Rockies 5, Dodgers 4: If you encounter a team in the Dodgers’ position, lean them forward slightly and stand behind him or her. Make a fist with one hand. Put your arms around the person and grasp your fist with your other hand in the midline just below the ribs. Make a quick, hard movement inward and upward in an attempt to assist the person in dislodging the object that is obstructing the airway. This maneuver should be repeated until the person is able to breathe or loses consciousness.
Marlins 2, Mets 1: Yesterday, in the wake of the Johan Santana news, I wrote “Rest now, Mets fans. There really is nothing else that can hurt you this year.” Almost immediately thereafter readers wrote in with ways this nightmare of a season could get worse. Things like a Phillies-Yankees World Series or Jeff Francoeur getting a five year deal. With each passing day the latter seems like a possibility. As one of the only real major leaguers left on the roster (I use that term to describe tenure more than merit), Frenchy will stick out. Especially if he does things like hit a couple of doubles a night like he did here. And no, it doesn’t matter that one of the doubles was a total misplay on the part of the defense. It still counts!
Pirates 6, Phillies 4: At this rate does Brad Lidge even make the postseason roster? Brought in to protect a one-run lead in the ninth, Lidge blows his ninth save of the year and sees his ERA go up to 7.33. He had some help from Jayson Werth, who came in late in the game, supposedly to provide defense, but who let a run score on an error.
Royals 6, Indians 2: Zack Greinke mows down the Indians with 15 strikeouts. With this outing, with Halladay’s recent swoon, and with the guys with the high win totals posting considerably higher ERAs, Greinke probably just catapulted himself back into “favorite” status for the Cy Young award, didn’t he?
Reds 8, Brewers 6: The Reds blow a five run lead in the ninth, but Joey Votto and Laynce Nix homer in the 13th to make it all better. The dingers came off of former Red Todd Coffey. The Reds hitters had the psychological advantage in that situation: they knew that Coffey sucks, whereas Coffey probably still labors under delusions that he does not. It’s called clarity of thought, people. Therein lies the advantage.
Rangers 10, Yankees 9: Let’s hear it for all of that extra rest Joba Chamberlain got (4 IP, 9 H, 7 ER). Let’s also hear it for a valiant, yet utterly unsuccessful ninth inning rally by the Yankees.
Red Sox 6, White Sox 3: Chicago loses its third straight and falls to .500. Jacoby Ellsbury steals his 55th base, breaking the tie with Tommy Harper for the most steals in a single season in Red Sox history.
Tigers 5, Angels 3: Detroit takes advantage of the Chicago loss, extending their lead to four and a half games. John Lackey was beat up for the second straight outing. Miguel Cabrera (3-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) is on pace for having one of the quietest .340 35 HR 100 RBI seasons in recent memory.
Cardinals 1, Astros 0: Wandy Rodriguez and Adam Wainwright throw bullets all night -- each only gave up three hits -- but a quick single from Brendan Ryan followed by a Pujols double in the first inning put Rodriguez in a “hole” he could never get out of. This game took 2:10, which is roughly the length of your average AL East inning.
Rays 7, Blue Jays 3: Carlos Pena continues his Dave Kingmanesque season, hitting his 36th and 7th home run, while still maintaining that .223 average. Wait, that’s not fair. Pena leads the league in walks and he can play some defense, so Kingman’s not a good comp. How about his Russell Branyan season?
Padres 2, Braves 1: Adam LaRoche knocked in pinch runner Reid Gorecki with two outs in the ninth (after Gorecki stole second) to stave off defeat, but then David Eckstein won it for the Pads with an RBI double in the 12th. The Braves’ 1-2-3 hitters combined to go 0-16.
Nationals 15, Cubs 6: Huge nights for Josh Willingham (4-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI) and Elijah Dukes (2-3, 2B, HR 5 RBI) provide a not-so-friendly welcome back for Carlos Zambrano, who was making his first start since August 1st. Zambrano did hit a homer, though.
Twins 7, Orioles 6: Delmon Young goes 4-5 and hits a walkoff single in the ninth.
Mariners 4, Athletics 2: Ryan Langerhans, in as a defense replacement (AHEM, Jayson Werth) wins the game with a 10th inning homer. Even in the loss, Oakland Rookie Brett Anderson was sharp, giving up one run on six hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings.
Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4: Travis Ishikawa’s three-run shot in a tie game in the eighth inning proves to be the winner after the Giants had their hearts ripped out by the Rockies the night before. At this point, seeing someone come back from a killer loss to the Rockies like this might be the only ray of sunshine in Dodgerland.