Sox, Mets Go Back to Work with Wins

American League Toronto 4 Boston 7 - The All-Star break behind them, Boston wasted no time at all getting back to business, as their power hitters, David Ortiz (right) and Manny Ramirez combined for 5 RBI. Ortiz was 3-5 with 2 runs driven in, while Manny went 2-4 and knocked home 3. NY Yankees 7 Tampa Bay 3 - The Yankees know that now is the time to begin making up ground on Boston and at least get themselves into position to challenge for the AL East title. To that end, Alex Rodriguez smacked his 31st home run of the season, sandwiched between solo shots by Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu, all in the 4th inning. The homers broke a 1-1 tie and propelled the Yanks to the .500 mark at 43-43. New York's next 26 games are all against teams with losing records - Tampa Bay, Toronto, Baltimore, Chicago and Kansas City. During the same span, Boston, while playing some of the same teams, will also be tangling with Cleveland, Seattle and Los Angeles. Oakland 2 Minnesota 6 - Michael Cuddyer went 4-4 with a double, triple and a pair of singles. The win keeps the Twins in the hunt, 7 games back of Detroit in the Al Central, while sending the A's below .500 (43-44) with their 4th straight loss, 9 1/2 behind the Angels in the West. Detroit 2 Seattle 3 - The Mariners got all of their runs in a decisive 5th inning, and J.J. Putz notched his 25th save, temporarily moving Seattle to within 2 games of the idle LA Angels. Other AL Scores Chi White Sox 9 Baltimore 7 National League Cincinnati 2 NY Mets 3 - Jose Reyes (right) and Ruben Gotay led off the game with back-to-back homers off Bronson Arroyo, and Orlando Hernandez held the Reds to 2 runs on just 3 hits over 6 innings for the win.

Ichiro Shines As Pujols Sits

All-Star Edition There isn't much the National League can do about losing every year to the American League in the mid-summer classic, though possibly getting your best hitter to the plate in a critical late-inning situation might help. While the AL won for the 10th consecutive time (not including the ridiculous tie in 2002), the Nationals put up a good fight, almost until the end. After Alfonso Soriano got the NL within a run at 5-4 with a 2-run homer in the 9th, the Francisco Rodriguez had walked the bases loaded with 2 outs as Aaron Rowand stepped into the batter's box. Not to knock Rowand; he's a decent player with good numbers, but manager Tony La Russa had Albert Pujols (right) sitting on the bench. Bases loaded. Rowand at the plate. Pujols on the bench. It didn't add up. It still doesn't add up, and it will never make sense. La Russa's refusal to insert arguably the best hitter in the National League deserves to be immortalized in the annals of the game as one of the most obvious coaching blunders of all time. Rowand, after looking at a perfect rght-down-the-middle-please-hit-me fastball from Rodriguez, Rowand swung at a high, outside pitch and lofted it to right field. End of game. Over. Fat lady singing. Following the game, La Russa explained that he was saving Pujols for extra innings, convinced (apparently) that Rowand would tie the game. He was wrong. For his part, Pujols was pissed, being one of just two position players not to get into the game. The fans were significantly short-changed, and the National League limped away - as they always seem to do - with another loss. Ichiro Suzuki (right) was named MVP for his 3-3 performance, which included the first ever All-Star game inside-the-park home run, in the 5th inning with Brian Roberts aboard. The stunning blow off the right field wall gave the AL a lead which they would not relinquish, at 2-1. Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford added a solo shot in the 6th and Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez coaxed out a 2-run job in the 8th. Ken Griffey Jr. was the star for the NL, with a single in the first inning which plated speedy Jose Reyes (who had stolen second) and a sac fly in the 6th to get Carlos Beltran home from 3rd. All told, it was an exciting game that was ultimately tarnished by some horrible coaching by a manager who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated emblazoned with the words, "The Mastermind" (shown at left with my new, improved version at right). Maybe, now that La Russa has demonstrated his puerile fallibilities, SI can give him a cover shot with the headline, "Never Mind."

A-Rod Rocks 30th; Rookie Pence Leads NL at .342

American League Boston 5 Detroit 6 - The Tigers completed the 3-game sweep of Boston, leaving the Red Sox a little bruised heading into the break, though still 10 games clear of the Yankees and Blue Jays in the AL East. The Tigers took sole possession of first place in the Central by a game of Cleveland, who lost a squeaker at Toronto. Detroit has won five straight. With all the milestones being reached this season, Gary Sheffield may want to add his name to the watch list. He needs 24 more homers for 500, crashing his 21st of the season in the Detroit win. LA Angels 0 NY Yankees 12 - It's only fitting that Alex Rodriguez (right) would make one more appearance as the star of the day just prior to the All-Star break. Rodriguez joined teammates Hikedi Matsui and Robinson Cano in 3-run homer derby against the Angels on Sunday. Never outdone, A-Rod also added a run-scoring single and was aboard for Matsui's homer, to lead the Bombers with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. At the break, A-Rod has posted MVP-like numbers: .317, 30 home runs and 86 RBI. Keep the record books handy and the doors to the Hall of Fame wide open. Rodriguez, a native New Yorker who will turn 32 on July 27, needs just six more homers to reach 500, and 67 more RBI to make it an even 1500. Just for good measure, check out the 250 stolen bases, .306 lifetime batting average and .577 slugging percentage. Barry, are you paying attention? Cleveland 0 Toronto 1 - Josh Towers worked a perfect game into the 6th inning, threw 3-hit, shutout ball for 8 innings, but didn't get the decision as Alex Rios' single with one out in the ninth sent Reed Johnson to the plate with the winning run. The Jays took 2 of 3 from the Indians and have won 3 of their last 4. Seattle 7 Oakland 3 - The Mariners banged out 16 hits to pull to within 2 1/2 of first place LA in the AL West. Seattle's won 3 straight and 4 of their last 5. Other AL Scores Minnesota 3 Chi White Sox 6 Tampa Bay 4 Kansas City 12 - T. Pena Jr., 3-5, 4 RBI Baltimore 1 Texas 2 National League NY Mets 3 Houston 8 - The Astros earned a split in their 4-game series with the Mets, who limp into the break just 2 games clear of Atlanta and 4 1/2 ahead of Philly. After sweeping the aforementioned Phillies, the Mets went 2-6 and clearly need some pitching to go with their awesome lineup. Jose Reyes swiped another pair of bases, to up his MLB-leading theft total to 46. Houston Rookie Hunter Pence (right) went 2-5 to take over the NL batting average lead at .342. Arizona 3 Cincinnati 4, 11 innings - Scott Hatteberg singled home Edwin Encarnacion with the game-winner as the Reds completed their sweep of the Diamondbacks. The Reds have won four straight while the D-Backs have dropped their last 5. Chi Cubs 2 Pittsburgh 6 - Jason Bay busted his 13th home run off Cubs' starter Carlos Zambrano, helping the Pirates take 2 of 3 from the 2nd-place Cubbies. Chicago didn't lose any ground on the Brewers, and remain 4 1/2 back. Just a hunch, but it looks like things are going to get a whole lot more interesting in the funky NL Central. With just the Cubs and Brewers over .500, the other four teams are still within hailing distance. Even the last place Reds, who have won 4 straight, are just 13 behind. Florida 3 LA Dodgers 9 - Catcher Russell Martin, voted into his first All-Star game earlier in the week, singled and homered in two at-bats, driving in 3 and scoring 3 times, to draw the Dodgers back to 1-game behind the Padres in the NL West. Atlanta 5 San Diego 4 - The Braves survived a 3-run, 9th inning rally by the Padres to hold onto an important win heading into the break. The Braves took two of three in San Diego and trail the Mets by a mere 2 games in the NL East. Catcher Brian McCann socked a two-run homer in the first and drove in 2 more with a single in the 6th, helping the Braves to their 4th win in their last 5. Other NL Scores San Francisco 0 St. Louis 7 - T. Wellemeyer (W, 3-1), 5 IP, 2 H, O ER Philadelphia 8 Colorado 4 Milwaukee 2 Washington 7

Bedard Fans Fifteen; Cabrera Hoists Marlins

National League Chi Cubs 7 Pittsburgh 1 - Ted Lilly (8-4) put an end to the Pirates' 4-game win streak, allowing just one seventh inning run on 8 hits over 7 1/3 innings of work. The Cubs got back to within 4 1/2 of AL Central leading Milwaukee, who lost on the road to the lowly Nationals. The Cubs have been on fire of late, going 12-3 recently while the Brewers have maintained, with a 9-6 record over the same span. Atlanta 5 San Diego 8 - Mike Cameron slugged a 3-run homer and Kevin Kouzmanoff knocked in 3 with a sac fly and 2-run single in the seventh to lead the Padres to a 2-game lead in the N West, as the Dodgers lost their second straight to Florida. Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect 9th inning for his 25th save. Florida 7 LA Dodgers 2 - Miguel Cabrera (right) quietly continued his sensational season, slugging his 18th home run, going 2-3 to improve his batting average to .324 and driving in a pair of runs to give him 61. Cabrera is 7th in the NL in batting, tied for 5th in homers and is 6th in the league in RBI. Arizona 4 Cincinnati 5 - The D-Backs continued their mid-season slide, losing their 4th straight and 10th of their last 13, dropping a close one to suddenly-surging Cincinnati. The Reds, who fired manager Jerry Narron after an 11-7 loss to St. Louis on July 1, have won 4 of 5 under interim manager Pete Mackanin. Arizona is in 3rd place in the NL West, 3 1/2 back of San Diego. Philadelphia 3 Colorado 6 - Ryan Spilborghs found his name at the top of the Rockies' lineup card on Saturday and came through with a 3-4 effort, including his 5th home run and 3 RBI to lead Colorado to their 5th straight win.

Advertise on Blogs
Choose your own colors, dates and message for maximum impact.
dtmagazine.com/customtext.html

The Rockies are still in the NL West hunt, 5 1/2 behind San Diego, though the Dodgers and Diamondbacks are still in their way. Philly, which has had every opportunity to make a move in the NL East, lost for the 4th time in 5 tries, and remain stuck in 3rd, 5 1/2 behind the Mets and 2 back of Atlanta. The loss put them back under .500, at 43-44, while the Rockies got over the even mark at 44-43. Other NL Scores Milwaukee 4 Washington 5 NY Mets 5 Houston 3, 17 innings - J. Reyes, SB (44) San Francisco 7 St. Louis 6 American League Baltimore 3 Texas 0 - Erik Bedard (right) struck out 15 Rangers, boosting his major league-leading total to 149 and improved to 7-4 on the season. Bedard allowed only 2 hits and did not walk a batter, facing the minimum 27, as both hits were quickly erased by double plays. One of the few bright spots for the O's, Bedard tied a franchise record held by Mike Mussina, who struck out 15 on 3 different occasions. Cleveland 9 Toronto 4 - The Indians banged out 14 hits - 7 for extra bases, including 4 homers - to remain locked in with Detroit atop the AL Central. The Tigers - Boston 2 Detroit 3, 13 innings - remain .002 percentage points ahead of Cleveland. With two out in the 13th, Ivan Rodriguez singled home Gary Sheffield with the game winner. Other AL Scores LA Angels 2 NY Yankees 1, 13 innings - M. Cairo, 3 Errors Minnesota 1 Chi White Sox 3 - M. Buehrle (W, 6-4), 8 IP, 6 H, 0 ER Seattle 4 Oakland 0 - F. Hernandez (W, 5-4), 8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER Tampa Bay 7 Kansas City 8