Cameron Martin wants the Red Sox to start games earlier, not later:

The Red Sox are pushing all 7:05 start times back to 7:10 this season, in an effort to accommodate fans trekking to the ballpark, some of whom can't get their crap together earlier. For those of us who rarely venture to Fenway, this move means twiddling our thumbs for an extra five minutes after the evening news and/or chatting that much longer with the family after dinner.

He wants the games to start at 6:55, to get people into the park quicker.

The change doesn't really make all that much difference. Games are scheduled for 7:05, but don't actually start until 7:07 (I assume to give people a little leeway). So if the game actually starts at 7:10, it will only be three minutes later than usual, not five.

It wasn't that long ago that games started at 8 PM. My first few years at ESPN, the double headers were at 8 and 11, not 7 and 10 eastern time. Games were getting longer, however. So teams started moving back the start time to reflect the reality that people didn't want to be sitting in the stands at 11:30 at night.

I don't buy Lucchino's reasoning, however, quoted in the post. It's really a few more minutes for fans to buy concessions, putting more money in the pocket of the Red Sox.

Brad Lidge retires the side in order in the ninth, and the Phillies take a 2-0 lead in the series by a score of 5-2. The Phillies just clubbed the Brewers tonight.

Once again, the Brewers offense could not generate many runs. They've now collected just seven hits and three runs in two games.

The series moves to Milwaukee on Saturday. Jamie Moyer is great on the road, so we may not see much more from offense from the Brewers in game three.

Cole Hamels faces three more batters and retires them all. He gets his first two ground outs of the game as he's diversifying his outs portfolio.

The White Sox score twice more in the eighth to extend their lead to 8-2. The offense supplied the pitchers with a hefty lead to protect, which is always a good thing.

Update: D.J. Carrasco strikes out Jeff Larish for the first out of the inning.

Update: Matt Joyce strikes out swinging, then Granderson flies out to center and the regular season goes one day longer. The teams play tomorrow at 7:30 PM EDT in Chicago, and you can watch the game on TBS.

The White Sox used their patience and power to dominate in this game. Walks set up the big blow, the grand slam by Alexei Ramirez. We'll see if the Sox can do the same tomorrow against the Twins, a team known for not issuing walks. Chicago lost the last four they've played against the Twins, but won the last five they played at home.

Scott Linebrink gives up a single but strikes out three in the eighth inning. The White Sox still lead 6-2 and are three outs away from a one-game playoff tomorrow.

Four walks and three wild pitches plate a run for Chicago, tying the game at two. Gary Glover comes into the game with the bases loaded and one out. He can really use a double play or a strike out here. He'll face Alexei Ramirez.

Update: Glover gives Ramirez a phat pitch, up and in the middle of the strike zone. Alexei just crushes it. He knew the second he hit the ball it was gone. It lands rows back in right-center, and the White Sox take control of the game 6-2. That's Ramirez's fourth grand slam of the season, a rookie record according to ESPN.

Update: Ramirez is now 8 for 17 on the season with the bases loaded. He's only struck out once in that situation.

Miguel Cabrera doubles in the sixth. With two out, Raburn nubs one in front of the mound. Gavin Floyd fumbles the wet ball, then throws it over the head of the first baseman, allowing Cabrera to score from second. The White Sox now trail 2-1. It was one of those situation where the fielder is just better off holding onto the ball once he bobbled it.

Raburn singles and steals, the third swipe by the Tigers. This time, however, Inge hits a long fly balls that causes Wise to smash into the wall, leaving him hurt on the ground. Raburn scores easily from second, and would have scored easily from first. The game is tied, and the the Tigers have 1st and 3rd with no one out in the top of the fifth.

Update: Floyd gets out of it, and the game remains tied in the top of the sixth.

After a rough start, Freddy Garcia has allowed just two hits through four innings. After throwing 13 pitches for ball in the first inning, he's only thrown 11 since.

With one out, Gavin Floyd hits Gary Sheffield, then Gary steals second to put himself in scoring position for the heart of the order.

Update: Gavin gets Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera, leaving Sheffield at second. A good start for the White Sox.

Update: Freddy Garcia walks Orland Cabrera to start the bottom of the first.

Update: Garcia walks Wise as well. He's not sharp early.

Update: Dye singles up the middle and the White Sox lead 1-0.

Update: That's all Garcia allows. He throws 23 pitches in the inning, 13 for balls.

Correction: Fixed spelling.

The grounds crew started pulling the tarp off the field, and the teams are aiming for a 5:00 PM EDT start for the Tigers/White Sox game.

Update: They just sang the National Anthem, so the game should be starting soon. One nice thing about the delay is that more people will be able to watch the game, since more will be home from work.

The start of the Tigers and White Sox game is being delayed by rain.

Update: It's 3 PM EDT and WGN just started the Cosby show, so it's going to be awhile. At least it's an episode without Lisa Bonet.

"Lisa Bonet ate no basil." -- Weird Al Yankovic

Update: Lisa Bonet made a guest appearance late in the show. Darn.

It's 3:30 PM EDT and the WGN crew says the rain is expected to stop in 45 minutes, then it will take at least 1/2 hour to prepare the field. So we're looking at a 4:45 PM EDT start at the earliest.

The Red Sox second string defeats the Yankees second string 4-3 in ten innings. Alex Cora leads off the tenth with a triple. After a strikeout, two IBB and another strikeout, Jonathan Van Every singles home the winning run. The Red Sox finish with 95 wins, two games behind the Rays. New York finishes with 89 wins, eight game behind the Rays in third place.

Daisuke Matsuzaka walks two batters in the top of the fourth, but Xavier Nady makes him pay. He hits a three-run homer to put New York on top 3-0 and give Mike Mussina a chance to win his 20th game. Dice-K got away with the high walk totals due to his low home runs allowed. That was just the 12th hit off the righty this season.

The Marlins/Mets game is delayed due to rain. No start time has been announced yet. They could end up starting at the same time as Cubs/Brewers, making for better scoreboard watching at both ends.

Update: Oliver Perez started long tossing in the outfield.

Update: The Marlins and Mets are underway at 1:59.

A hit, walk and an IBB allow the Marlins to load the bases against Johan Santana in the top of the fifth. He gets John Baker to fly out to right to end the inning, however, preserving the shutout. Johan allowed just two hits so far, walking three and striking out five. The Mets lead 2-0. Santana has thrown 77 pitches on three days rest.

Update: Carlos Delgado is so slow Hanely Ramirez was able to make the throw sitting on his rear and still get Delgado at first. A great play by the Marlins SS as dove for a grounder near second, rolled and using just his arm, threw Delgado out while sitting on the ground.

The Boston Red Sox kept hope alive for a division title as they defeated the Indians 6-1 tonight. The Indians managed just two hits and one walk. Both hits, a double and single came in the same inning, so Cleveland batters went hitless in eight innings tonight. The Boston pen of Masterson, Okajima and Papelbon pitched three perfect innings as Lester made a nice tuneup start for the playoffs.

Micah Hoffpauir hits his first major league home run and adds a double in the third inning and the Chicago second string lineup is up 3-1 on the Mets and Pedro Martinez. Hoffpauir drove in two of the runs. Pedro has given up four hits and two walks so far as his rough September continues.

Update: Ryan Church doubles home two in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at three. If Church doesn't get hurt, the Mets may very well run away with the division in 2008. It's starting to rain at Shea.

Derrek Lee picks up a two-out RBI single and Aramis Ramirez follows with a two-run homer and the Cubs lead the Mets 9-6 in the tenth. You can't blame this game on the bullpen, and the Mets had plenty of opportunities to win this game in regulation. Instead, Luis Ayala pitches in three straight games and has to go two in this one and gives up the runs.

The Mets face Kerry Wood in the bottom of the tenth.

Update: The Mets go out in the tenth, and they are tied with Milwaukee for the Wild Card lead. If it comes down to a one-game playoff on Monday, it should be known as the Interim Bowl. The manager who loses probably loses his job, and the one that wins likely keeps it.

I'm still hoping for a three-way tie. If the Phillies go 2-1, and the Mets and Brewers win all four of their remaining games, the three teams end up 91-71. So we could end up with a two-day playoff in the NL, and two extra days in the AL if the Twins and White Sox end up 1/2 game apart and the makeup game Monday results in an AL Central tie. This is going to be a fun weekend.

The Royals keep winning, defeating the Tigers 10-4 Wednesday night. Brian Bannister pitches six scoreless innings for the win. I like that Brian is a sabermetrically oriented pitcher, but he's not very good. With the loss, the Royals move one game ahead of Detroit into fourth place. The grand expectations for Detroit didn't work out, and given that they aren't making much of an effort late in the season, I would not be surprised to see a new manager in the dugout next season.

The Rangers finish out their home season with a 14-4 drubbing of the Oakland Athletics. Oakland came into the series with a chance to claim second place in the division, but lost the last two games to the Rangers. Hank Blalock drove in four runs, three on a homer. Milton Bradley went 2 for 5 to put his average at .324 as he tries for a batting title. Josh Hamilton drove in two runs to raise his total for the season to 126. That's a far cry from where he was headed in the first half of the year. He went into the break with 95 RBI in 93 games played, but since he's driven in 31 in 60 games. Nothing wrong with that. Before the break Josh hit .336 with runners in scoring position in 116 at bats. Since, he's hit .232 with 56 at bats in that situation. So a combination of fewer opportunities and fewer hits dropped his numbers from amazing to very good.

The Red Sox left men on base last night, and Cleveland's returning the favor this evening. They left the bases loaded without scoring in both the seventh and eighth inning. Boston leads 5-4 going to the bottom of the eighth.

Mets fans are getting to enjoy the opposition bullpen blowup. Chad Gaudin relieves Marshall and gives up four straight hits and the go-ahead run. The Mets lead 3-2 in the sixth with the bases loaded and nobody out.

Update: The Mets score four in the inning, as a Jose Reyes triple clears the bases. That's the 19th triple of the season for Reyes and the 71st of his career.

Update: Only eight players ever reached 200 triples in their career. At 25 years old, Reyes may have a shot. At his current rate of knocking out three baggers, he should reach 100 in two seasons.

David Ortiz just miss a home run in the fourth, leading off the inning with a drive off the wall in the triangle in centerfield. Kevin Youkilis follows with a home run into the Monster Seats, and the Red Sox lead 2-0. Tampa Bay won game one of their double header with Baltimore and reduce their magic number to three for the division. A win by Boston tonight, or a Yankees loss puts the Red Sox into the playoffs.

The Phillies take a 3-2 lead on a pickoff error and a failed fielder's choice in the bottom of the eighth. That also sets up Pat Burrell for a two-out, three-run homer that puts the Phillies up 6-2. Pat sets a new career high with his 33rd home run of the season. He hasn't hit well the last month and a half, but the Phillies fans couldn't cheer loud enough after that shot. With the Mets losing, the Phillies Phanatics smell a division title.

Update: The Phillies win 6-2, dropping their magic number to five. The Mets trail the Cubs 8-4 in the top of the eighth.

The Red Sox just lost a run or two due to an umpire. It wasn't a bad call. With men on first and second and two out, Jeff Bailey hit a scorcher down the third base line. The ball was headed toward the corner, but hit the umpire and bounded back to the infielders. The third base coach already waved Bay around toward home, and Varitek was almost at third. Bay got caught in a run down and the Indians got out of the inning with a 4-2 lead. Remember that play if for some reason the Yankees end up tying Boston at the end of the season.

Kelly Johnson extends his hitting streak to 20 games with a home run off J.A. Happ. The two-run shot ties the Phillies at two.

Update: Johnson leads off the eighth, and three separate fielder bobble the ball. Werth dove for it and it ticked off his glove in right, Victorino picked it up and dropped it, and then Utley, the cutoff man, drops the throw. Johnson ends up on third base with a double and an error on Victorino.

Jason Marquis hits a grand slam off Jonathon Niese and the Cubs go up 6-2 on the Mets. It's Jason's second home run of the season and it gives him nine RBI on the year. His career high is ten.

David Price and Brian Bass are engaged in a double no hitter. Bass walked one through four innings, Price two. Bass is fooling more batter, striking out five to Price's one, but Price is throwing a higher percentage of strikes.

Update: Brain Bass walks three batters in a row with two out, and comes out of the ball game in the fifth! He didn't allow a hit, but he doesn't get a chance to continue. Can the Orioles put together a combined no hitter?

Update: Randor Bierd enters the game in relief and gives up a two-strike single to Iwamura. The Rays take a 2-0 lead on the bases loaded hit. Opponents are hitting .315 against Bierd this season.

Update: After a Longoria error, Ramon Hernandez gets the first hit of the game for the Orioles.

Josh Beckett gives up a two-out double in the second, then hits two batters and walks in a run. That puts the Indians on top 1-0. Beckett has now hit eight batters on the season, but five in his last six games.

A Jerry Hairston Jr. single in the bottom of the seventh drives in two runs and ties the Marlins at four. Votto put the Reds on the board in the sixth with a solo home run. That gives Votto a one-home run lead over fellow rookie Jay Bruce as they compete for most rookie homers on the Reds.

Update: The Reds score three more times in the inning and the Marlins trail 7-4.

Update: The Marlins score once in the ninth, but that's not enough as they fall to the Reds. The Mets magic number to eliminate the Marlins from playoff contention is two. It was a good try by the young team, but Florida falls short. This should be a very interesting club next season, if they can keep the current rotation healthy.

Harang wins to up his record to 6-16. If he was able to repeat his 2007 record of 16-6, the Reds would have 83 wins right now and still have a chance at the wild card.

The Orioles field poorly in the bottom of the seventh and the Yankees score two more runs. Baltimore fielders let a pop up drop between them, and the shortstop Fahey made a fielding error which led to a sacrifice fly. The game goes to the eighth leading 7-3.

Update: The Yankees go out in order in the eighth. Jeter makes the last out, going 0 for 5 in the game. Mariano River comes in to finish the game in a non-save situation.

Update: With two out in the ninth, Girardi takes Derek Jeter out of the game so he can get the cheers from the fans. He goes into the dugout, hugs the players, then comes out for a curtain call.

Update: Rivera gets three ground balls to end the game. The Yankees bullpen pitches four no-hit innings, allowing just one walk while striking out three. New York closes the stadium with a win, and still have an outside chance of playing in the post season. They'll need Cleveland to sweep the Red Sox, while the Yankees sweep Toronto, then go into Boston and take three from the Red Sox to force a tie. I'm not counting on that.

Update: Jeter is addressing the crowd.

Update: Jeter made a nice speech about passing on memories from generation to generation and from this park to the new one. It ended with Jeter and the Yankees saluting the fans, and now they are doing a lap around the park waving and tipping their hats to the fans. It's a heartfelt goodbye to the fans and the stadium.

Update: Here's what Jeter said (thanks to my DVR).

Now the great thing about memories is you're able to pass it along from generation to generation. And although things are going to change next year, we're gonna move across the street, there are a few things with the New York Yankees that never change. That's pride, it's tradition, and most of all, we have the greatest fans in the world. And we are, we're relying on you to take the memories form this stadium, add 'em to the new memories that come with the new Yankee Stadium, and continue to pass them on from generation to generation.

Nicely done by the captain.

Adam Jones singles off Andy Pettitte leading off the sixth inning. He comes out after 85 pitches, having allowed three runs, two earned. He threw strikes on the night, 63 versus 22 balls. Andy leaves the game in line to get the last win at the old ball park.

After the Orioles tie the game in the top of the fourth, Jose Molina hits a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning. If that's the last home run at Yankee Stadium, Jose will be the answer to a tough trivia question. The Yankees lead 5-3.

The Giants and Dodgers finish nine innings in a scoreless tie. Both teams put nine men on base via a hit or walk.

On to extra innings.

The Arizona Diamondbacks offense scored 13 runs today as they try to stay in the NL West race with a 13-4 win over Colorado. The top of the DBacks order devastated the Colorado pitching. The first four slots collected twelve hits and three walks in 24 plate appearances. The scored 10 of the 13 runs and drove in nine with six of their hits going for extra bases. Now they wait to see if the Giants can help them out. San Francisco and Los Angeles are still scoreless in the eighth.

Matt Cain and Derek Lowe are locked in a shutout battle after six innings. With both over 100 pitches, it's unlikely either will finish the game. The Dodgers need some runs as the Diamondbacks are winning 12-4 in the top of the ninth.

Even with the replacements in the starting order, the Cubs still dominate the Cardinals. Cedeno, Pie and McGehee each picked up two hits as the Cubs won a meaningless game for them 5-1.

Carlos Zambrano's no-hit streak didn't last long. The first three Cardinals picked up hits against Carlos, driving in a run. After loading the bases with a walk, Adam Kennedy hit a grand slam. Given that Zambrano only allowed 16 home runs coming into the game, and Kennedy had hit just one all year, that had to be a low probability slam. The Cardinals are off to a 5-0 lead.

Update: So I leave the room, and the Cardinals score three more runs. Zambrano is out of the game, lasting just 1 2/3 innings. St. Louis leads 8-0 after two innings.

Ryan Church and Brian Schneider hurt their old team tonight as they each knock out two hits. Schneider hit two out of the park while Church's were of the single variety, but both drove in two. The Mets lead 7-1 in the eighth as Johan Santana allowed eight hits so far.

The Cubs put runners on second and third in the bottom of the twelfth with one out, and Derrek Lee drives home the winning run with a single. The Brewers put men on second and third with none out in the top of the inning but couldn't push a run across. The Cubs magic number is down to two.

Geovany Soto just hit a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie the Brewers at six. Sveum may have gotten the Brewers offense working again, but the Torres still needs work. He gives up four runs in the inning, and despite what Bob Brenly just said, he did not blow a save, because he did not come into a save situation. There should be a special category for something like this. The game goes to extra innings.

Update: In other news, the Brewers are still unsure about Ben Sheets's status.

The Dodgers draw 11 walks in 11 innings as they defeat the Pirates 4-3. They also issue six walks to the Pirates in what must have been a terrible game to watch from the stands. When the walks, hit by pitch and strikeouts are added together, 38 batters did not make contact out of 101 that came to the plate.

Kansas City leads Seattle 10-0 in the fifth inning. The Royals are on a six-game winning streak during which they outscored their opponents 31-15. If they can keep this up for the rest of the season, they'll end up putting in a decent season for them. A victory today equals their total of 69 wins in 2007. At this point, they should be able to avoid 90 losses, a mark they reached in eight of the last eleven seasons. With three games left against Detroit, they may even be able to move into fourth place.

Nyjer Morgan stood at second in the bottom of the tenth when with a man on first when Jason Michaels tapped one back to Chan Ho Park. Park turned and threw to second, with no one there. DeWitt caught the ball behind the bag, and threw home as Morgan tried to score. Morgan barreled into Russel Martin, but the Dodgers catcher held on for the out. Martin looked shaken, but he stayed in the game. The game is still tied at three as the teams go to the bottom of the eleventh.

The Cubs take a 2-1 lead over the Brewers on their second home run of the game. Aramis Ramirez hits a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth to follow Jim Edmonds home run in the second. David Bush has now allowed 29 home runs on the season, a new career high. Given his good walk rate and the low number of hits he allowed this season, his high slugging percentage allowed prevented him from moving into elite status this season.

Matt Guerrier is having a tough month of September. He comes into the game against the Indians with the score tied and gives up two doubles, each driving home a run. He's now given up five runs in 4 1/3 innings this month. Minnesota is now 5-10 in September, the time covering the White Sox loss of Carlos Quentin. They've blown a golden opportunity to win the AL Central.

Doug Mientkiewicz complained in the press about the lackadisical play by the Pirates. His words seem to have hit home. The Pirates scored 15 runs Wednesday night to defeat the NL West leading Dodgers, about the hottest team in baseball, 15-8. Adam LaRoche hit two home runs and drove in five. Doug drove in a run with a pinch-hit triple. The Pirates picked up 15 hits on the evening, seven for extra bases.

The Baltimore Orioles blow a 6-0 as they fall to the Blue Jays 8-7. Baltimore scored five in the top of the fifth, then allowed Toronto to scored five in the bottom of the aptly numbered inning. The Blue Jays tallied single runs in each of the next three innings to win the one-run game. Each team collected 14 hits, five for extra bases.

How can the Padres-Rockies not be on TV?

Victor Martinez makes the Twins' quest for a division title a bit tougher as his three-run homer in the bottom of the eleventh sends Cleveland to a 12-9 win over Minnesota. That's only Victor's second home run of the season and just the fifth allowed by Nathan. The Twins fall to 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox.

The Brewers score once in the ninth, and have men on first and third with two out. That brings up Prince Fielder to face Kerry Wood, and Fielder already hit two home runs tonight. The tying run is at third.

Update: Kerry Wood catches Fielder looking, and the Cubs magic number is down to four. Milwaukee officially lose the wild card lead as they now trail the Mets by 1/2 game.

Brad Lidge picks up two outs but walks three to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth. Most amazing is that the last base on balls was issued to Jeff Francoeur. Gregor Blanco tries to end the game in a positive way for the Braves.

Update: Lidge strikes out Blanco, and the Phillies move past the Mets into first place in the NL East. The Brewers still trail the Cubs, the score now 4-3.

Dioner Navarro blasts a single over a drawn in outfield with the bases loaded as the Rays walk off with a 2-1 win over the Red Sox. It's the 10th time this season the Rays won a game in which they scored two runs or less.

Beckett pitched masterfully, allowing three his and one walk over eight innings, but one of those hits came off the bat of Carlos Pena and landed over the fence for a 1-1 tie. The Rays staff out pitched the Sox staff as a whole, as the only run they allowed was unearned.

The Rays can win the season series by defeating the Red Sox tomorrow night. If the Red Sox win on Wednesday, then the record in the AL East would determine which team wins the wild card and which the division. Right now, Tampa leads Boston by 1 1/2 games intradivision.

Traded players make a big impact in the Dodgers-Pirates game tonight. Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake pick up three hits each for the Dodgers, Blake slamming his 10th home run and missing the cycle by a double. Jeff Karstens allowed eleven hits and five runs (2 earned) in five innings of work as the Dodgers win 6-2. Los Angeles reduces their magic number to 8.

Odalis Perez saved his best for last against the Mets. New York hit him hard all year as he gave up 33 hits in 21 1/3 innings this season. Tonight, however, he's allowed just two hits as Washington leads New York 1-0 in the top of the seventh.

Josh Beckett is perfect through four against the Rays. Sonnanstine has allowed two hits and a walk, but no runs as the game remains scoreless.

Update: Cliff Floyd singles in the fifth.

Ryan Garko hits a three-run homer off Francisco Liriano in the bottom of the second inning to put the Indians up 3-1. It's the first home run Liriano allowed with men on base. Asdrubal Cabrera two batters later hits a solo shot for the fourth run of the inning. Both balls were hit to the opposite field.

Kelly Shoppach continues his hot hitting with another home run tonight. The solo shot put the Indians up 1-0 on the Twins, and Choo added a two run homer to extend the Indians lead to 3-0. The Twins are batting in the sixth.

I'm not sure if I'm more impressed with Manny Ramirez going three for three through the fourth inning, or that the Dodgers have sent 23 men to the plate in four innings. They lead the Pirates 5-0, and Manny drove in two more. That gives him 43 RBI in 42 games with the Dodgers.

The Red Sox send up three batters and score three runs in the first as David Ortiz takes Scott Kazmir deep to score all the runs. Ortiz now has four home runs against lefties in 89 AB on the season.

Two batters later, Mike Lowell connects to make the Red Sox lead 4-0.

Update: Kazmir doesn't have it tonight as the Red Sox hit a total of four home runs against him. Following the fourth, he fails to cover first on a grounder and Ellsbury gets a hit. I wonder if he's sick? He's looked tired and sweaty all evening.

The Astros pick up one hit and one run against the Cubs this afternoon, which is an improvement over Sunday night. Chicago wins 6-1. The Brockett Blog puts the two games into perspective. The Cubs magic number is down to six.

Ted Lilly sets the Astros down 1-2-3 in the fifth, picking up his sixth strikeout of the afternoon.

Update: Derrek Lee homers in the top of the 6th and the Cubs extend their lead to 4-0 as once again they're holding the Astros hitless.

He's through six.

Update: Loretta breaks up the no-hitter in the seventh. The shutout remains intact, however, as the Cubs lead 6-0.

Through two innings, Ted Lilly allowed one walk but no hits. That's eleven straight innings without a hit for the Astros. They did pick up a hit in the last inning they played against the Pirates, an infield single by Castillo. The Cubs lead 1-0, batting in the third.

Update: Houston goes down 1-2-3 in the third.

Update: Houston batters ground out, pop out and fly out in the fourth. Can the Cubs post back to back no hitters? Lilly faced the minimum so far as Berkman walked but was caught stealing.

Update: Houston and Cincinnati were involved in back-to-back no hitters in 1969. On April 30, Jim Maloney no hit the Astros, then on May 1, Don Wilson no-hit the Reds.

Update: Edmonds homers in the fifth to extend the lead to 2-0. Lilly picks up a hit in the inning, matching Zambrano's total from last night. That's Cubs pitchers 2 hits, Astros 0.

Dewayne Wise answers Marcus Thames's grand slam with one of his own in the bottom of the inning. The White Sox take an 11-7 lead to the ninth.

It was Wise's second time facing Fransworth. He's now 2 for 2.

Update: Matt Thornton retires the Tigers in order in the ninth, and the White Sox sweep the double header. They now lead the AL Central by 1 1/2 games over the Twins.

Don't ask Dotel. He gives up a grand slam to Marcus Thames in the top of the eighth inning, tying the White Sox at seven. John Danks pitched six strong innings but was lifted after 95 pitches. Miller and Morgan suggested the reason for that was to bring back Danks on short rest due to the double header. That seems a stretch, as with rosters expanded there should be some pitcher available for an emergency start.

On the other hand, Ozzie Guillen should expect his bullpen to be able to hold a seven run lead.

Carlos Zambrano downs the Astros 1-2-3 in the eighth, picking up another strikeout. That gives him 9 strikeouts and 99 pitches.

I don't think Astros fans are going to be happy about this at all.

Update: ESPN will be going live to the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Update: One pitch, one out in the ninth.

Update: Carlos induces a grounder to short for the second out. It's up to Erstad.

Update: Zambrano strikes out Erstad on a 3-2 pitch to record the first complete game no-hitter for the Cubs since Milt Pappas in 1972.

The stadium looked sold out, and every one appeared to be wearing Cubbie Blue. Zambrano throws 110 pitches, 73 for strikes and faces just one batter over the minimum as a double play takes out one of the two batters he allowed to reach base. Congratulations to Carlos Zambrano on a fine game and a great feat. Looks like he really needed the time off.

A bad weekend for Houston just gets worse. They got blown away by both an Ike and a Carlos. There are going to be lots of complaints by Astros fans about the location of this game. The Cubs win 5-0.

Javier Vazquez shuts out the Tigers for 7 2/3 innings and Bobby Jenks gets Gary Sheffield to end the game with a double play grounder as the White Sox come out of hibernation to beat the Tigers 4-2. Vazquez continues his solid pitching since the start of August. He's now 5-4 with a 2.79 ERA over his last nine starts. Chicago is doing a good job holding on to their AL Central lead despite the loss of Quentin and Konerko. They try to bring the lead back to 1 1/2 games with a win in the nightcap.

Correction: Corrected games up by the White Sox.

Adam Dunn comes up with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the eighth. The score was tied at one, and there's barely a peep from the crowd. Dunn strikes out, and the crowd starts booing. Arizona has eight hits and ten walks in the game, but just one run. With two hits and three walks, the Reds have the same score. You can understand why the crowd booed.

Update: Corey Patterson, one of the worst hitters in the majors this season, homers in the top of the tenth to give the Reds a 2-1 lead.

Update: Eckstein and Upton single with two out in the bottom of the tenth, but once again the Diamondbacks don't come through with men in scoring position. Young strikes out to end the game and Arizona fails to pick up a game on the Dodgers. Diamondbacks pitchers allowed seven runs in the three game series, but the team lost two out of three.

The fifth 1-0 game in Coors Field history comes out in favor of the Rockies. Troy Tulowitzki singles home Matt Holliday in the bottom of the 10th to end the Dodger four game winning streak. Cook and Maddux combined for 15 scoreless innings as starters, neither walking a batter. Maddux retired the first 13 Rockies he faced and only allowed two hits over seven innings. Hong-Chih Kuo gives up four hits, all one base singles, to take the loss.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, the Reds lead the Diamondbacks 1-0. It would behoove Arizona to score some runs if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.

They are finally underway in the Detroit-Chicago game. The split double header was turned into a regular double header. Here's ticket information for those who lost a game today.

The Phillies win game one of the double header 7-3, reducing the Brewers lead in the NL Wild Card race to one game. Both teams hit two home runs, but the Brewers generated three runs with their long balls, while Howard and Victorino combined to drive in five with their two shots. Both starters allowed three runs, but the Phillies bullpen showed why they've been the best in the business this season, pitching two perfect innings to ice the win. The Brewers pen gave up the three-run shot to Victorino. The two play tonight with the Phillies getting a chance to tie. I guess if the Phillies can't come back against the Mets, they just find another team.

Update: Norton! The Phillies may catch the Mets, too. Luis Ayala comes in to hold a 4-2 lead over the Braves in the ninth. He gives up two singles then a three-run homer to Greg Norton and the Braves lead 5-4.

Update: The Braves are still batting, up 6-4 with the bases loaded, and the Mets fans are leaving. That's a real lack of confidence.

Update: Mets lose 7-4. The Phillies could end the day 1 game out in the NL East.

Brandon Moss, 0 for 4 on the night, hits the wall in the right-center alley in the bottom of the 12th. With two outs, Adam LaRoche was running and scores easily from first to defeat the Cardinals 7-6. St. Louis loses its fourth straight game, and falls five games back in the NL Wild Card race. At this point, it's tough to imagine the Cardinals making the playoffs.

The Cubs and Astros will play two of their game over the next two days in Milwaukee:

The Cubs and Astros will play at 7:05 p.m. CDT on Sunday and 1:05 p.m. on Monday at Miller Park, with Houston being the home team. If the third game of the series is needed, it will be Sept. 29 at Houston.

Chicago leads the NL Central and Houston is in wild-card race. The three-game set that was scheduled to begin Friday night in Houston was called off as the hurricane approached the Texas coast.

This is a huge advantage for the Cubs, essentially giving them two more home games. Cubs fans will make the short drive to Milwaukee. It's unfortunate, but there's not much else MLB could do.

The Yankees come back from a 4-1 deficit to defeat the Rays 6-5 in the night cap of their double header. Derek Jeter collected three hits in each game today to bring his season hit total to 171. Since his cup of coffee in 1995, Jeter's failed to reach 180 hits only once, 190 hits three times, and 200 hits six times. Two hundred hits looks out of reach at this point, but a hot streak could get him to 190.

The Rays stay even with the Red Sox, who also split on the day.

Jonathon Niese didn't impress in his first major league start, but he did in his second. Niese pitches eight shutout innings against the Braves and New York takes the night-cap 5-0. Jonathon allowed just six hits as he walked two and struck out seven. Reyes, Wright and Beltran all homered for the Mets. The win pushes their lead over the Phillies back to 2 1/2 games.

The Red Sox take a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the eighth on one of the shortest hits you'll ever see. On a 3-2 count, Jacoby Ellsbury barely gets wood on the ball. It slowly rolls down the first base line, and Scott Downs slips on the grass and falls flat on his face trying to go for it. The ball stops about 1/3 of the way to first base, just inside the foul line. The runner scores from third and the Red Sox get have a lead for Papelbon to defend.

Update: Pedroia follows with a single, his third hit of the game and his 200th on the season. That leads the AL, and Dustin is the first Red Sox player to reach 200 hits in 10 years.

Update: Big Papi hits the wall to drive in an insurance run and Boston takes a two-run lead into the ninth.

Update: Papelbon retires the side in order in the ninth. That pretty much ends Toronto's shot at the playoffs. Toronto remains 7 1/2 games out with thirteen games remaining. So if Boston just plays .500, the Jays need to win all their remaining games. My guess is that Boston plays better than .500 and the Jays record won't matter. It was a good, late run however and made the weekend interesting.

I just arrived home and turned on the Blue Jays-Red Sox game. Jesse Litsch threw a wild pitch with runners on second and third that didn't get to far from Zaun. The flip from Zaun to LItsch covering wasn't a good one, however, and the ball got away, allowing Pedroia to score from second. After losing 8-1 in the first game, the Red Sox get off to a 2-0 lead in the second game.

Update: Bartolo Colon gives the two runs back and more as the Jays have scored five runs so far in the top of the second.

The Red Sox take the first game of the Blue Jays series 7-0. Wakefield kept the Jays off balance all night, allowing just three hits without walking a batter in eight innings of work. They drop the Jays 7 1/2 games back in the wild card.

David Purcey pitched well through six innings, allowing two runs. Gaston, however, in an effort I assume to save his bullpen for the double header on Saturday, let Purcey throw 120 pitches. So he ran into trouble in the seventh, and the Red Sox turned a close game into a rout, with Kevin Cash adding a three run homer in the eighth off Frasor.

Gil Meche pitched a very strange outing tonight. He lasted just five innings, striking out seven and walking just one. He faced 25 batters, so 17 put the ball in play, and those 17 strikes resulted in 10 hits. That led to six runs, and the Indians lead 9-2 in the sixth. Cliff Lee is well on his way to his 22nd victory.

My daughter is at the Red Sox game tonight and sends this view of the tarp from her seats:

She didn't charge her phone, so I'm not sure how many updates I'll get.

Update: The Red Sox changed the start time to 7:45. Given the hard rain falling here, tonight's game may take a while.

Update: The Phillies postponed their game against the Brewers, while rain delays both games in New York and games in Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Update: The game is underway, and Melinda send this photo from the bottom of the first (click for a lager image).

The Red Sox lead 1-0 in the bottom of the third, and it's still raining. The Rays and Yankees game was postponed. They are underway in Pittsburgh and delayed in Chicago.

Update: The White Sox game is now postponed.

The Cubs/Cardinals comes down to Kerry Wood facing Albert Pujols with two on and two out, the Cards down by one. Wood falls behind in the count, but gets Albert to pop out to shallow center, and the Cubs win 3-2. A bad base running play cost St. Louis in the inning. Brendan Ryan led off with a double, and when the Cubs tried to get him at third on a bunt, he beat the throw. He over-slid the bag, however, and made the first out. First and third with none out would give the Cardinals a much better chance of tying the game, especially since the next batter singled.

Pujols did drive in a run earlier, giving him 100 on the season. He joins Ted Williams and Al Simmons as the only players do accomplish the feat in their first eight seasons.

Shaun Marcum and Gavin Floyd matched zeros through seven innings. The Blue Jays, however, exploded for six runs in the eighth. They knocked out seven hits, five singles and two doubles. They even played for one run, bunting after a leadoff double. Marcum is still in the game, pitching in the bottom of the eighth. A Blue Jays win tonight allows them to gain both on the Twins and Red Sox in the AL Wild Card race before they head into Boston Friday.

Update: It was a big inning for the White Sox also as they scored four run, two on a Jim Thome home run. It wasn't enough, however, as the Blue Jays went on to a 6-4 victory.

It seems the Pirates want to get out of Houston in a hurry. Through seven innings, Roy Oswalt has allowed just one hit, a single by Rivas in the first. He's also thrown just 72 pitches, or about 10 per inning. With 75 percent of his pitches resulting in strikes, the Pirates really seem to be hacking away tonight.

Hurricane Ike postponed the first two game of the Cubs-Astros series. One of the games may be made up as part of a double header on Sunday. This helps the Cubs as it gives Carlos Zambrano an extra day of rest. He was scheduled to pitch on Saturday.

After the Twins only score two runs off Brandon Duckworth in five innings, the Royals bullpen shuts down Minnesota's offense the rest of the way. After Mayhay allowed a hit and a walk over 1 2/3 innings of work, the rest of the pen pitched nearly perfectly, not allowing a hit or walk over the last 3 1/3 innings. DeJesus singles home a run in the tenth, and the Royals take home a 3-2 win.

This was a game the Twins needed to win. Looking at the superiority of the Twins lineup and starting pitcher, the team blew an easy one here. The offense wasted an eight inning, two run outing by Liriano, and if they lose the division by one game, fans can point their fingers at this contest.

It's still 1-1 in the fourteenth as Mike Timlin enters the game with one out and the bases empty. After recording the second out, he allows two singles that brings Carlos Pena to the plate. He lifts a three-run homer into the Monster Seats, and Tampa Bay takes a 4-1 lead. It's the first runs scored since the bottom of the third as both pitching staffs pitches extremely well to this point.

Update: A double and walk with no one out brings David Ortiz to the plate representing the tying run.

Update: Percival walks Ortiz on four pitches. Maddon and the trainer come out to get him, believing he's hurt. Troy argues with Joe, but leaves the game. The bases are loaded with no one out. This game may never end. Kevin Youkilis is scheduled to bat next.

Update: Youkilis hits a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2. Jason Bay gets a chance for a big hit.

Update: Bay strikes out. He's 0 for 7 on the night.

Update: Cora flies out to center, and the Rays win 4-2. A great series for Tampa as they take two out of three in a ballpark in which they lost their first seven contests this season. They extend their lead to 2 1/2 games over Boston and reduce their magic number to 16.

Given the great games played between Tampa Bay and Boston and Tampa Bay and the Angels this season, I'd really love to see an ALCS with one of those matchups.

After a poor start his last time out, Ted Lilly recovers to go eight innings, giving up just one run to the Cardinals. He does not walk a batter striking out five. Kerry Wood, however, makes it interesting. He gives up a double to Pujols and a home run to Ludwick for a 4-3 final. Chicago maintains their lead on Milwaukee.

Pujols finishes the game at .362, one point behind Chipper Jones.

The Blue Jays score three runs in the top of the ninth inning, but recent hero Alex Rios strikes out to end the game with the Jays one run short as the White Sox win 6-5. (Rios homered earlier, his fourth since the start of the winning streak.) It was a rare poor start for Roy Halladay as he allows five runs in six innings, despite walking just one while striking out eight.

Mark Buehrle pitched into the eighth allowing just one run. The White Sox will maintain their lead on Minnesota. The Twins are winning big late.

Update: The Twins win 7-1. They collect twelve hits, only one for extra bases.

After the Mets and Nationals play a back and forth 10-8 game Tuesday night, they return Wedensday for a similar contest. The Mets win 13-10, although they blew a 7-1 lead nearly blew an 11-7 lead. There's something wrong when Cristian Guzman hits two home runs in a game against a team. David Wright, who looks to me like the Mets MVP went four for four, just missing the cycle by a triple. He scored four and drove in three. He's close to passing his 220 runs+RBI total of 2007 with 213 after tonight's contest.

The Ray and Red Sox go to extra innings after a bad call at first base robs Ellsbury of an infield hit. Willy Aybar fields a medium speed high bouncing hit and looped a throw to first. The freeze frame shows Ellsbury's foot on the bag before the ball was in the glove. Even in real time I thought he was safe. The game is in the 10th tied at one.

Eugenio Velez comes up for the Giants with two on and two outs after a single and a walk. He was down 0-2 on two curve balls, and Brandon Lyon tried to sneak a high fastball by him. Like Young in the top of the inning, he drove the ball into the right-center gap for a two run triple, and the Giants win the game 4-3. Just amazing. The DBacks are now three games back of the Dodgers pending the outcome of tonight's game.

That really hurts. The Arizona bullpen is just killing them lately.

The Marlins down the Phillies 7-3 behind Ricky Nolasco. He allowed all three Phillies runs as he pitched into the eighth to earn his 14th win. The Phillies pen continues to show wear and tear as they allow three of the runs in 1 2/3 innings. Philadelphia falls three games behind the Mets pending the outcome of tonight's game and four games behind the Brewers for the wild card.

Brian Wilson might want to hit the beach. He walked two Diamondbacks to put runners on first and second with one out. Drew flies out to left, but Chris Young splits the center and right fielder for a two-run, two out triple to give the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth. Young keeps hope alive.

Mark Grace points out that Chris Young was the only player willing to come on the pre-game show and he's kept a positive attitude.

Dan Haren throws 99 pitches in four innings and doesn't come out for the fifth. He gave up six hits and three walks. The Giants scored twice off Dan, only one of them earned. Those two runs are holding up as San Francisco carries a 2-1 lead into the seventh.

Mike Cameron delivers a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to put the Brewers up 4-3 going to the top of the ninth. Sabathia won't get the win, but he'll remain undefeated. CC struck out eight and walked one over seven innings, raising his ERA to 1.59.

Update: Salomon Torres strikes out the side in the ninth, and the Brewers move a step closer to the playoffs. Milwaukee is now 12-1 in Sabathia's starts, 22-22 when others start since his first appearance. It's pretty clear CC's made the difference in keeping this team in the lead in the Wild Card race.

Jerry Hairston takes CC Sabathia deep, a three-run shot that gives the Reds a 3-1 lead in the fifth. That only the fifth home run Sabathia allowed in 100 innings for the Brewers.

CC Sabathia drives a runner home from third on a groundout, hitting a high chopper to a drawn-in infield. It's his sixth RBI with the Brewers and the seventh of the year for Sabathia. The Brewers take a 1-0 lead after three.

The Cardinals win in the bottom of the ninth, 4-3 over Chicago. Cesar Izturis checks his swing but grounds the ball to second with the infield in. Brendan Ryan breaks from third on contact and beats the throw to the plate with a nice slide.

Pujols hit his 33rd home run of the season, a three-run shot in the sixth that tied the game. It was just the 13th homer allowed by Dempster this season. The Cardinals await the outcome of the Reds at Milwaukee, currently tied at four in the eighth. The Phillies lost earlier in the evening, 10-8 to the Marlins.

Troy Percival walks the lead off batter but gets the next three as he Rays win 5-4. They break the road team jinx in the series and guarantee they'll leave Boston with the division lead intact.

Scott Kazmir and Grant Balfour pitched seven strong innings, holding the Red Sox to two runs as Tampa Bay took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth. With two out, however, Dan Wheeler walks Youkilis and Jason Bay blasts a ball over the wall to put Boston up 4-3 and bring on Papelbon for the ninth.

Update: Three of Bay's seven home runs with the Red Sox came from the seventh inning on.

Update: Dan Johnson gets ahead of Papelbon 3-0, Jonathan comes back to 3-2, then Dan hits one into the bullpen to tie the game. Two blown saves on two long balls. That's the fifth blown save and fourth home run allowed by Papelbon this season.

Update: Fernando Perez just misses a home run as he doubles off the Green Monster with one out.

Update: Navarro doubles to put the Rays ahead 5-4. Papelbon has given up 1/5 of his extra-base hits allowed this season in this inning. Tampa Bay is showing a lot of guts, heart and determination here.

Brandon Wood hit two home runs last night, part of a four home run barrage that helped the Angels crush the Yankees 12-1. Wood is supposed to be a top prospect in the Angels system, but nights like this have been few and far between in his major league career so far. Despite a 3 for 4 night, he's still 17 points under the Mendoza line. He's only recorded 137 bats in his career, however, so there's plenty of time for improvement.

Jon Garland pitched a solid seven innings, allowing a run in the first then nothing the rest of the way. He lowered his ERA to 4.52. The Angels now lead the Rays by 1 1/2 games in the race for the AL's best record.

This game feels like a metaphor for the Yankees whole season. They couldn't hit a mediocre pitcher, and a poor hitter knocks them around. They were outhit 13-6, with the Angels collecting six extra-base hits to the Yankees one. They were even out-walked 4-2.

Salomon Torres blows a fine pitching performance by Dave Bush as he allows five of the first six batters to reach, pushing three runs across the plate. That gives the Reds a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth, and they still have two men in scoring position with two out. That the seventh blown save for Torres in 33 opportunities.

Torres gets out of the inning, but he's in line for the loss.

Update: Francisco Cordero shows the Brewers how it's done as he retires the side in order, throwing just nine pitches. They've now lost five of their last seven since the Sabathia one hitter.

The Orioles win just their second game in their last 17 contests as they spank the Indians 14-3. The team hits for the home run cycle, picking up a solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam in the game. Baltimore scores more runs tonight than they did in their last five games.

Miguel Cabrera adds a home run, giving the Tigers 3-4-5 hitters four on the night. Ordonez, Cabrera and Sheffield combined so far for five hits and nine RBI as the Tigers lead the Athletics 12-3. Gio Gonzalez's ERA jumps to 9.32 as he allows eight earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Update: The A's comeback, scoring five runs so far in the fifth with six singles and a walk.

The home run milestone won't be reached in Chicago tonight, nor will the Blue Jays winning streak be extended. Weather postponed the game. They'll play a separate admission double header on Tuesday.

The Angels reduce their magic number to four as they down the White Sox 3-2. Both Saunders and Danks pitched well, turning around poor second halves. Horacio Ramirez takes the loss as he puts runners on the first and third with no one out in the eighth, and a sacrifice fly brings in the winning run.

Fransisco Rodriguez earns his 55th save, allowing just a single in the ninth. He needs three more to claim a new save record. The host the Yankees for three coming up next, so the record could come against New York.

David Purcey shuts out the Rays for eight innings as Toronto takes the game and the series 1-0. Matt Graza pitched almost as well. His only mistake as a double by Lind that turned into a run when Adam was able to advance to the plate on consecutive outs. Toronto is now 9 1/2 games out of first place and continue to put pressure on the Yankees for third place in the division.

The Rays go into Boston on Monday, a place they haven't won this season. They should have Longoria back in the starting lineup, however.

Greg Dobbs doubles and homers as the Phillies get off to a 6-0 lead over the Mets after five innings. Dobbs has nine hits in 15 games against New York, five of those hits for extra bases. With his three RBI so far this afternoon, he owns eight on the season against the Mets, the most he has against any team.

Willy Aybar and B.J.Upton each suffered a pickoff today. Barajas made a snap throw from catcher to get Aybar, and Upton took a step toward second a tad early and Purcey nailed from from the mound. Toronto leads 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth.

Tampa Bay waited until the ninth inning to score, but they put up three against B.J. Ryan to tie the game. They then took a 4-3 lead in the 13th, leaving the game in the hands of Troy Percival. Troy recorded two outs but also loaded the bases. That set up Gregg Zaun to zoom the ball out of the park for a walk-off grand slam and a 7-4 Blue Jays victory. Tampa Bay is now just two games ahead of the Red Sox, and Toronto moves into a tie with the Yankees, pending the outcome of tonight's Mariners game.

Brandon Webb struck out Manny Ramirez with the bases loaded to end the third inning. He threw Manny three change ups. Manny comes up in the bottom of the fifth with two out and men on first and second. This time, Webb gets a fast ball up and Manny drives it the other way for a three-run homer and the first runs of the game. He now has 11 HR and 32 RBI with the Dodgers, and is tied with Ted Williams, Willie McCovey and Frank Thomas on the all-time home run list at 521.

Milwaukee pulled out the game in the 11th inning. A 1-6-3 double play in the top of the inning prevented San Diego from taking the lead, while a one-out single by J.J. Hardy iced the game for the Brewers. There's not a mention in the JSOnline story about Yost's poor managing. Also no mention that Counsell's feidler's choice in the eleventh was a failed bunt attempt (no arguing with the strategy there, just the execution).

Despite all that, things worked out well as Milwaukee gained a game on the Cubs, extended their lead on the Cardinals and kept the Phillies at Bay. Sometimes wins are just ugly.

I don't understand this. After stretching Sabathia since they acquired him, Ned Yost takes out CC after 106 pitches and seven innings. He brings in Gagne with a 2-1 lead, and he immediately gives up the game tying home run to Brian Giles. The crowd was booing when Eric came into the game, they booed the home run, they booed after the double Luis Gonzalez hit and they even booed the Kevin Kouzmanoff strikeout. If Milwaukee loses this game, Yost is going to be for a lot of second guessing, and rightfully so.

Update: Gagne gets out of the inning with no more damage. They go to the bottom of the 8th tied at two.

Update: In the bottom of the 10th, the first two Brewers reach, then Yost puts the bunt on with Hart at the plate. Corey Hart, the guy with 42 doubles and 20 home runs. He fouls two off, then hits into a double play. Yost is not impressing me in this game.

The White Sox sluggers are picking up the slack for Carlos Quentin. Paul Konerko homered and Juan Uribe smacked two two-run shots and the White Sox lead the Angels 7-0 in the bottom of the third.

The Yankees score five runs in the top of the ninth, the last two on back-to-back home runs by Jeter and A-Rod. They fall short however, as the Rays take the contest 7-5. Scott Kazmir lasted just six innings, but allowed one hit. Again, his control was poor walking five, but he did strike out seven. If he continues to give up so few hits, he can live with the walks, but the free passes can make a mistake costly.

Toronto's Jesse Litsch pitched his second shutout of the season, downing the Twins 9-0. Since returning from the minors, Litsch is 2-1 in four starts with a 0.94 ERA. The Twins finish their extended road trip 5-9. Despite that, they are just 1 1/2 games out of first place. They have 12 left at home and 10 on the road, and do play the White Sox three games at home in the penultimate series of the season.

Scott Kazmir allowed no hits through four innings tonight. He walked four, and his pitch count stands at 63. This could get interesting, especially if he maintains the no hitter and his pitch count gets high.

Update: Cody Ransom doubled to start the fifth. Kazmir has a 6-0 lead, however.

The Twins out drove the Blue Jays tonight picking up four RBI to Toronto's three. While they help, however, RBI don't decide games, runs do, and the Blue Jays take the contest 5-4. They scored twice on errors, and that was the difference in the game. Remember that when someone makes an RBI for MVP argument.

The boxscore of the Mariners-Rangers game sure makes it look like both teams wanted to get out of town in a hurry. The final score was 1-0 Texas, there were very few pitches thrown in the game (236, 3.5 per PA) and a high number of them were strikes. I didn't see the game, but I'm betting there was a lot of first pitch swinging.

The Red Sox come back from a 4-0 deficit, scoring five runs over the last three innings to sweep the Orioles. The Baltimore defense cost them the game in the ninth. Cora singled to start the inning, and Crisp tried to bunt him over. The ball looked like it was going foul, but kicked back to the pitcher Jim Miller, who made a poor throw to first, but Crisp was given a hit. Then Ellsbury tries to sacrifice. Miller has a play at third, but throws the ball to the left of the third baseman (it wasn't close) and Cora scores the winning run. Little ball and bad throws led to a win today.

Pedroia batted fourth and went 3 for 4 with a double and a homer. Get out the theme song!

The Mets jumped out to a 5-1 lead but Jonathon Niese could not hold the Brewers and they tied the game at five after four innings. Nelson Figueroa gave up the hit that tied the game, but the Mets bullpen was not charged with a run all night. That allowed the New York offense to generate a run in the tenth to win the game 6-5. Overall, not a bad night for a beleaguered bullpen. They combined to walk three and strike out seven. The Mets maintain their lead on Philadelphia, but the Phillies gain the Brewers in the Wild Card race.

Jose Bautista and Alex Rios batted 2nd and 3rd for the Blue Jays tonight, and their results couldn't be more alike. Each picked up four hits, including a double and a home run. Each drove in two runs. The only way to tell them apart was that Jose scored two runs and Alex just one. With the first four Blue Jays hitters collecting multi-hit games, Toronto defeated Minnesota 7-5. The Twins remain tied with the White Sox, who lose to Cleveland 9-3.

Just when you think the Braves season can't get much worse, it does. Atlanta jumped out to a 10-3 lead over the Marlins after the top of the fourth inning. Florida scores 10 runs over the next two innings, however, and now lead 13-10. They're still batting in the fifth. Alfredo Amezaga (do dooo, do do do) has two hits, including a triple, and five RBI.

Update: Wow. Atlanta came back to lead 16-14 in the top of the ninth. It's a game of big comebacks.

Xavier Nady hits a massive home run to leftfield that hit the roof above the stands. The Yankees acquisition of Nady worked out well as he's slugged nine home runs and his slugging percentage stands at .561.

One of the strengths of the Cubs offense this season is the ability to get on base by drawing a walk. They came into today's game leading the NL in walks drawn by 34. The Astros, behind Roy Oswalt, held Chicago to no walks as the Astros pitched a shutout, winning the game 3-0. It was the ninth time this season the Cubs failed to draw a walk in a game. Of those nine games, this was the fourth time the Astros were involved. The Astros won three of the four games.

The Yankees did their best to blow an 11-2 lead, but wind up defeating the Tigers 13-9. New York collected 17 hits in the game, 16 of them singles. Even Johnny Damon's home run was a solo shot. At this point, Sidney Ponson is officially back to stinking. Bring back Joba or Hughes or Kennedy and let's see what they can do.

Tim Redding just gave up his first hit of the day after 5 1/3 innings. Shane Victorino broke up the no-hitter with an infield hit. Redding walked two batters and hit two. The Phillies have hit Elijah Dukes twice. Washington is in line for another win right now leading 6-0.

Carlos Delgado comes up with a man on second in the top of the eighth inning and delivers a home to puts the Mets on top of the Brewers 3-2. That's his fifth home run in the last seven games. Eric Gagne, who allowed the bomb, has now given up 10 home runs in 35 innings. That's a rate of 57.1 per 200 innings.

The Marlins score in the bottom of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie and defeat the Braves 4-3. Atlanta out-hit Florida 11-6, but the Marlins drew six walks to zero for the Braves. Three walks set up a sacrifice fly for the winning run in the ninth.

Josh Johnson didn't earn the win but pitched well, striking out eight in six innings of work. He now has 56 K in 63 2/3 innings of work since returning from his injury.

The Yankees first 15 batters collect seven hits and two walks against Justin Verlander, driving him from the game with two out in the second. New York leads 7-1, and Verlander's line is not yet complete.

Update: Matsui greets Seay with an RBI single and the Yankees lead 8-1 in the middle of the second. Each of New York's first four hitters have scored twice.

Update: It may be a good thing that the Yankees scored so many runs. Ponson starts off the bottom of the second giving up a home run and a single.

Update: With Inge and Cabrera homering, Detroit closes the score to 11-9 after five innings.

Tom Haudricourt presents the Official Scorer's explanation for calling the only hit against CC Sabathia on Sunday:

"The play came off the bat, it was a spinning ball, to the right of a left-handed pitcher. In my opinion, it's not an ordinary play to make. It was difficult both because of the spin and because he has to make the play and turn completely around.

"The runner was well down the line. It would have been a really difficult play to make to get him. The standard for a hit or an error is an ordinary effort. In my view, it was a hit as a result of that standard.

"I called it immediately, believed it was a hit. I think that's a hit in every circumstance."

The Brewers appealed the call and hope to get a no-hitter for Sabathia.

Dodgers Andre Ethier and Casey Blake homer in the first inning to put Los Angeles up 4-0 on the Diamondbacks. Those are only the 11th and 12th home runs allowed by Webb this season. It's also the third game in which Webb allowed two homers. Half his home runs allowed have come in just three games.

The Mets bullpen pitched three shutout innings this afternoon as Pedro Martinez picked up his fifth win of the season. The Mets pen takes a lot of flack for their blown leads, but they deserve some credit for their good games as well. They're doing something right since the Mets are 17-7 over their last 24 games. New York takes 2 out of 3 from Florida, pretty much ending the Marlins playoff chances. The final score today: 6-2.

Joey Votto ends August on a high note, going four for four against the Giants with four RBI as the Reds win 9-3. In his last 10 contests, Votto has five multi-hit games and is hitting .486 with a .649 slugging percentage. He's also drawn six walks for an OBA well over .500.

CC Sabathia walked Freddy to start the fourth inning against Pittsburgh. Nate McLouth then hits a line drive up the middle. It wasn't a hard hit ball, but Sabathia's follow through had him falling away from the flight of the ball. He used his left hand, however, to reach back and snare the ball out of the air for the out, then threw to first for the double play. Sabathia's height and wing-span came in handy on that play. He's yet to allow a hit through four innings as the Brewers lead 1-0.

Cathal Kelly describes the Blue Jays comeback against the Yankees Saturday:

It was the epic meeting of a resistible force and a movable object at Yankee Stadium yesterday afternoon.

In the end, Toronto's spluttering offence won a thumb war with the Yankees' spaghetti-limbed relief corps. They overcame the fading Bombers with a comeback 7-6 win in the brutally muggy Bronx.

The Jays are 11th in the AL in runs per game, the Yankees bullpen ERA of 3.96 is ninth. Interestingly, the Jays knocked out hits against pitchers who don't give up many. Bruney's opponents are hitting .176 against him, Marte's .227 and Ramirez's .197.

Both the Athletics and Angels scored late in the game to pick up victories Thursday night. It was quite the chess game in Oakland as the managers used small ball, pinch runners, pinch hitters and pitching changes to set up a Kurt Suzuki walk off double as the Twins fall 3-2. Minnesota is now 1 1/2 games behind the White Sox. Suzuki's strange season continues. August is a down month after a very good July. There's no consistency in his game. When you take his season as a whole, he's a good hitter for a catcher. His averages in any given month show a lot of volatility, however.

Brandon McCarthy pitched six good innings for Texas, allowing the Angels just two runs, one earned. His bullpen took a 5-2 lead into the eighth, but then gave away the lead. Wright loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, then walked in a run. Madrigal came in to try to stop the bleeding and Juan Rivera doubled to clear the bases and give the Angels the lead, then scored an insurance run.

That also set up Frankie Rodriguez for his 51st save. As seems to be usual with him, he allowed a hit, but kept it to a single. The Angels keep place with Tampa Bay, staying one game back in the race for best record.

Cole Hamels pitches seven brilliant innings, leaving the game allowing just one run to the Cubs. He did not walk a batter, something very difficult to do against Chicago. He yields to one of the best bullpens in the game, but they didn't look like it tonight.

Madson comes in and gives up a home run, double and single. Durbin enters and walks Derrek Lee to load the bases, then Aramis Ramirez deposits a ball into the bleachers for a grand slam. The Cubs come back from a 4-1 deficit to take a 6-4 lead, and they are still batting after chasing Durbin with one out and one on.

Update: Kerry would give up a hit, but Wood retires the final three batters to earn the save. Chicago goes to 50-19 at home, and their 84 wins leads the majors by three.

Elijah Dukes hits two home runs tonight against the Dodgers. He's scored three time and knocked in four as the Washington Nationals are blowing out the Dodgers 9-2 in the eighth. Cristian Guzman is a triple short of the cycle as he drives in two.

Kershaw lasts just 2 1/3 innings, allowing five runs. That raises his road ERA to 6.69. He might be the next Chan Ho Park.

Update: Guzman triples for the cycle as the Nationals win 11-2. It's the second cycle since the Expos moved to Washington and the eighth in franchise history.

The Dodgers have now dropped seven straight and head to Arizona for three games. With Los Angeles 3 1/2 games back, they won't be able to pass the Diamondbacks even if the Dodgers win all three games.

The Phillies-Cubs game is not in high def. Should I watch this to see if instant replay gets used, or watch the big screen, crystal clear, rhyming Jays-Rays?

Jason Giambi came off the bench, hits a two run blast to centerfield to tie the game and then comes up with the bases loaded in the ninth and sends a hump-back liner into center to win the game 3-2. At least the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry goes out on a high note for New York in Yankee Stadium.

Both Lester and Mussina pitched very well, aided by the wide strike zone of the home plate umpire. Even the NESN pitch tracker was showing balls well off the plate called for strikes.

Cody Ransom went for for two with a double, ending his perfect 1.000/1.000/4.000 season. He's now at .750/.800/2.500.

Tim Lincecum proved to be too much for the Rockies as San Francisco finally got to Livan Hernandez and won the game 4-1. Back-to-back home runs by Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval in the seventh chased Hernandez and gave the Giants all they needed for victory.

Lincecum now stands at 15-3 with a 2.43 ERA. He's struck out 210 in 185 1/3 innings. Could we get two Cy Young winners from sub .500 teams this season? The Indians are winning again, so they may end up with a decent record. Will NL writers vote for Lincecum over Webb?

Jody Gerut triples in the seventh to start a three-run rally, then singles in the eighth to drive in the winning run as the Padres come back to defeat the Diamondbacks 5-4. San Diego sweeps Arizona and gives both the Dodgers and Rockies a chance to gain a game tonight. Gerut picks up five hits in the series, including the game-winning home run on Monday.

The Diamondbacks and Padres failed to score through the first five innings. Randy Johnson allowed just two hits while recording seven strikeouts. Cha Seung Baek allowed four hits, and like Johnson just one walk. All six hits are singles, and Randy Johnson managed the first safety of the afternoon.

It's like they're playing limbo, seeing if they can go lower than the Cubs/Pirates two runs.

Update: As Baek approaches and passes 100 pitches, the DBacks start pounding the hits. Tracy and Dunn single to set up a sacrifice fly, and Hensley enters in relief. He gives up a triple and a double, and the DBacks lead 3-0. Hensley posted a 1.35 ERA in August despite 13 walks in 13 1/3 innings coming into today.

Update: Randy Johnson gets his second hit of the day, and the Diamondbacks lead 4-0 as Hensley gives way to Hampson.

The Cubs won two high scoring games to start the series against the Pirates, 12-3 and 14-9. This afternoon, runs were scarce, but the Cubs managed to score all of them.

Zach Duke gave up two in the seventh. He got into trouble, giving up a single and double to start the inning, but then recorded three straight outs. Unfortunately, the first two advanced the runners and the Cubs win the game 2-0. Jason Marquis pitched seven innings without walking a batter for the win. The Cubs are 4-4 this month in games in which teams scored a combined five runs or less.

The Atlanta Braves stage a four run rally in the ninth to defeat the Marlins 10-9. It's only the seventh one-run win for the Braves against 25 losses. Kevin Gregg gives up five singles and a walk for his eighth blown save.

The Philadelphia Phillies complete a comeback from a 7-0 deficit to tie the Mets in the bottom of the ninth. Jayson Werth scores from first on an Eric Bruntlett double, the relay throw skipping by the catcher at the plate. The Mets bullpen gives up two runs in four innings, but Mets fans get to kvetch about them again. This time, Ayala gives up the tying run.

Easley, however, might get another chance at the cycle. He's 4-4 with a walk, and needs the double.

Derek Lowe can't buy a win. He pitches an eight inning complete game against Washington, allowing six hits, one walk and two runs. Collin Balester and the Nats, bullpen, however, hold Los Angeles to just one run despite giving up seven hits, four walks and two hit batters. Ryan Zimmerman, however, starts four double plays, one unassisted to take the Nats out of trouble and Washington gets a rare win. The Dodgers drop to two games under .500 and 3 1/2 games out of first pending the outcomes of the Diamondbacks game.

Cliff Lee wins his 19th game easily as the Indians score ten runs against the Tigers, winning the game by six. Lee showed his usual great control, walking one in 7 2/3 innings as he allowed just two runs. That keeps his ERA at 2.43, and he's looking more and more like the Cy Young winner every start.

The Indians extend their winning streak to nine games. Four home runs tonight gives the team 18 in the nine games. With the win, Cleveland moves past the Tigers into third place, but remain 11 1/2 games behind the White Sox. With 31 games left, the Indians would need to win 26 of those just to reach 90 wins. With only three games left against the Twins and six against the White Sox, Cleveland would need a lot of help to make the playoffs at this point.

Correction: Fixed rank of the Indians.

Five Chicago White Sox hitters collect multi-hit games as the White Sox trounce the Orioles 8-3. Orlando Cabrera led off and led the way with a four for five evening, knocking out two doubles and a triple as he scored three runs. Carlos Quentin added to his MVP credentials with three hits, two of them doubles.

Gavin Floyd gets the win, lasting eight innings, allowing four hits, one walk and two runs. He came into the game with a 6.00 ERA in August.

Coco Crisp just scored from second on a groundball to third. With two out, the Red Sox had runners on 2nd and 3rd. Bailey hit a grounder that hit the third base bag. A-Rod fielded the ball in foul territory, but the throw couldn't get Bailey at first. Coco was running for home all the way and scored before Giambi could react. The Red Sox chase Pettitte in the fifth and lead 6-2.

Update: Damon hits another home run, cutting the lead to 6-3. That's two tonight off Wakefield.

Jerry Remy was just discussing hitting against Tim Wakefield. He described how hitters wait for pitch up in the zone, "When it's high, let it fly!" About two second after he finished that statement, Wakefield delivered a high pitch to Damon that Johnny delivered down the leftfield line for a home run. The Yankees are off to a 1-0 lead. Counting the home run, Damon has scored 20 runs in 22 games in August.

The Twins fell to the Mariners Monday night on a blown by good old reliable Joe Nathan. Adrian Beltre doubled leading off the ninth and scored on a double play. Then in the 11th, with one out and a man on first, Adrian ended the game:

Adrian Beltre hit a ball as hard as any Mariner has hit one all season Monday night.

And the way the season has gone, no one would have been surprised if Beltre's 11th-inning blast off Minnesota's Jesse Crain was hit too hard.

"He crushed that ball, but it had so much topspin on it that I thought, 'Oh, man, that ball isn't going to clear the fence,' " manager Jim Riggleman said.

And if it didn't clear the fence?

"There's no way I'm going to score from first if that ball hits the wall," Raul Ibanez said. "I doubt if there is any human alive who's going to score on that ball, as hard as he hit it. He smoked that ball."

It did clear the fence, and that dropped the Twins one game behind the White Sox and 1 1/2 game behind the Red Sox.

It was Grady Sizemore early and Franklin Gutierrez late as the 1-2 hitters for Cleveland combined for three home runs against the Tigers. Grady led off the first and third innings with long balls, while Gutierrez's shot with one out in the tenth proved to be the game winner for the Tribe. Cleveland has won eight in a row and can pass Detroit to move into third place tomorrow as Cliff Lee goes for his 19th win.

Brett Myers loaded the bases with one out, bringing up Kent and Manny in the top of the seventh. He got ahead of Kent 0-2, then threw what looked like two strikes that were called balls. He struck out Kent, then got Manny to fly out deep to right to end the threat. The Phillies lead 3-0. Myers has eight strikeouts in his seven innings of work.

The Orioles won the suspended game against the White Sox in the 14th inning:

Lou Montanez singled in the go-ahead run, and the Orioles beat the White Sox 4-3 Monday night in the conclusion of a game suspended after 11 innings by rain on April 28.

With the score 3-all in the finale of a four-game series in Chicago, play was stopped with the infield unplayable. It was the Orioles' final scheduled visit, so baseball officials ruled that the game would be completed in Baltimore.

Nick Markakis led off the 14th with a single off Horacio Ramirez (1-3). After a single by Kevin Millar, a sacrifice and an intentional walk loaded the bases, Montanez greeted D.J. Carrasco with a soft single to center.

That gives the Twins the chance to gain at least 1/2 game on Chicago.

The Phillies win in the bottom of the 11th as Pedro Feliz homers deep to left center to make the final score 5-2. He also hit the game tying single in the ninth. He's not much of a hitter overall, but he has hit much better with men on than with the bases empty this season.

The Phillies gain a game on the Mets, cutting the NL East lead to 1/2 game.

The Angels staged a late comeback to defeat the Twins 5-3, knocking Minnesota 1/2 game behind the White Sox in the AL Central and one game behind the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card race. The Angels scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth off Reyes and Crain, lowering the Twins bullpen record to 21-17. Francisco Rodriguez reached the 50 save plateau. Thigpen in 1990 didn't reach 50 saves until September 15th.

The two teams combined to strike out twenty batters while issuing no walks. That's tied for seventh most strikeouts in a nine or more inning game in which neither team issued a walk since 1957. Mark Prior and Javier Vazquez met up in Chicago that day to combine for 26 Ks, and Luis Ayala added one in relief for 27.

The Brewers take 12 innings to down the Pirates 4-3. Milwaukee picked up 12 hits off Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm in six innings, but could only plate two runs. Sabathia also lasted six giving up eight hits and just one run. For the game, the two teams combined for 31 hits, but only six of those came with runners in scoring position. The last hit was one of those as Hardy singles home Weeks from second after a stolen base to win the game. The Brewers keep pace with the Cubs and maintain their lead over the Cardinals.

The White Sox take the final game of their series with Tampa Bay 6-5 in 10 innings (lots of extra innings games today). A.J. Pierzynski figured almost won the game single handedly. He singled to start the inning, then moved up to second on a fly ball to Upton. He then made a mistake, getting caught in a run-down on a grounder by Dye, but Willy Aybar was called for interference and A.J. took third on the play. After an intentional walk to Thome, Alexei Ramirez singles in A.J. for the win. The White Sox keep pace with the Red Sox in the wild card race, and could take first in the AL Central if the Twins fail to hold their 3-1 lead over the Angels.

Three of the smaller Red Sox players hit for power this afternoon as Boston downs Toronto 6-5 in 11 innings. Pedroia, Crisp and Lowry average 5' 11", 180 pounds, but their three home runs accounted for five of the six Red Sox runs. Lowrie's shot in the 11th proved to be the game winner.

Boston takes two out of three from Toronto, dropping the Blue Jays eight games back in the wild card race. It's going to be very difficult for Toronto to make the playoffs at this point.

The Astros down the Mets in 10 innings as Houston wins the battle of the bullpens. Both starters allowed four runs, Wolf over six innings, Perez over 6 1/3. Both pens pitched well through the ninth inning, but in the tenth Feliciano allowed home runs to Ausmus and Erstad. Meanwhile, the Astros pen finished the day perfect, retiring all twelve batters they faced. They did it without recording a strikeout. The Houston relievers came into the game averaging 7.3 K per 9.

Carlos Beltran hit two home runs to drive in three of the four Mets runs as they lose 6-4.

Brandon Backe just finished four perfect innings against the Mets. He's struck out three and thrown just 44 pitches so far. The Astros staked him to a 5-0 nothing lead, mostly on a three-run homer by Lance Berkman. He's two for two and added a double for half the cycle so far.

Update: Backe issues a walk in the fifth, then Ryan Church breaks up the no-no with an RBI double. The Mets trail 5-1.

The 4-5-6 hitters for the Cubs today combined for seven hits in 15 at bats, driving in seven of Chicago's nine runs as they down Washington 9-2. Aramis Ramriez hit two three-run homers to bring his RBI total to 90.

Mark DeRosa also homered, extending his career high to 17. He appears to be swinging for the fences this season. He's hitting many more homers, but it also looks like he'll finish the season with 20 to 25% more strikeouts as well.

In April, Jon Lester threw eight shutout innings against the Blue Jays. It was a turning point in Lester's season as that game started a streak in which Jon went 11-2 with a 2.65 ERA. The Blue Jays got a chance to get back at Lester for that game and did so with a vengeance. Toronto banged out eight hits in 2 1/3 innings scored seven runs, five of them earned. They're batting in the bottom of the fourth now (almost two hours into the game) with men on second and third with two out. They're in a good position to win this game with a 7-0 lead.

Update: Overbay singles off Youkilis's glove and it's 9-0 Toronto.

Update: Vernon Wells hits his second home run of the game to make the score 11-0 Toronto. That gives Wells 12 homers on the season, passing Matt Stairs for the team lead.

Greg Maddux came into tonight's game as hot in August as Kyle Kendrick was cold. Of course, Maddux gets lit up by the Phillies, allowing seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. Kendrick matches the innings, but allows just one run and Philadelphia keeps pace with the Mets with an 8-1 win. Howard, Utley and Coste homered. For Chase, it was his 31st of the season, one short of his career high.

The Cubs take a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a strikeout and a double steal. With Alfonso Soriano at third and Derrek Lee on first, Aramis Ramirez strikes out. Lee took off for second, and the throw is made to the base, allowing Soriano to go from third and beat the return.

Update: Even less often do you see the Nationals score this many runs. Down 4-0 in the sixth, they score two before Willie Harris hits a grand slam to give Washington the lead. They now lead 10-5 after eight. Emilio Bonifacio, who led off today despite a .260 OBA, reached base twice today and scored two runs.

Update: Ronnie Belliard picks up his fourth hit of the game, a home run to extend the Nationals lead to 11-5. Belliard with a single and two doubles, just misses the cycle by a triple.

Update: Willie Harris homers for the second time, a two run shot that makes the score 13-5. That should be a big enough lead for the Nat's bullpen. It's their eighth 10-run game of the season, and they are two runs away from tying their high of the season.

The Twins might be glad Torii Hunter was playing for the Angels last night:

Torii Hunter was the first to admit he should have caught the deep fly ball by Nick Punto, which turned into a triple and the eventual winning run in the Twins' 2-1, 12-inning victory Thursday at Angel Stadium.

"I've got to catch that," Hunter said. "If it hits your glove, you have to catch it. I make those plays nine out of 10 times."

"I was a little shocked," Punto said. "I watched Torii make those plays all the time. Fortunately for us, it worked out."

That was pretty crafty of the Twins to let Hunter go so he would be just out of position on that ball last night. :-)

Scott Baker and John Lackey treated the crowd to a fine pitching duel for eight innings, each allowing one run. Their lines were almost identical, the only difference was that Baker allowed four hits and Lackey five. The Angels scored in the first inning on a Teixeira home run, but that was it. Designated loser Justin Speier (1-7) gave up the triple to Punto and the single to Span for the winning run. Joe Nathan, whose ERA is about 1/3 that of Francisco Rodriguez, struck out two for the save.

The Twins trail Chicago by 1/2 game, one back in the loss column. The two teams have just three games left head-to-head. They face off in the penultimate series of the regular season with Minnesota hosting.

With men on first and third in the bottom of the ninth, Kevin Gregg unleashes a wild pitch to hand the Giants a 4-3 victory. It's their second walkoff win in as many games. It's Gregg's seventh WP of the season surpassing his total of each of the last two seasons.

The Marlins fall 5 1/2 games back in the division and eight games back in the wild card. The offense continues to sputter despite a home run today by Dan Uggla. They've scored just 33 runs in their last 10 games.

Carlos Zambrano hit as many home runs as he allowed this afternoon as the Cubs took the Reds 3-2. Carlos hit his fourth home run of the season and allowed his 16th on the way to his 13th win. The home run by Jay Bruce was the only score off Carlos in the game. He lowers his ERA to 3.29 and raises his batting average to .361 and his slugging percentage to .611. I wonder if the Cubs will let him bat if they get to the World Series?

Correction: Bruce, not Votto homered off Zambrano. Votto homered off Marmol.

The Indians lead the Royals 5-0 after three innings. The Royals did draw two walks off Cliff Lee in one inning, so that probably qualifies as a moral victory. Unfortunately, those don't count in the standings. They still haven't collected a hit on the afternoon.

Only one of the runs against Greinke is earned.

Update: An even bigger moral victory as Tony Pena singles off Lee and drives in a run. The Royals scored three times in the fifth. A couple of more moral victories and they might actually get a real one!

Jake Peavy and Dan Haren combined to allow eleven runs in eleven innings as the duel between two of the top NL pitchers never developed. The Diamondbacks led 6-4 at the end of two innings and went on to an 8-6 victory, extending their NL West lead to two games over the Dodgers.

Peavy's road woes continue. Last season, he was as good away from PETCO as at home. This season, his ERA is 4.52 traveling, over three runs higher than at home. He's allowed 13 home runs on the road including two Wednesday night. He gave up 15 overall.

Haren is going through a bit of a rough patch right now. He'd 3-1 in August, but with a 6.04 ERA. His strikeouts and walks are good, so it may just be a few balls in play finding holes.

Garret Anderson struck out with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning. The Angels led 4-3 at the time, and a hit could have broken the game open. Instead, the Rays come back in the eighth, scoring the tying run on back-to-back doubles by Upton and Pena. In the ninth, Anderson comes up once again with the bases loaded and two out. This time he hits a hard shot up the middle that Iwamura knocked down, but couldn't make a play. That was enough for Francisco Rodriguez who records his 48th save of the season. The Angels finally win a game at the Trop.

This was another exciting game in an exciting series. I'm with the Angels announcers on this one. These teams are evenly matched, and theirs would make for a great playoff series. The Angels grab back the best record in baseball as the Cubs lose also.

The Cleveland Indians mount an eighth inning comeback to score five runs and defeat the Royals 8-5. Ramon Ramirez started the inning, giving up a leadoff home run to Kelly Shoppach, Kelly's second of the game. He left with a man on second and one, giving Joakim Soria the chance for a five-out save. It wasn't his night, however, as the Indians put five men on base against the Royals closer with two hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. The big blow was the Franklin Gutierrez three-run homer which hung a third blown save and a loss on Soria. The Indians are 9-3 in their last 12 games.

The Yankees and Toronto play a fast game also (see previous post). Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter combine to reach base six times and score four runs as the Yankees take the game 5-1. Andy Pettitte pitched seven strong innings, allowing five hits and no walks. The Yankees prevent Toronto from overtaking them for third place in this series.

Damon's OBA is now .386, the highest on base average he's posted since the 2004 season.

The Phillies and the Mets get their wins out of the way fast tonight. Brett Myers goes the distance for a 4-0 shutout. He walks one and strikes out nine as he continues to impress since his return from the minors. He's posted a 1.94 ERA with a strikeout to walk ratio of 3:1.

Meanwhile, the Mets scored five runs in the first inning and cruised a 6-3 win. Mike Pelfrey went the distance with a 3 line; 3 squared innings, three hits, three runs, three earned, three walks and three strikeouts. He now has (3 * 3) + 3 wins. Both games finished in less than 2 1/2 hours.

Prince Fielder hit two sacrifice flies to take over the NL lead with 10. The Brewers now have 36 on the season, fifth in the NL. I remember back in the early '90s, the Brewers not only were among the AL leaders in sacrifice flies, but often threatened the team record.

Milwaukee downed the Astros 5-2.

Francisco Liriano continued his good luck today as he didn't pitch great, but only allowed one unearned run over five innings. Eight players reached by a hit or a walk, but the only one to score was the one who reached by an error. The Minnesota bullpen, on the other hand, was nearly perfect. They allowed no hits and walked just one over four innings, striking out four. The Twins win 3-1 on the strength of six singles, three walks and a hit by pitch. They keep pace with the White Sox who down the Mariners 15-3.

Six of the first seven White Sox batter reach against R.A. Dickey in the bottom of the first inning. The last is Alexei Ramirez, who drives in three with a homer into the leftfield stands. Dickey's allowed five hits and a walk so far, but he's staying in the game. Chicago leads Seattle 6-0.

Update: Dickey gets the next two batters to fly out. The inning raises Dickey's ERA to 5.42.

Jayson Werth homers in the bottom of the eighth to give the Phillies a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals. After a poor outing by Blanton in which he allowed four runs in five innings, the Philadelphia bullpen pitches four scoreless innings for the win. Brad Lidge stays perfect in save situations, converting his 31st in 31 tries.

The Nationals lose their eleventh game in a row. With 82 losses, they are the first team this season guaranteed to finish under .500.

The Rays and Blue Jays each took leads in the eighth inning to win their games, and the Mets are trying to join them. Carlos Delgado came up with the bases loaded and the Mets trailing 3-2 and launches a double off the wall in left. That scored two and New York takes a 4-3 lead. They're still batting in the bottom of the eighth.

Update: Easley singles home two more and the Mets lead 6-3. The offense is trying to give the bullpen a big cushion.

Update: The Mets score five in the inning, erasing the save situation.

Update: The Braves get a single in the top of the ninth but that's it. The Mets bullpen pitches 2 2/3 scoreless innings and earns the win tonight.

Ervin Santana pitches seven stellar innings against the Rays, allowing one run while striking out nine. He was in control, issuing just two walks. Scioscia, however, pulls him after 106 pitches with the Angels in the lead 2-1. The pen comes in wild. Shields issues two walks and has a batter reach on an error to load the bases. He strikes out Upton before he's pulled. Oliver comes in and walks Pena to tie the game. Floyd Ks, so the bases are still loaded with two out.

Update: Aybar gets the first hit of the inning, singling to left to drive in two and put the Rays up 4-2. The Angels showed a bit of weakness between the starters and K-Rod.

Update: Wheeler picks up the save, striking out two. The Rays will end the night with at least a share of the best record in baseball.

The game goes to the top of the ninth with the Angels needing two runs.

Washington takes an early lead on Philadelphia as Willie Harris homers off Joe Blanton. It's the sixth homer Blanton allowed with the Phillies but the first in the home ball park. The Nationals take an early 1-0 lead.

The Tampa Bay Rays down the Angels 6-4. Willie Aybar continues to fill in well for Longoria with three hits tonight and two runs scored. The Rays are now just 1/2 games behind the Angels for the best record in the American League. A sweep puts them on top. So far, they are 4-0 against the Angels in Tampa Bay.

From what I heard in the game, the team will make a decision tomorrow morning about playing the Tuesday game. The storm appears to be taking a track that should allow them to play, but you never know with these tropical cyclones.

Correction: The Rays are 1/2 game behind LAnaheim, not 1 1/2. I thought the standing I looked at were up to date.

Jonathan Papelbon comes in with two out in the ninth and gives up Manny Delcarmen's two base runners, but the Sox score twice more in the ninth and the Red Sox closer finishes the game for his 33rd save. He's 4 2/3 innings short of his total from last season with less than half the walks, 15 to 7.

Tropical Storm Fay didn't stop the game between the Angels and the Rays tonight. Tampa Bay is up 5-1 in the fourth on the strength of two-run homers by Hinske and Floyd. Juan Rivera hit a solo shot of the Angels in the third, but grounded out with the bases loaded to end the fourth. The two home runs allowed by Garland equals his total from 2007.

Update: Oops. Upton hits a ball that might be a home run, but it hits off the wall. He's not running hard and gets tagged out at second despite an off-line throw. He might get benched again.

The Pirates defeat the Mets 5-2, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth as Duaner Sanchez fails to retire any of the four batters he faced. The Mets were not without opportunities to score, however, as they collected six hits and drew seven walks. Three Pirates double plays helped erase threats. New York went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Their RISP BA is about 20 points lower than their overall BA this season.

The Phillies lack of offense continues. With two runs tonight, they've scored seven in their last four games. Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge, however, combined to allow the Padres just one run. Hamels wasn't striking batters out, but he walked none and allowed just seven hits, all singles. Lidge matched Hamels three strikeouts in one inning, but did walk a batter. Burrell homered, one of just six hits for the Phillies and the only one for extra bases.

An unearned run was the difference in the game as Jimmy Rollins stole second and went to third on a throwing error by the catcher in the first. He scored on a sacrifice fly. A better throw early and this game goes to extra innings. The Phillies keep pace with the Mets, staying two games out.

Chan-Ho Park comes in to a 5-1 game in the bottom of the ninth. There's one out and a man on first. Two errors by Loney puts runners on second and third, setting up a two-RBI single by Ray Durham. Park gets Hardy to ground out, but Ryan Braun hits a home run down the leftfield line to tie the game at five.

After the home run, there was a great shot of Clayton Kershaw in the dugout just shaking his head. Park threw his glove to the ground in disgust as the ball went out, and Torre brought in Beimel. The Dodgers are going to need at least another half inning to try to win the game and claim the lead in the NL West.

Kershaw allowed one run and one walk while striking out six in his six innings of work.

Update: Andre Ethier does Braun one better, hitting a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth. It's his second of the day as he goes 3 for 5 and drives in three runs. The Dodgers win 7-5 and take a one game lead in the NL West.

Manny Ramirez homered and drove in three runs. That gives him 21 RBI in 16 games for Los Angeles and 89 RBI on the season.

I'm watching the Cubs-Marlins game. Pinto comes in to relieve Volstad with men on first and third and none out in the top of th seventh. He walks pinch-hitter DeRosa and then gives up a sinking line drive to Soriano. The ball is hit to left and fading toward the line. It looks like Luis Gonzalez has a chance to catch it, so he dives and misses. The ball goes by him and two runs score to tie the game at two.

It looked to me that Gonzo had less of a chance to catch the ball than I originally thought. If he stays on his feet, he probably gets in front of it and holds it to a one-run single, since the runners had to hold in case it was caught. As a veteran outfielder, I would think Luis would get a better read on the ball. Did anyone else see the play?

A nice job of hitting by Soriano, as he was fooled on the previous change-up, but hit this one solidly.

Update: Renyel Pinto is not getting the job done. He makes a nice fielding play on a grounder up the middle for an out, but Aramis Ramirez doubles down the line to drive in two, then gives up a sacrifice fly to Fukudome. A good game by Volstad goes down the drain as the Cubs take a 5-2 lead.

The Royals remove Brian Bannister before he can give up the home run cycle. Alex Rodriguez took him deep in the first with a three-run shot. Two batters later Xavier Nady knocked out a solo shot. Jason Giambi hits a grand slam in the second, but with Nady at first, Cano singles to chase Brian from the game. A two run shot there would have given the Yankees all four scoring types of homers. They lead 10-3 and are still batting in the bottom of the second.

Bannister faced 16 batters, allowing 10 hits and three walks, and a double and triple to go with the three homers.

All four games played Saturday afternoon were decided by one run. As mentioned earlier, the Yankees down the Royals 3-2. Frankie Rodriguez earned his 47th save of the season. That equalled his career high and the Angels record and leaves him 10 away from tying Bobby Thigpen for the single season save record. The Indians lose on two unearned runs as the Angels take the game 4-3.

The White Sox offense didn't help much, but John Danks and the bullpen held Oakland to one run as Chicago takes the game 2-1. After a brief offensive outburst Friday night, Oakland is back to low scoring losses.

The Mariners came back with six runs in the sixth to take a 6-5 lead on the Twins, but Minnesota tallied single runs in the eighth and ninth to win the game 7-6. Minnesota loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, and Brian Buscher got the ball deep enough in the outfield to collect a sacrifice fly and win the game for the Twins. The AL Central remains tied. The Mariners have allowed at least seven runs in each of their last five games.

The Royals and Yankees play thirteen innings as New York wins 3-2 on a Brett Gardner RBI single. The game took 4:53, an amazing left for that low scoring a game. The Yankees collected 10 hits, seven walks and a HBP; the Royals put 14 on by one of those three outcomes. It's not clear why the game took so long. It looks like it might have been the Royals pitchers. New York tossed 178 pitches, 13.6 per inning. The Royals, however, threw 235 pitches, or 18.1 per inning. Seven double plays helped keep both teams from scoring more.

Brandon Webb easily won his 18th game of the season, holding the red hot Astros to two runs over eight innings. He allowed four hits and one walk, lowering his BA allowed to .234 and his OBA allowed to .286. His 18 wins equals his career high set last season, and Brandon should get 8 more chances to reach 20. Twenty five wins remains a possibility.

Meanwhile, Chad Billingsley gave up three runs early to the Brewers, but that was all in his seven innings of work as the Dodgers clawed their way back for a 5-3 win. Manny Ramirez and Jeff Kent each picked up RBI, giving Manny seventeen in his fourteen games with the Dodgers. Kent has come to life since the Manny trade, too. He's also 22 for 52 since the first of the month.

The Oakland Athletics struggled to score runs lately as the Chicago White Sox came to town. The A's turned he tables on the White Sox however, as they hit four home runs to win the game 6-4. The White Sox came into town with seven four-homer games, the most in the majors. This was only Oakland's second of the season. Carlos Quentin extended his AL lead with his 33rd home run of the season.

Meanwhile, the Twins used a Jason Kubel home run to break a 2-2 tie in the fourth, and then used a ton of singles to score a total of nine runs off former teammate Carlos Silva to down the Mariners 9-3. Liriano allowed just two hits and two unearned runs over seven innings for his third win. He's posted a 1.45 ERA since returning from the minors. That puts Minnesota and Chicago into a tie for the ALCentral lead. Both are 2 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card race as well.

Watching the ninth inning of the Royals/Yankees game last night reminded me just how much luck is involved in the game. Mariano Rivera allows two hits, but the run scores on a wild pitch. Mariano Rivera has faced 4034 batters in his career and has thrown 11 wild pitches. That was his second in the last six seasons. So it was a fairly improbable event that puts the Royals ahead.

In the bottom of the ninth, luck was all over the place for the Yankees. Wilson Betemit leads off with a weak grounder down the third base line, weak enough that he beats it out for a hit. Justin Christian, New York's star pinch runner tries to get a walking lead and Soria picks him off. It looks like the end for the Yankees, but Jeter singles and Abreu walks. That brings up A-Rod, who hits a weak ground ball. Like Betemit, it's so weak he beats it out to load the bases. Giambi works the count against Soria, but flies out to end the game.

So the Yankees had some good luck, some bad luck, but just not enough solid hitting or pitching to win the game Friday night. Considering how the White Sox eviscerated the Royals, this should have been a game a playoff contender would win. Seven games out of the wild card, the Yankees are looking more and more like also rans.

Daryle Ward hits a three-run homer in the top of the ninth to propel the Cubs to a 6-5 win over the Marlins. Kevin Gregg blows his seventh save of the season.

The Rays make up for their loss of Evan Longoria with four home runs off Kevin Millwood tonight, chasing him from the game in the fifth. Willy Aybar, Longoria's replacement, hits the first of the night as the Rays take a 5-0 lead to the bottom of the fifth. Matt Garza has yet to allow a hit.

With men on first and second and nobody out, Jeremy Hermida of the Marlins tries to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but pops out to the catcher. Jorge Cantu doesn't need no stinkin' bunt, however, as he hits a three-run home to give the Marlins a 4-1 lead over the Cubs. The team's power disappeared lately, likely prompting the bunt. Maybe the homers are about to make a comeback in Miami.

Update: The Marlins take a 5-1 lead into the fourth, but Johnson gives up a single and homer to start the inning and the Cubs cut the lead to 5-3.

Daisuke Matsuzaka continues his strange year of poor control with a great ERA. He gives up six hits and five walks to the Rangers tonight, but allows no runs. Two things helped Dice-K accomplish this. All the hits were singles, so the runners on base didn't advance very far. The Red Sox defense then removed four of the runners with two double plays and two caught stealings. Matsuzaka continues to be deadly with runners in scoring position. The Rangers went 0 for 4 tonight as opponents are now hitting .188 against Dice-K in that siutation. The Red Sox take the game 10-0 and keep pace with the Rays.

The Mets collect eight hits by eight different players as they defeat the Nationals 9-3 to sweep the series. Three players drove in two runs each only Fernando Tatis, who reached four times on double and three walks, had an outstanding offensive game. As a team, however, New York generated more than enough runs.

The win puts the Mets into first place pending the outcome of the Phillies Dodgers game, just getting underway.

Carlos Pena leads off the twelfth for the Tampa Bay Rays with a home run. The Rays score two in the inning, and it turns out they needed the insurance as an error leads to a run in the bottom of the inning. The Rays win 7-6, and at least maintain their lead on the Red Sox, who are up 9-0 after two innings.

For Pena, that's his fifth home run of the month, and 12 of his 23 on the year came from the start of July.

Of all the teams against all the pitchers in all the world, you don't really expect the Mariners to rally for three runs against Francisco Rodriguez. Instead of matching his career high with 47 saves, he walked one, allowed three hits and uncorked a wild pitch. There were actually four blown saves in the game as the score went back and forth from the 7th through the ninth, the last came on a Teixeira home run off Putz in the bottom of the ninth. That sent the game into extra innings.

In the twelfth, Raul Ibanez, going for the cycle, hit a double instead of a triple to start a three run rally and the Mariners walk away with 10-7 victory. Ibanez is on the trade block, and a 4-5 night with a walk just ups his value. He's one of the few Mariners hitters who is living up to his 2007 stats.

The Mets and Cubs each smash their opponents tonight, New York downing Washington12-0 and Chicago burning Atlanta 8-0. John Maine made a successful return from the disabled list with five shutout innings. He walked four but allowed just one hit, and Brian Stokes added for shutout inning for the first save of his career.

Rich Harden pitched a similar game to Maine's. He lasted just five innings, giving up five walks and two hits. The Cubs used four pitchers to finish the game, each recording one strikeout in an inning of work while allowing just one hit as a group. For the day, the Braves found themselves outscored 18-2.

In the American League, the White Sox held the Royals to no runs behind the pitching of Mark Buehrle. He need less help from the pen as he lasted seven innings without allowing a walk. The help was perfect however, as Dotel and Jenks faced six batters and struck out three.

At 10:50, there are still two more shutouts possible in the late games.

The Twins defeat the Yankees 4-2 on the strength of a Delmon Young three-run homer. As in the game one, the Yankees pitchers were good enough to earn the win, but the offense wasn't up to a low walk, low strikeout pitcher. New York put the ball in play against Kevin Slowey, but only managed three hits on nineteen of those batted balls. Slowey stayed in the strike zone, throwing 61 of 91 pitches for strikes.

The Twins now stand two games behind the Red Sox in the wild card race and for the moment are even with the White Sox in the AL Central race. They've put one game between them and the Yankees in this series, who are now 3 1/2 games behind the Twins and five behind the Red Sox.

The Yankees score 43 runs on the 10 game road trip and allow 59 for a 3-7 record. As much as you hear complaints about the pitching, the offense is just as bad.

The White Sox defeat the Royals 9-0 tonight in a game that takes just 2:13. Javier Vazquez strikes out ten over eight innings while walking just one. It's his third 10 K game in his last seven starts. The Yankees and Twins are tied at six in the ninth. A Twins loss puts Chicago back in first place.

Dustin Pedroia just picked up his fifth hit of the night, driving in Jacoby Ellsbury with a double off the wall. That ties the game at sixteen, and matches him with Marlon Byrd for the most hits in the game. After an intentional walk to Ortiz, Youkilis homers over the Green Monster to put the Red Sox up 19-16. That gives Kevin two homers in the game and five RBI. The 3-4 hitters for the Red Sox drove in eleven runs tonight. Can Texas come back again?

Update: I heard on the broadcast that this is the first time since 1918 that a pitcher gave up 12 runs in a game and didn't get the loss.

Update: Papelbon gets the last two outs with a fly to right and a soft liner to second. The Red Sox win a wild one 19-17.

Update: The Rangers are not dead yet. Papelbon strikes out the first batter, but Byrd reaches on an error by Youkilis at third and Boggs doubles him in. That brings the tying run to the plate.

Despite losing Griffey and Dunn, the Reds still managed to generate some power against the Pirates tonight. Brandon Phillips and Javier Valentin each homered as the Reds took the game 5-1. Edinson Volquez stopped his slide, allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings. His ERA now stands at 2.86.

The Mets bullpen fails to fail. Given a one-run to preserve for Johan Santana, Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano combine for two innings, one hit and four strikeouts. Yes, the Mets bullpen can get the job done as they take the game from Washington 4-3.

The Red Sox extend their lead to 14-10 in the bottom of the fifth, but the Rangers come back with five more runs in the sixth to take a 15-14 lead. Kinsler and Chris Davis each have four RBI for the Rangers. These teams might combine for 50 runs in this game.

The Rangers chase Zink with five runs so far in the fifth inning. That cuts the Red Sox lead to 12-7. Charlie's knuckle ball wasn't fooling anyone as he gives up 11 hits on the night. It's a good thing for Boston the Rangers starter imploded tonight.

Update: The Red Sox give up three more as Aardsma gives up a three-run homer to Ian Kinsler. Zink ends up charged with eight of the ten Rangers runs tonight. It's a ball game again, 12-10 Boston.

Rain postponed the Cubs/Braves game. They'll play two on Wednesday.

Charlie Zink retires the Rangers in order in the top of the first as he makes his Major League debut. Scott Feldman gives up a walk, single and an Ortiz home run to start his night the polar opposite of Zink. The Red Sox lead 3-0.

Update: The Red Sox send 13 men to the plate in the first inning and score 10 runs. David Ortiz adds to his legend by hitting two home runs in the inning, both three run shots. Zink can cruise the rest of the way, and has already given back two runs in the second.

Denard Span ran from second on a 3-2 pitch and scored on an infield hit that ticked off Sidney Ponson's glove. The Twins lead the Yankees 4-0 in the bottom of the eighth.

Update: The Twins win 4-0. Nice game for new father Glen Perkins who earns a short shutout, pitching eight innings while allowing four hits and three walks. Minnesota improves it's playoff position relative to the Yankees, who may find themselves five games out of the wild card if the Red Sox can hold on. Boston just took a 4-1 lead in the ninth on a bases loaded double by Jed Lowrie.

I hope Sidney Ponson is properly embarrassed to have given up a home run to Adam Everett. Adam was hot, going 5 for 12 over his last six games, all singles. He came into the game slugging .319 on the season.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeat the Washington Nationals 7-1 in a sweep of the four game series. Milwaukee batters struck out 14 times this afternoon and walked seven times. That left them only 19 at bats in which they put the ball in play. The managed eight hits, three for doubles and two for home runs.

The Nationals manage just five runs in the four games. Of forty innings at Miller Park, Washington plated runs in just three.

The Pirates just made their third error of the game. Delgado made an ill-advised attempt to score on a single to center. McLouth made a great throw home, but Doumit dropped the ball at the plate. Delgado failed to touch the plate, but had time to get back and dive with his hand. The Mets lead 4-0, with two of those runs unearned.

The Tampa Bay Rays saw their 7-8-9 hitters carry the team today. The three combined to reach base seven times and also contributed three home runs, accounting for seven of the eleven runs. Willie Aybar hit two of the dingers, accounting for one third of his total this season. With the Red Sox losing, the Rays extend their lead to 4 1/2 games.

The win also sets a club record. No matter how poorly they may do the rest of the season, this is now the winningest Rays team ever as they break the 70 win total set by the 2004 club. With 45 games to go, if they only play .500 the rest of the way, they'll win 93 or 94 games. That's probably good enough to make the playoffs. They're most certainly a lock to finish above .500. I can't imagine this team going 10-35 the rest of the way.

Tony Pena pinch runs for the Royals and stays in the game as the designated hitter. He goes two for two, raising his batting average to .157. He scores the tying run in the 8th and drives in the winning run in the twelfth. That's only his 10th RBI and 19th run scored in 75 games.

The Twins fall out of first place in the AL Central but don't lose ground to Boston in the Wild Card race.

The Brewers go to the bottom of the 13th still tied at four. Through the first 12 innings they've drawn 13 walks, but only two of those batters scored. The Milwaukee staff has only issued one free pass.

Update: Gabe Kapler homers to give the Brewers a 5-4 victory and a sweep of the Nationals. They stay in control of the National League wild card.

Correction: Sorry, it wasn't a sweep. The two teams play Monday.

Neither Clay Buchholz nor Gavin Floyd pitched well today as both starters give up five earned runs. Floyd, however, lasts 5 1/3 innings, two more than Buchholz. With fewer innings to cover, the White Sox bullpen doesn't allow a hit, while the first reliever in for the Red Sox, David Ardsma is charged with the game winning run. The Red Sox fall to the White Sox 6-5. Boston falls to 27-35 on the road.

The White Sox move into a temporary tie with the Twins. Minnesota is tied with Kansas City in the 11th.

The Rangers and Orioles played a slugfest in Baltimore this afternoon, the Rangers coming out on top 15-7. Marlon Byrd and Melvin Mora each drove in four, while two more Texas players drove in three each. Texas played a 10+ run game at Baltimore in each series dating back to 2005.

Dan Uggla has been in an ugly slump, but helped the Marlins to an 8-2 win over the Mets today. Uggla knocked out two doubles for 30 on the season driving in three and scoring twice.

Josh Johnson pitched very well, striking out five and walking two over seven innings. That gives him a 2:1 K/BB this season.

The Mets gain a game on Florida in the series. The teams remain separated by 1/2 game, but now the Mets hold second place in the division.

The Washington Nationals are batting in the top of the sixth in Milwaukee, trying to break a streak of 27 consecutive scoreless innings. The Nationals have two on with one out against Manny Parra, so they may break through here.

Meanwhile, the Nationals starter, John Lannan is pitching a ho-hitter through five innings. As usual, he's getting no support from his team.

Update: Milledge singles with two out, and the Nationals finally score. They lead the Brewers 1-0.

Update: An error and a walk set up Corey Hart for a bases loading single, and a sacrifice fly ties the game at one.

The Astros aren't missing Carlos Lee today. Berkman and Blum homer back-to-back to start the third inning. Bourn hit a three-run shot in the first, and the Astros lead the Reds 8-0 early.

The Twins and Royals offer an interesting matchup as Francisco Liriano faces Zack Greinke, two pitchers with the potential to dominate the AL Central for a number of seasons. Liriano will try to build on his six shutout innings against Cleveland, his first major league start after a poor performance early in the season. Greinke's walks, strikeouts and home runs are all good. He just needs better defense behind him to bring his hit totals and ERA down. The Royals have a .687 DER behind him.

Dan Haren's bid for the Cy Young Award continues. His teammate Brandon Webb owns the better record, but Dan allows fewer hits, walks and strikes out more batters. He also holds the lower ERA. He'll face one of the future stars of the Braves rotation, Jair Jurrjens. He ranks fourth in the NL in fewest HR per 9 innings, 0.52. That works out to 11.6 over 200 innings.

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CC Sabathia pitches his fourth complete game and his second shutout since joining the Brewers as he beats the Washington Nationals 5-0. In 57 innings with the Brewers, he's allowed just 40 hits.

Jim Edmonds adds a second home run in the seventh to tie the game at two, and the Cardinals and Cubs finish regulation with that score. They head to the tenth tied.

Update: Henry Blanco delivers an RBI single to left with the bases loaded and the Cubs win 3-2. Blanco was catching after the Cubs pinch-ran for Soto. He made the most out of his one at bat today.

The Cardinals try the suicide squeeze with Cesar Izturis on third and Branden Looper at the plate. Lilly threw the ball so inside and low it almost hit Looper, but Soto makes the catch and tags out the runner. That's why it's suicide. :-) The game remains tied at one going to the bottom of the fifth.

Jim Edmonds puts the first run on the board in the Cardinals/Cubs game. He homers to rightfield against his former team for a 1-0 Cubs lead in the bottom of the second. He came into the game 0 for 7 against St. Louis this season.

Update: Ted Lilly hangs an 0-2 curve ball and Mather puts it in the seats to tie the game at one. Lilly is now two home runs shy of last season's total.

With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Raul Ibanez hit a screaming line drive into the rightfield stands for a walk off win against the Rays. Ibanez is on fire, 20 for 49 over his last 12 games with four home runs and 18 RBI.

Both Andy Sonnanstine and Felix Hernandez pitched great games. Andy gave up five hits but didn't walk a batter in 7 1/3 innings. Hernandez lasted eight, and a little support earlier would have netted him a win. Felix does pull his ERA under three at 2.94.

The Astros won their 8th game in their last 11 tries as they down the Cincinnati Reds 7-4. The 2-3-4 hitters each picked up three hits in the game. Tejada, Berkman and Lee combined to go 9 for 13 with four doubles. They scored five of the Astros seven runs. They also set up Pence and Wigginton for mutiple RBI. Lee also collected two RBI and has driven in 15 runs over these 11 games.

The Nationals take the night cap 6-3, the identical score of the first game against the Rockies. They gain 1 1/2 games on the Phillies, putting them 18 1/2 games out of first.

They are 8 1/2 games behind the Braves. If they want to set a short-term goal, catching the Braves might be something they can shoot for the rest of the way. The Braves are decimated by injuries and trades, so Washington might have a chance.

The Washington Nationals win game one of their double header at Coors field by a score of 6-3. Lastings Milledge knocks out three hits, two of them home runs as he drives in four. That's four home runs for Milledge in his last five games, and he extends his hit streak to seven games. Despite a high slugging percentage in that span, he's only driven in seven runs. Washington doesn't do a great job of getting on base in front of Lastings.

The Marlins defeat the Phillies in a game started by Cole Hamels for the fourth time this season. He's pitched well in three of those, including today, giving up two earned runs. Today, Chris Volstad and the Marlins bullpen were better as they shut out the Phillies 3-0. They held the Phillies to four hits, although they did walk six. The Phillies went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

The Phillies loss, coupled with the Mets win makes the NL East very tight. The Marlins are 1 1/2 games back, the Mets 2. Florida heads to New York while the Phillies host Pittsburgh. Philadelphia has five games left with the Mets, six with the Marlins.

Jody Gerut delivers a solo shot in the top of the ninth to tie the game with the Mets at three. It was his second ninth inning home run of the series, and Jody also homered in the first inning of game two. That set up Heath Bell to give up a two-run shot to David Wright in the bottom of the inning for a 5-3 Mets win. The Mets thought of giving Wright the day off after a shaky game last night, but David goes 3 for 5 with the game winning RBI.

The Padres sent two pinch hitters to the plate in the top of the eighth. Bud Black wanted to put the new pitcher into the two slot, but either he made a mistake, or the ump made the mistake, and Brian Giles (who hit in the two slot) is staying in the game and the pitcher is batting ninth. Black thought it was the umpires mistake and argued the point. He and the bench coach were thrown out of the game. Bud might have assumed the rookie umpire knew what Bud wanted to do, rather than making it explicit.

The Padres trail 3-2. They loaded the bases with no one out in the top of the inning by only managed to score one run.

Sidney Ponson pitches 6 1/3 innings against his former team, allowing three runs as the Yankees defeat the Rangers 5-3. He walked one and struck out four. Given that he had walked more than he struck out in his time with the Yankees, that was a good outing for him.

David Murphy and Ivan Rodriguez each left the game after a collision at home plate. Ivan braced himself, but Murphy slid with his knees. David seems to have hurt his knee, but it's not clear how Ivan was hurt.

Update: I-Rod's knee was also hurt.

Karstens is still perfect through six innings. He's only struck out three, so the Diamondbacks aren't getting good wood on the ball when they put it in play. He's about to start the seventh.

Update: Karstens sets the Diamondbacks down in the seventh, then gets his second hit of the game in the top of the eighth. Two for three off the Big Unit is a good day for anyone, especially a pitcher.

Update: Karstens scores, helping himself to an insurance run.

Update: Reynolds bounces to Gomez at third. He bobbles the ball but still has time to make the throw for the second out. Two scary plays, two outs.

Update: Tracy leads off the eighth with a line drive to centerfield. It stays up in the air for the first out.

Update: Chris Young lines a pitch down the leftfield line for a double and the first Diamondbacks hit of the game. Karstens gets Romero to ground out, keeping the shutout intact. He's yet to allow an earned run since joining the Pirates.

Edward Mujica comes on in the ninth to hold a 7-4 Indians lead over the Rays. The first three batters double, double and homer to tie the game. Gabe Gross's game tieing home run was off the video wall behind the rightfield bleachers.

Masa Kobayashi comes in and allows the first batter he faces to reach as Masa misses the bag covering first.

Update: Kobayashi walks a batter then gives up a monster shot to Carlos Pena that lands over the centerfield fence. The Rays win 10-7, scoring six runs in the ninth. They're one win closer to the playoffs.

The Cardinals take a four-run lead into the ninth, but Ron Villone gives up a home run to Andruw Jones to make it 4-1. That triggers a save situation, and Isringhausen enters. Five batters reach against him as he allows three runs, and a game that the Cardinals had in control is now tied at four in the bottom of the ninth. Jason is now 8 for 20 in save situations.

Update: Ryan Luckwick walks off with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th and the Cardinals take home a 6-4 win, keeping pace with Chicago and Milwaukee. It's his 28th home run, but only his seventh with a man on.

The Texas Rangers hold off the Yankees as they take game two of the series 8-6. The Texas bullpen walked five batters in 2 2/3 innings but allowed just one hit, a grand slam by Richie Sexson.

The Yankees bullpen was any better, however. They cut the lead to 5-2 in the seventh, but Robertson and Bruney combined to walk five batters, leading to three runs in the bottom of the inning, putting the game out of reach. The Rangers now trail New York by 1 1/2 games as Texas tries to pass the Yankees in the wild card race.

I just looked at the Pirates-Diamondbacks boxscore, and the game is over. Brandon Webb didn't allow a run until the ninth to win the complete game 3-1. He threw 103 pitches, 67 for strikes.

Zach Duke and Craig Hansen also combined to throw 103 pitches, 67 for strikes. The only gave up six hits to Arizona's nine, but four of those went for extra bases, while Webb only gave up one extra-base hit, a double.

Webb is now 16-4, an .800 winning percentage. He may reach 20 wins by the end of August.

The Tampa Bay Rays used three balls out of reach to put the game out of reach against the Cleveland Indians tonight. Longoria, Floyd and Navarro all homered in the seventh, turning a 4-3 lead into an 8-3 rout. The Indians bullpen is now allowing an average of 30 home runs per 200 innings. Rafael Betancourt, who allowed two of the dingers, has now given up 11 homers in 47 1/3 innings, a rate of 46.5 over 200 innings.

The Rays win by a final score of 8-4.

The Marlins finally hang a loss on Jamie Moyer. Despite not pitching well, Moyer only allowed two runs. The Marlins did make him work however, and Jamie left after five innings having thrown 96 pitches. The Marlins then went to work on the bullpen, picking up two more runs until J.A. Happ entered the game. The Marlins hit him up for four runs in two innings and went on to an 8-2 victory and cut the Phillies lead in the NL East to 1 1/2 games.

Like Moyer, Josh Johnson didn't pitch as well as his runs allowed. He picked up a short shutout, holding the Phillies scoreless through six innings. He walked four and struck out just three, however, and the Phillies did collect five hits against him.

The Mets plan to use Aaron Heilman as their closer while Billy Wagner is on the disabled list. Heilman came on to pitch the ninth with a four run lead. Not being a save situation, he allowed a hit and a walk before yielding a three-run homer to Jody Gerut. Smith and Schoeneweis came on to get the final two outs, and the Mets still win 6-5.

Fernando Tatis was the offensive start in the game, hitting two home runs and driving in four. That raises his slugging percentage for the season over .500 to .531.

The good news for the Padres is that they out-hit the Mets 11-6 and out-homered them 3-2. I would think they'll win most games with that kind of performance.

The Brewers fought the opposition, not each other tonight. The heart of the order, Braun, Fielder and Hart combined to hit for the cycle with a 6 for twelve night, Bruan doubling, Hart tripling, and Fielder homering. David Bush took care of the pitching, going seven innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven.

The offense pounded Edinson Volquez, who allowed nine hits in five innings, leading to five runs. The Brewers manage to keep pace with the Cubs by a score of 8-1.

Huston Street gets the call in what's supposed to be a closer by committee, pitching the ninth to hold a 3-2 lead. Instead, he gives up three hits, including a double. The Jays use those to plate two runs and win the game 4-3.

Brad Ziegler pitches great again in a setup role, accumulating two more scoreless innings. His streak now stands at 34 innings. Maybe, from now on, he should pitch the eighth and ninth instead of the seventh and eighth.

Jamie Moyer doesn't walk Marlins, except for tonight. He's issued three walks so far and hit two batters. With the Marlins picking up six hits, in four innings, it's impressive that Moyer only allowed two runs so far. One came on a bases loaded walk, one on a ground out. The Marlins are one for nine with runners in scoring position. The only hit in that situation resulted in Josh Willingham getting thrown out by a mile at the plate to end the top of the fourth.

The Cubs get a winning roll as they defeat the Astros 11-7. Kerry Wood returns from the disabled list and uses just seven pitches, six strikes, to retire the Astros in the eighth innings (they did get one hit). Marmol pitches the ninth, and the comeback from the blown lead nets Chicago their 68th victory, most in the NL by six.

Soriano, Lee and DeRosa were the stars, combining to go 10 for 15 with eight RBI and five runs scored. Derrek Lee was two for his last 22. Piniella gave him Monday off, and he responded with four hits today.

While the Astros are trying to come back in the wild card race, they're also trying to come back in this game. Down 6-1 after two innings, the Astros are pecking away at Rich Harden. Wigginton hit a solo shot in the fifth, and Blum added a two run homer in the sixth to close the gap to 6-5. Those five runs doubled Rich Harden's Cubs ERA.

Update: Carlos Lee goes deep off Bob Howry to complete the comeback. The two-run shot in the seventh puts the Astros up 7-6. The Cubs had 1st and 3rd with one out in the bottom of the sixth, but Ramirez grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Update: Two pitchers later, Doug Brocail puts one in Alfonso Soriano's wheel house and the Cubs leadoff hitter deposits it in the leftfield bleachers. It was one of those times when you see the ball break toward the batter, and you know even before he swings it's just going to be crushed. The Cubs take a 10-7 lead.

Update: It's the Cubs turn for a comeback as a single, double and sacrifice fly tie the game at seven. Samson has given up four hits in 1 1/3 innings.

The Milwaukee Brewers fall to the Reds 6-3 despite Milwaukee out hitting Cincinnati 9-4 and out homering them 2-1. The Reds made three hits count as Votto, Arroyo and Bruce each drive in two with a single, double and home run respectively. The Cubs are down 2-0 to the Astros in the sixth, with the game delayed by rain.

Update: Sounds like Prince Fielder wasn't happy with Manny Parra:

The cameras just caught an altercation in the Brewers' dugout between Prince Fielder and Manny Parra in which Fielder shoved Parra down onto the bench twice before teammates and coaches pulled Fielder away.

Brad Lidge comes into the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead, but allows a home run to Glaus, then loads the bases with one out on two singles and a hit by pitch. He then strikes out two inexperienced players on sliders to earn a save.

The Phillies extend their lead in the NL East to 2 1/2 games. The face second-place Florida in a three-game series starting Tuesday.

The Texas Rangers can even score without many hits! They lead the Blue Jays 5-4, knocking out only three hits. All three were long balls, two by Gerald Laird. They've also had two batters reach by the walk and two more were hit by pitches.

Fernando Rodney picks up the third blown save of the Tigers/Rays game. He gives up a single, a hit by pitch, and three walks, the final one of those forcing in the winning run. The diminutive righty threw 34 pitches in the inning, only 18 for strikes. The Tigers bullpen wastes a great outing by Galarraga, who allowed just one run over seven innings.

Jorge Campillo lowers his ERA to 2.58 with seven shutout innings against the Brewers. He allows just six hits, Fielder's double the only one for extra bases. The Brewers road winning streak ends at nine as Ben Sheets allows three runs in six innings and the Braves win 5-0.

The Marlins fall to the Rockies 3-2. Florida loads the bases with one out in the ninth, but Cantu pops out and Willingham flies out to left. Josh worked the count to 3-2, but Fuentes threw two good strikes. Willingham fouled one, but couldn't get all of the other. After a day off tomorrow, the Marlins play three at Philadelphia and three at New York in what may be a week that determines how far Florida goes in this pennant race.