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Stay For a Nightcap - Can't Believe I'm Blogging On The Fourth Of July Edition

Nationals 5, Cubs 4 in 10

- Jordan Zimmermann got off to a hot start, striking out five batters in the first two innings, but it was downhill from there, as he failed to fan a better over the next four frames and allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk. Henry Rodriguez (3-1) won in relief.
- Casey Coleman started on the other end and had a relatively good outing, by his standards, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits in 5.1 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Got that WHIP down under two now. Terrific.
- The Cubs bullpen failed Coleman. Sean Marshall had a shaky hold and Kerry Wood a blown save, with Marco Mateo (1-2) being tagged with the loss in the tenth after Carlos Marmol's wild pitch scored the game-winning run.
- The Nats did some running: Brian Bixler collected his fourth steal and Jayson Werth picked up his 11th.
- Ryan Zimmerman is still feeling it a little in the spot where he had surgery earlier this year. He pinch-hit, walked, and got removed for a runner.

Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 7

- Brandon Morrow (5-4) wasn't at his best, but he did enough to win with a big offensive explosion at his back. He allowed four runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batsman in five innings of work -- and needed 99 pitches to get through it. Morrow did fan five.
- John Lackey (5-8) got rocked for seven runs on ine hits in just 2.1 innings of work, biggening (yes) his ERA to an airplane-sized 7.47.
- Frank Francisco cleaned it up nice in the ninth, working around a hit to strike out the side for his 10th save.
- Jacoby Ellsbury was all over the place for Boston, going 4-for-5 with a triple, two RBI, a steal (27) and a run.
- Rajai Davis went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a steal.
- Travis Snider came back with three doubles and a pair of RBI.
- Aaron Hill also had three hits, including his fourth homer.
- Kevin Youkilis was pulled as a precaution after being hit with a pitch in the back.

Pirates 5, Astros 3

- Paul Maholm (5-9) was passable for six innings, allowing three runs (just one eanred) on five hits and three walks. He struck out three and hit a batter.
- Brett Myers (3-8) got lit up for 13 (THIRTEEN!) hits in six innings of work, but miraculously allowed just five runs (four earned).
- Joel Hanrahan: 25 save opportunities, 25 saves.
- Alex Presley had three hits, a steal and an RBI.
- Josh Harrison left the game after a collision at home plate.

Twins 7, Rays 0

- Brian Duensing (6-7) went the distance for Minnesota, allowing six hits and four walks while striking out seven for his second career shutout.
- David Price was on the short end, touched up for four runs in six innings of work. He struck out six and allowed five hits and a walk.
- Super-sneaky corner infield power source Danny Valencia with 3-for-4 with a three-run homer (10).
- Michael Cuddyer hit his 12th homer of the year.

Mariners 2, Athletics 1

- Michael Pineda (8-5) just keeps on doing his thing. He sturck out seven batters in his six innings while allowing just a pair of hits and a walk. He was pulled after just 92 pitches in a 2-1 game, so Seattle's clearly trying to save his arm.
- Brandon McCarthy is just asking for a little bit of offense, guys. Just a bit. He threw a high-quality 6.2 Monday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five. McCarthy has now allowed three or fewer earned runs in seven starts, but won just one of them.
- Brandon League had few problems picking up his 23rd save. He walked one and struck out a pair.
- Josh Bard hit his first homer of the year in his fifth game of the year.
- Coco Crisp stole his 25th base.

Diamondbacks 8, Brewers 6

- It just wasn't Dan Hudson's day, as he was stuck with six runs (five earned) in just four innings of work, the big blast a (gulp) Shaun Marcum grand slam in the fourth. Fortunately for him, his offense battled back and eventually earned a win for Sam Demel (2-2).
- Marcum drove in as many runs (four) as he allowed, so as far as I'm concerned, he threw six shutout innings, allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out five. John Axford (2-2) got stuck with the loss in relief after allowing two runs in an inning.
- David Hernandez struck out the side in order for his fourth save, so his whole interim closer thing is going well.
- Miguel Montero had three hits, including his 10th homer, and a couple RBI.
- Wily Mo Pena did his pinch-hitting thang, slugging a solo homer (5).
- Corey Hart struck out three times, but also hit his ninth homer of the year.
- Chris Young stole his 11th base.
- Sean Burroughs: still hitting singles. He went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs.

Padres 5, Giants 3

- Clayton Richard (5-9) did his thing, holding up for five shutout innings despite more walks (three) than strikeouts (two). Just two hits helps, too.
- Tim Lincecum (6-7) wasn't at his best, lasting only five innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. He struck out four and walked a batter.
- Heath Bell had a rough 25th save, allowing a run, but holding on.
- Pablo Sandoval's bat is back. He doubled and homered amoong three hits.
- Will Venable: two hits, including his second homer of the year, plus a steal (14).
- Jason Bartlett stole his 16th, Cameron Maynin snagged his 12th, adnd Anthony Rizzo pulled off his second.

Phillies 1, Marlins 0

- Vance Worley has been beasting, but he's headed back to the minors despite this gem. Seven shutout innings, just two hits and two walks with six strikeouts -- mighty fine work. He's allowed just two runs in his last four starts combined, and will surely be back soon.
- Ricky Nolasco (5-5) went seven innings, allowing just six hits, two walks and a run. Shouldn't have given up that run, though. He struck out four.
- Jimmy Rollins swiped his 18th bag.
- Emilio Bonifacio stole his 11th and Michael Stanton his third for the Marlins.
- Antonio Bastardo worked around a walk for his fifth save.

Cardinals 1, Reds 0

- Chris Carpenter (4-7) went eight shutout, allowing only six hits and a walk. He struck out just three, which mars the line just a little... but not much.
- Johnny Cueto went the eight-inning distance on the other end, allowing just one run (one too many) and finishing with the somewhat odd line of six hits, three walks and no strikeouts. Ton of ground balls for Cueto, who can usually miss quite a few bats.
- Fernando Salas made it clean for his 15th save.
- Joey Votto collected three singles to raise his average to .318.

Indians 6, Yankees 3

- Keep not believing in Josh Tomlin (10-4). Fine by me. With seven impressive innings against the Yankees -- he took a no-hitter into the seventh and ended up allowing just three hits, a walk and two runs -- Tomlin may only now be turning heads that downplayed him early in the season. The guy may not have ace stuff, but he's put up a solid ERA and been and a major WHIP helper (and that's a tough category), thanks in large part to an amazingly low walk rate.
- A.J. Burnett (8-7) went six shutout, then ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing four runs. Overall, he surrendered four hits and walked four while striking out six.
- Chris Perez came back to get his 20th save with a perfect inning.
- Curtis Granderon hit his 23rd homer already. Come on, man.
- Carlos Santana hit his 13th, a two-run shot, and Austin Kearns contributed his first homer of the season, a three-run blast.
- Derek Jeter: back in the lineup, no closer to 3,000 with an 0-for-4.

Braves 4, Rockies 1

- Tommy Hanson (10-4) tore through the Rockies for seven innings, allowing only four hits and a walk while striking out six. All-Star or no, one of the top couple pitchers in the National League, can we agree?
- Ubaldo Jimenez mostly had the good stuff working for him, striking out nine over 5.1 innings, but he made just a couple mistakes that turned out to be quite costly.
- One of those mistakes was to Freddy Freeman, who hit two homers, giving him 11 on the year, and drove in three.
- Mark Ellis went 0-for-3, but walked, stole a base and scored a run.
- Craig Kimbrel didn't strike anyone out somehow, but still threw a clean inning for his 25th save.
- Cole Garner got his first MLB at-bat as a pinch-hitter and flied out.

White Sox 5, Royals 4

- Mark Buehrle turned in seven solid, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out four, but had the save blown for him.
- Jeff Francis had a save blown for him, too. He allowed two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks in six inings of work. Didn't hold up.
- The blown saves belong to Sergio Santos (3-3), who was bailed out for a win despite allowing a run on three hits, and Aaron Crow (2-2) who allowed three runs in 1.2 innings, including a balk-off.
- Adam Dunn hit a homer! His eighth.
- Ramon Castro also homered for Chicago (4).
- Jeff Francoeur smacked his 12th homer in the first inning.
- Eric Hosmer had two hits, including homer No. 7.
- Brent Lillibridge got the start in left, collected two hits and stole two bases (8).

Rangers 13, Orioles 4

- Colby Lewis (8-7) continued a sdring of strong outings, allowing three runs on fiv hits in eight innings. He notched four strikeouts and walked three.
- Chris Jakubauskas (2-2) got bombed for six runs on seven hits in two innings in the loss. Alfredo Simon helped Texas pile on with another six (five earned) of his own.
- Mark Reynolds smashed two more home runs (and struck out in his two other at-bats, and made an error, but hey), giving him 20 on the year and five in his last three games.
- J.J. Hardy contributed his 12th homer.
- Adrian Beltre had a couple hits, including a two=run shot (16).
- Endy Chavez homered (3) and drove in four.
- Ian Kinsler stole a base (19).
- Michael Young and David Murphy had three-hit games.

Angels 5, Tigers 1

- Joel Pineiro (4-3) delivered just a 3:1 BB:K, but got 11 ground balls in seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball.
- Charlie Furbush (1-2), promoted from long relief, finished an out short of getting throguh five, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out five. Good upside.
- Peter Bourjos stole two bases (11) and made some more great catches.
- Mark Trumbo had two hits and stole a bag (8).
- Torii Hunter (9) and Vernon Wells (12) homered.

Mets 5, Dodgers 2

- Chris Capuano (8-7) bounced back from a tough outing in Detroit to go six solid innings in this one, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out five.
- Rubby De La Rosa (3-4) had a no-hitter through five, but tired, eventually going seven with three runs, five hits, one walk and five strikeouts -- not good enough to avoid the loss. His command has been much better his last couple times out, though.
- Francisco Rodriguez worked around a leadoff double (naturally) for his 21st save.
- Juan Uribe (2) and James Loney (3) stole bases off Capuano, who's normally tough to steal on.