his fifth save in 27 opportunities. The three walks are 1/4 of all he's issued this season. Like in the Yankees game, Lilly and two relievers combined for seven strikeouts and one walk.

The Marlins lead Colorado 17-16 in the eighth inning. So far there are 8 homers and 13 doubles for 21 extra base hits out of 34. The Rockies hit six of the homers and are losing.

Hank Steinbrenner's rant lasted just one game, as Jon Lester shuts down the Yankees as the Red Sox take the game 7-0. It's Lester's second shutout of the season, the other coming on his no-hitter. The Red Sox lefty, however, does have three other games in which he pitched at least six inning while allowing no runs. He threw just 104 pitches, allowing five hits and two walks as the Yankees offense goes cold again.

The game went bad for the Yankees in the first inning. It was going to be a typical Pettitte inning. Two Red Sox hitters reached base, but with one out Andy induced Manny to hit a ground ball to Cano at second. It looked like the double play would get New York out of the inning unscathed, but Jeter threw away the ball on the relay. He didn't get much pressure, it was just a bad throw. That allowed the only run the Red Sox needed to score, and it was four nothing by the bottom of the second.

Boston extends their lead over the Yankees to five games in the wild card race.

The Diamondbacks offense saved their best for last. Down 5-0 in the bottom of the ninth, the DBacks send seven batters to the plate against three Brewers pitchers. All seven reach base, the last being Connor Jackson who follows a Hudson double with a two-run single that plates two and gives Arizona a 6-5 win. Mota, Shouse and Torres combined to allow six hits and a walk, including two doubles. Arizona only had five hits before the ninth.

The win keeps the Dodgers 1 1/2 games back and returns the DBacks to the .500 level. The Diamondbacks offense may be coming back as they've scored six runs in four of their last six games.

The Diamondbacks fell to the Brewers Wednesday night by a score of 4-3. Base running mistakes early may have cost them the game:

But those were outweighed by the ugly moments. Take the first three innings, in which the Diamondbacks racked up seven hits but scored only two runs against Brewers starter Seth McClung.

"We didn't take advantage of a lot of opportunities," manager Bob Melvin said. "We had a lot of hits early on, good at-bats, we just couldn't push across a crooked number or a couple of guys at a time."

Part of the problem was that they ran into a pair of outs on the bases. In the first, Stephen Drew was thrown out while trying to stretch a double into a triple. An inning later, third-base coach Chip Hale gambled when he sent Young home after a ball kicked off the glove of Brewers second baseman Craig Counsell. But Counsell recovered and fired home to nail Young easily.

The lack of offense hurt an otherwise fine first start of the season by Yusmeiro Petit. He allowed just one run over six innings on two hits, but the bullpen could not hold a 2-1 lead.

The Diamondbacks are in quite a prolonged slump. They have not won three games in a row since May 16 but are still leading the division despite slipping one game under .500.

Worst Records, May 17 - July 2, 2008

Team	Record	WPct
Diamondbacks	15-28	.349
Indians	15-28	.349
Nationals	16-27	.372
Astros	16-26	.381
Padres	17-26	.395

The starters have a 4.31 ERA in that time, but it looks like in many games they pitched well enough to win. The pen, although a culprit in last night's game, has a 3.84 ERA during the period.

The offense is making the biggest difference, however. Before the slump, the Diamondbacks were scoring 5.44 per game, 2nd in the NL and the majors. Starting May 17th, Arizona is only putting up runs at a rate of 3.47 per game, third worst in the majors and the NL. As you can see here, there are a number of below .300 OBAs on the team during this period, including what should be three big bats for them, Upton, Young and Drew.

With the Dodgers defeating the Astros 4-1 Wednesday night, the Diamondbacks lead in the NL West is down to 1 1/2 games.

Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell each hit their 21st home run of the season as the Phillies buried the Braves 7-3. That drops Atlanta six games back. The Phillies now have three players with over 20 home runs, and have a very good chance to end up with three over 40.

Chipper Jones went 1 for 4 tonight with a walk and a home runs. His batting average falls to .391. The Chipper Jones graph is up to date. His chance of hitting .400 is now 0.00058.

The Rays come into the bottom of the seventh down 4-1. The first six men reach, the last a bases loaded by Longoria that plates two and gives the Rays a 5-4 lead. Boston is going to their third relief pitcher of the inning.

Matsuzaka lasted five innings, and I was surprised to see Okajima pitch the sixth. DelCarmen and Hansen suffered the meltdown here. Aardsma is in to try to stop the bleeding.

Update: Aardsma and Lopez get two outs, but Bartlett, who started the inning with a double, singles in two more and the Rays lead 7-4. I think this was a situation in which the Red Sox needed to bring in Papelbon in this inning. Once the bases were loaded, the game was in the balance, and the Sox needed their best pitcher on the mound. That didn't happen.

Daniel Cabrera and the Orioles defeated the Royals 5-2 this evening, Cabrera going the distance. He walked none while allowing seven hits. It's his second complete game of the season, the other also coming against the Royals. The Royals are a good team for a somewhat wild pitcher like Daniel, since they don't draw many walks (last in the AL). Cabrera's walked just one batter in 18 innings against the Royals. Since they don't draw walks, they don't go as deep in counts, giving him a chance to finish the game.

The Angels defeat the Athletics 7-4 to extend their lead in the AL West to 5 1/2 games. The Athletics missed a golden opportunity, catching the Angels in an offensive funk, but only turning that into one win.

Juan Rivera broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run homer in the sixth. It was his first home run of the season. Juan was having a break-out year in 2006. At age 27 he was slugging over .500, but injuries limited him to just 45 games over the last two seasons, and he's only managed three home runs.

Odalis Perez pitches a great game, allowing one run through 6 2/3 innings. While he was pitching in the middle of the seventh, however, the rains came and Perez left with one man on base. After the umps started the game again, Manning was on the mound and gave up a two-run homer to Amezaga. The middle relief on this team is just horrible. The Nationals are batting in the top of the ninth trailing 4-2.

Update: Gregg finishes off the Nationals and the Marlins comeback for the 24th time this season. They're one game back of the Phillies pending the outcome of tonight's contest.

The Twins take down the Tigers 7-0 taking two of three and prevent the Tigers from gaining on them in the AL Central race. Nick Blackburn continued his great control, walking one batter in seven innings while striking out four. Over his last five starts he's walked two and struck out 17.

Two of the Twins pick-ups this off season had big days. Both Gomez and Young collected three hits, Young with two doubles and Gomez with one. Young is trying to continue a good June, while Gomez tries to get back to his May numbers.

Odalis Perez retired the first nine Marlins this afternoon. What's really amazing is that he only threw 23 pitches to accomplish the feat, striking out two along the way. Either the Marlins want to get out of Washington as fast as possible, or they decided the best way to get to Perez is to swing early.

Update: The Marlins are being a bit more selective in the fourth. Cantu singles with two out for the first fish safety of the game. The Nationals lead 2-0.

Correction: Odalis, not Oliver. After five years you'd think I'd have them straight.

The Athletics and Angels received seven good innings of pitching Tuesday night. Ervin Santana allowed just two runs over seven innings for LAnaheim, while Rich Harden and Brad Ziegler did the same for Oakland, striking out eight along the way. Shields pitched the eighth for the Angels and allowed a home run to Mark Ellis, putting the A's on top 3-2. The A's countered with Embree in the bottom of the ninth. Alan is an interesting pitcher, in that his walks and strikeouts are good, but opponents still hit him. Once more, batters tend to hit Embree for power, as twelve of the 33 hits against him have gone for extra bases. He allowed a double, single and home run in his half of the eight as the Angels scored three to take the game 5-3. Garrett Anderson turned out to be the hero, hitting a two run shot that proved to be the winning margin.

Rodriguez picked up his 33rd save in the ninth and continues to move toward the record. As long as the Angels keep the scores close, he'll keep racking up the saves. The worst thing that could happen to his chances is the Angels offense starting to score six runs per game. LAnaheim won't play as many close games in that kind of run environment.

It looks like Matt Cain decided the only way he can win a game is to pitch a shutout. He held the Chicago Cubs scoreless for eight innings Tuesday night, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out ten. He needed to pitch that well, as the Giants managed just two runs off Jason Marquis for the game.

Even with Cain's great performance, Wilson came close to blowing the game. A leadoff triple in the ninth by Derrek Lee and two singles turned the contest into a one-run game. The Giants scored just enough to win.

The Giants have scored 65 runs in Cain's 18 starts, an average of 3.6 runs per start. That's below their poor 4.0 runs per game as a team.

The Mets defeat the Cardinals 7-4 tonight as David Wright and Carlos Delgado each pick up three hits. Wright knocked out a double and a homer while Carlos hit two doubles. Since Manuel took over on June 17th, both are hitting for power and driving in runs. A more offensive Delgado should help the team down the stretch.

Cliff Lee and John Danks stayed even for eight innings tonight, each allowing one run. Danks slightly outpitched Lee, allowing two fewer hits and winning the strikeout battle 8 to 3. Neither picked up the decision, however, as the game went into extra innings. The Indians scored a run in the top of the tenth, but Joe Borowski couldn't close out the game, allowing a solo homer to Alexei Ramirez. Borowski has now blow four saves in ten opportunities, and the Indians sink farther in the AL Central.

Correction: Ramirez's home run was a solo shot. Wise and Cabrera strung together a single, steal and single to win the game. All three hits came with two out.

Aaron Cook goes the distance tonight as the Rockies defeat the Padres 4-0. For Cook, it's the eighth complete game of his career, but his first shutout. Cook blew through the Padres, using just 79 pitches, 58 for strikes. That's one of the lowest numbers I've seen in a long time. The Padres had five batters reach on hits as Cook walked none, but two of those were erased with double plays. It was, in fact, a Maddux like performance.

The Rangers hold the Yankees offense at bay for the second game in a row, winning 3-2 when Rivera gave up a run in a tie game in the ninth. Since they defeated the Mets 9-0 on Friday night, the Yankees have scored just seven runs in four games. Both teams picked up nine hits tonight, but Texas out walked New York 7-2. The Rangers were just 4 for 19 with runners in scoring position, the Yankees 2 for 10.

Texas is now three games over .500 and very much in the playoff race.

The Phillies bats came to life tonight as they knocked out 14 hits and two home runs against the Braves to take the game 8-3. Victorino and Burrell each went deep to plate three of the runs, and six Phillies picked up two hits each. Kendrick made a good start, and the bullpen pitched great again, shutting out the Braves over the last three innings.

Chipper Jones went one for three with two walks. His average drops to .393.

Update: The Chipper Jones graph is up to date. His chance of hitting .400 is now 0.0006.

The Tampa Bay Rays down the Red Sox one more time, extending their lead in the AL East to 2 1/2 games by a score of 3-1. Matt Garza pitched seven strong innings, overcoming three errors to allow just one unearned run. The bullpen, however, just blew away the Red Sox. Howell and Balfour combined to face ten batters over two innings and struck out five.

Tim Wakefield pitched well enough to win, but the offensive support just isn't there. The big guns of Drew, Ramirez, Lowell and Youkilis managed just one walk and one sacrifice fly in twelve plate appearances.

For the second day in a row, the Tampa Bay starter retires the Red Sox in order the first time through the lineup. Garza's through 39 pitches through three innings and struck out three. The Rays lead 1-0, scoring without the aid of a hit in the first inning on a walk, error and wild pitch.

Update: Ellsbury gets an infield hit leading off the fourth, and ends up on third after Navarro throws the ball down the rightfield line. A Drew sacrifice fly ties the game at one in the middle of the fourth.

With Aramis Ramirez away on a family emergency, Mark DeRosa took over at third base and inherited Ramirez's power. Mark hit two home runs, including a grand slam and drove in six runs as the Cubs rolled over the Giants 9-2. Barry Zito continues to look like he's done as he walked five in five innings, bring his total for the season to 53 in 85 2/3 innings against only 50 strikeouts. He's well on his way to 20 losses unless the Giants pull the plug.

The Indians fought back valiantly from an 8-1 deficit, but still lose to the White Sox 9-7. Jim Thome got Chicago off on the right foot with a three-run homer in the first, and Nick Swisher added a grand slam and a solo shot. Peralta had a big night for the Indians, picking up eleven total bases on five hits, including three doubles and a homer. It just wasn't enough.

With Kansas City defeating the Orioles in extra innings, the Indians fall into last place in the AL Central. The Royals came from behind on an Olivo home run in the ninth that tied the game and a Guillen RBI single in the eleventh that proved to be the game winner. The Royals are 12-3 in their last 15 games.

The Astros defeated the light hitting Dodgers 4-1 this evening, but lost Roy Oswalt to an injury:

Oswalt allowed one run and six hits with nine strikeouts through six innings. He grounded out to relief pitcher Ramon Troncoso to end the Astros' half of the sixth. Houston led 4-1.

Catcher Brad Ausmus walked before Oswalt batted and while he was in the dugout putting on his equipment, backup catcher Humberto Quintero caught Oswalt's warmup pitches for the seventh.

Oswalt called Quintero to the mound and after a brief conversation, Quintero signaled to the dugout. Manager Cecil Cooper and assistant athletic trainer Rex Jones came out to check on Oswalt and he walked off the field with Jones. Oswalt threw 78 pitches.

I'll watch for more information Tuesday morning. The Dodger picked up eleven hits this evening, but only two were for extra bases, and only one came with runners in scoring position.

Lance Berkman hit home run 22. He trails Utley and Uggla by one for the NL lead.

The Nationals took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but Hanley Ramirez homered off John Rauch to tie the game. Rauch stayed in the pitch the bottom of the tenth with the scored still tied at five, and Josh Willingham led off with his second home run of the game, good for a 6-5 Marlins win. Rauch allowed just two home runs in 41 1/3 innings entering the game.

With three homers tonight, the Marlins still lead the majors with 119 on the year.

The Texas Rangers held the Yankees to just one run on an Alex Rodriguez homer and take the game 2-1. Feldman allowed four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings, including Jason Giambi's first triple since 2002. The Yankees, however, were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. The Rangers bullpen did not allow a hit in 2 1/3 innings of work while striking out three.

Mike Mussina pitched a good game, just not good enough tonight. He allowed both Rangers runs while walking two and striking out eight. The Yankees lose a chance to gain in the wild card race as Boston falls to Tampa Bay.

Quite the exciting finish to the Red Sox/Rays game. Luck almost conspired to give the game to Boston. In the sixth inning, Drew appeared to strike out looking. He was ready to throw his bat away but noticed the ump called the pitch a ball. NESN's pitch tracker showed the ball just at the bottom of the strike zone. Two pitches later, Drew hit a home run for the Red Sox second run.

In the ninth, the Red Sox put two on with one out on a Lowell double and a Youkilis single. Moss then hit a high fly ball to right that looked like the second out, but it hit the catwalk and fell for a double. That put the tying runs on second and third. Varitek hit a sacrifice fly. Percival, however, twisted his ankle backing up at third on the play, and Maddon made him leave the game. The Red Sox were going to pinch hit Casey, but Maddon changed pitchers before Casey was announced, so Lugo stayed in to face the lefty Howell. Lugo battled, but lined out to the shortstop to end the game.

The Rays win 5-4,and extend their lead in the AL East to 1 1/2 games. The announcers noted for the first time they can remember that the crowd at Tropicana was mostly Rays fans, not Red Sox fans. That's great to see.

The Cardinals continued their station to station play, with seven of their ten hits going for singles and drawing six walks as they down the Mets 7-1. Glaus adds two hit by pitch to up the one base reaches to 15. A wild, sloppy game by the Mets with eight free passes and three errors.

Ken Griffey comes into the game against the Pirates as a defensive replacement in a double switch. He comes up in the bottom of the ninth and hits a two-run homer to win the game for the Reds 4-3. Aaron Harang pitched seven strong innings, but was in line for a tough loss as he allowed just three runs while walking one and striking out eight. Griffey's shot took Aaron off the hook and puts the Reds into a tie with the Pirates for fifth place in the NL Central.

The Cardinals are using singles and walks to chip away at the Mets tonight. They've scored in each of the first four innings, building a 5-0 lead. They have seven hits and three walks, and only one of the hits went for extra bases, a double by Glaus. The Mets aided them with three errors as station to station works for the Cardinals tonight.

Gabe Gross hits a two-run homer down the rightfield line in the bottom of the fourth. The Rays grab the lead back 3-1. Navarro drew a walk with two outs to set up the blast.

The Dodgers picked up three more hits than they did on Saturday night, but couldn't score. The Angels take the game 1-0 behind John Lackey and a late save by Francisco Rodriguez. The Angels closer helped a Dodgers runner to third with two out in the ninth with a wild pitch, but he induced a Loney ground out to end the game.

Lackey struck out nine and walked two for the win, while Lowe K'd seven in his seven innings of work, good enough to win most days.

Both teams should be a bit concerned with their offenses. The Dodgers have scored two runs of less in five of their last eight games, and the Angels have scored one run in their last three games. I suspect both clubs will look for a hitter at the trade deadline.

The Detroit Tigers knocked out thirteen hits this afternoon, but managed to score just four runs. That was barely enough to defeat the Rockies 4-3. Five Tigers recorded multiple hit games, but only two of those were for extra bases. Dane Sardinha had the biggest, driving in two with the first hit of his career, a triple. He played one game for the Reds in 2003 and 2005, and in his second game with the Tigers finally moves his averages off zero.

Kenny Rogers went six innings, allowing three runs. Detroit starters have allowed three runs or less in 20 of 26 games this month.

The Orioles and Nationals scored more in the 12th inning today than they did in the eleven previous innings combined. Guthrie and Bergmann each went seven innings, allowing just one run. The bullpens went four innings without allowing a run before Ayala gave up two hits in the 12th, and Adam Jones singled in the go-ahead run off Hanrahan.

Sherrill came in to close the game and walked Dmitri Young with two out. With an 0-2 count on Belliard, Sherrill threw a pitch up and out that the Washington broadcasters thought should be a strike. The ump called it a ball, and on the next pitch Belliard homered down the leftfield line to win the game for Washington. It's the fourth blown save of the year for Sherrill, and the fourth HR he's allowed. Belliard came into the game with a .205 BA, but 13 of his 24 hits had gone for extra bases. That's 14 of 25 now.

The Marlins score just one run off Dan Haren in his seven innings of work, but plate three off the Diamondbacks bullpen. Pena gives up a walk and two singles in the eighth for one run, then in the ninth, Hanley Ramirez homered off Lyon to tie the game, and Cantu singled passed a drawn in third baseman to score the winning run from third. The Arizona bullpen record goes to 8-13, while the Marlins pen is 15-12.

Alex Rios breaks up a scoreless game in the bottom of the sixth as his double off Jo-Jo Reyes plates the first run of the game. Both starters are pitching fine games, Burnett giving up four hits and four walks but striking out eleven, while Reyes has walked one and struck out five. It's still 1-0 Jays in the bottom of the seventh.

Update: The Jays make the score stand up. The bullpen gives up one hit to finish off the Braves.

Tim Lincecum and Justin Duchscherer lived up to expectations Saturday night. Tim won the game 1-0 as Duchscherer allowed a single and double in the fourth which set up the one run to score on an error (the run was earned, however). Lincecum struck out eleven. Tim struck out ten or more in a game three times this season and five times for his career.

Duchscherer's eight innings qualifies him for the ERA title and gives him enough innings that he won't slip out between starts.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim suffered a 1-0 loss at Dodger Stadium last night, despite collecting zero hits. Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo combined for eight no-hit innings, but only get credit for a no hitter less than nine innings as the Dodgers score on two errors and a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.

Chad Billingsley held the Angels to three hits and three walks over seven innings, and all told the Dodgers hurlers struck out ten Angels. That's two days in a row 10 or more LAnaheim players went down on strikes, unusual for a team that prides itself on putting the ball in play.

A no hit loss of less than nine innings happened just three times in the 52 year history of the Day by Day Database. Matt Young lost to Cleveland on 4/12/1992. He walked seven and gave up two runs, both earned. Andy Hawkins threw one on 7/1/1990. He walked five, but three New York errors allowed four unearned runs to score.

It was about that time that Major League Baseball decided that only games that finished with no hits and were at least nine innings would officially be considered no hitters. The record books now make special note of games like the Harvey Haddix and Pedro Martinez contests where they lost no hitters in extra innings (in both cases, perfect games) and put the rain shortened and lost on the road no-hitters into the no-hitters of less than nine innings category. In the history of baseball, this was just the fifth no-hitter loss.

Jeff Weaver wasn't happy about being the answer to a trivia question:

"It's tough, any loss," Weaver said. "It doesn't matter what the line is."

I'm guessing Matt Young is a little happier.

Update: I clarified the no-hit losses I was examining. I was looking for losses where the game didn't qualify for a no-hitter because the team was on the road and the no-hitter didn't go nine innings.

Jered Weaver is tossing no-hitter through five innings, but losing 1-0. Two errors and a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning plated a run for the Dodgers. Billingsley allowed just one hit so far.

Both starters in the Red Sox Astros game gave up six runs tonight. Lester didn't give up a walk, but did allow nine hits, two for home runs. Backe walked three to go with the nine hits he allowed. The Astros pen was a little bit better, giving up four runs to the Red Sox relievers five. The Astros take the game 11-10. They blew a 6-4 lead, but also came back from a 9-6 deficit.

Lowell had the biggest night of any hitter, picking up four hits, two doubles and a homer, but Wigginton also doubled and homered. Five players picked up three RBI each.

The Rays and Pirates are in extra innings. If the Rays pull that game out, they'll be alone in first place in the AL East.

The Milwaukee Brewers ended the Minnesota Twins' winning streak at ten with a 5-1 victory tonight. Manny Parra picked up his second short shutout in his last three starts. Parra was effectively wild tonight, walking four in seven innings but allowing just two hits.

The Brewers offense got to Livan Hernandez early, scoring all five runs in the first three innings. Livan did stay in the game through seven innings, saving the bullpen a bit. Milwaukee is now 4 1/2 games out of first place in the NL Central.

Andy Pettitte catches Jose Reyes taking off a bit too early from second base with two out and David Wright at the plate. Pettitte was spinning to look Reyes back to second, but Jose started running and Andy easily picked him off. Pickoffs have been a staple of Andy's career, helping him (along with double plays) to keep his ERA low despite allowing quite a few base runners. The Yankees lead 2-1 in the top of the sixth.

Update: The game is now delayed by rain in the bottom of the sixth with the Yankees leading 3-1.

The Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Atlanta Braves 9-5 behind six strong innings by John Parrish. John's been in the majors on and off since 2000, but he's always walked too many batters. This year he showed better control at AAA, walking 35 in 82 innings (he's averaged 6.6 BB/9 in his major league career). He only walked two this afternoon, leading to just one run allowed. A fine fill-in start for Shaun Marcum.

Chipper Jones did not play again.

Update: The Chipper Jones .400 graph is up to date.

The first four Cubs reach base on a walk and three hits as the northern most Windy City team takes a 2-0 lead.

AL Central teams go five for five today, starting with the White Sox demolishing the Cubs this afternoon. Three other games would be blow outs as the Royals took their fourth straight from the Cardinals by a score of 7-2, the Indians shutout the Reds behind C.C. Sabathia 6-0, and the Tigers down the Rockies 7-1. The only close game involved the Brewers and Twins.

The Brewers out-homered Minnesota four to three, but blow a 6-3 lead as the Twins win their 10th straight game 7-6. Mauer hit a solo home run with two out in the 8th inning to provide the winning margin. He's hit three home runs this season, all in June. It was the worst pitched game of the streak for the Twins; they had not allowed more than three runs in any of the first nine games.

Eddie Bonine, making his third major league start, held the Rockies to five hits over eight innings. He walked none, hit a batter, and struck out two, meaning the Rockies were just five for 26 putting the ball in play. Ganderson picked up two triples to bring his total to four. He hit 23 three-baggers in 2007.

Sabathia stuck out eleven over eight shutout innings as he keeps raising his trade and free agent value. It's C.C.'s third game in a row with at least 10 strikeouts. Grady Sizemore is the only Indians star on the offensive side playing up to expectations. He drove in three with a double and a homer.

Alex Gordon drove in four runs with a double and homer, and six of KC's eleven hits were for extra base against the Cardinals. Gil Meche allowed one run over seven innings to lower his ERA to 4.66. He's allowed six earned run in his last four starts, an ERA of 2.08.

Jermaine Dye ends the Cubs-White Sox game with a nice catch against the fence in right to rob Fukudome of extra bases. The White Sox win 10-3, despite three home runs by the Cubs. All three came off Contreras, who has allowed six in his last two starts after giving up just four previously.

Nick Swisher caps a seven run third with a grand slam off Ryan Dempster. That chases the Cubs starter after he allows eight runs in the game. All the runs were earned. He's given up as many as four earned runs in a start, and his one start in which he allowed five runs, all were unearned. He's now given up fourteen of his twenty four road runs on homers.

Carlos Delgado breaks an 0-16 slump that drives in two and gives the Mets a 6-4 lead in the top of the fifth. That brings up his slugging percentage to a paltry .399.

Update: Carlos Delgado just hit a grand slam in the top of the sixth and the Mets lead 11-4. It was a long shot, to the back of the bleachers in right-centerfield. According to the broadcast, it's the first Mets grand slam since 2006.

Update: A-Rod hits a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the score to 11-5. Both teams have three extra base hits, but the three for the Yankees came with the bases empty, while the three for the Mets all came with men on base.

Everyone on the Astros played well tonight as they crushed the Rangers 7-2. Each starter picked up at least one hit, including the pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. Wandy also pitched a great game, allowing one run over eight innings. He walked none and struck out nine. Wandy is showing better control this season. In 2007 he walked a batter about every three innings. In 2008, the a walk comes about every four innings.

Hamilton left the game after getting hit on the hand by a pitch, but x-rays were negative.

Charlie Manuel went back to his normal lineup this afternoon and Rich Harden Alan Embree shut out the Phillies. Harden pitched brilliantly, lasting eight innings on less than 100 pitches while striking out eleven and walking just one. He lowers his ERA to 2.15, but he's 13 innings short of qualifying for the AL ERA title. He could reach it in his next four starts if he managed to pitch 33 innings in that time. Harden has struck out 42 in 32 1/3 innings this June over five starts.

The first four Yankees each knock out an extra-base hit against Paul Maholm. Damon, Jeter, Abreu and Rodrigeuz go double, double, triple, double (the triple double and a triple) to plate three runs for Mike Mussina, going for his 17th straight season with 11 wins.

Update: Nothing counts, as the game gets rained out.

The Minnesota Twins complete their sweep of the Padres with a 4-3 win. San Diego got off to an early 3-0 lead, but three hits by Morneau, including a two run homer and a game tying RBI brought the team back. Buscher contributed again, knocking in the go-ahead run in the sixth. Three innings of one-hit ball by the bullpen lowered the team's relievers ERA to 3.58.

The Twins are now on a nine game winning streak. They've picked up four games on the White Sox in that time and are just 1/2 game out of first place.

Aubrey Huff played third base this afternoon and collected four hit against the Cubs. He knocked out three doubles, scored three runs and drove in two as the Orioles took the game 11-4. Huff's been on fire all month, hitting .357 with a .655 slugging percentage.

Gary Sheffield answers Albert Pujols' RBI with one of his own, a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at two. That's Gary's second home runs since coming off the DL at the start of this series.

Update: Mike Parisi walks Clete Thomas with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the tenth to hand the Tigers a 3-2 victory. Parisi was ahead 1-2 in the at bat, but Thomas fouled off a strike three and took the pitches out of the zone. The Tigers have now won 12 of their last 15 games.

Albert Pujols finishes his day with a hit through the shortstop hole than drives in the Cardinals second run and gives St. Louis a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth. Pujols goes four for foru with a walk and a very important RBI in his return from the DL. He comes out for a pinch runner.

The Tampa Bay Rays are off to an early 2-0 lead over the Marlins. Evan Longoria picked up half the cycle through three innings, hitting a double and a homer. Matt Graza retired all nine batters he faced so far.

The Rays crushed the Marlins 15-3 to win the battle of Florida with one game to go. Tampa Bay drew nine walks, pitched up a hit by pitch, and knocked out 15 hits. They struck out 10 times as well, meaning they went 15 for 33 putting the ball in play. Four of those hits left the ballpark as Zorbist and Longoria hit one each and Carl Crawford homered twice. With 13 long balls, Longoria leads the team in dingers.

Despite retiring all five batters he faced, Jon Rauch ends up with a blown save for the Nationals this evening. He came in with a man on third and one out and gave up a sacrifice fly to allow the Angels to tie the Nationals at four. After pitching a perfect ninth, Jesus Flores put a W in Jon's column as he drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the ninth.

Flores is hitting very well for the Nationals. After a 1 for 5 tonight, his line is .294/.358/.485. His seasonal age is 23; maybe he'll turn out to be okay. His minor league numbers indicate this line is probably a fluke.

The Red Sox shut out the Diamondbacks 5-0 this evening. Tim Wakefield pitched seven strong innings, allowing two hits and one walk. Hansen tried to finish the game in the ninth, but loaded the bases with two out, setting up a save situation. Papelbon came in and struck out Tracy to end the game. Is that a tough or easy save? Even a mistake to Tracy still preserves the lead, and the closer only needs to get one out. None of the runners on base matter that much. What's your call?