After beating the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Tuesday night to improve to 45-46, and 5-1 in their last six games, the Philadelphia Phillies might not be selling off all of their assets at the trade deadline. Instead, they could be looking to *buy*, despite being 7.5 games out of the NL East lead and 5.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the NL's final wild card spot. On the surface, this seems like a disaster, due in part to Philly's -44 run differential, their aging core, and their need for help in more than just one place. But hey, stranger things have happened…
PIC OF THE DAY
Lyle Overbay reached into the crowd to grab a pop-up (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Mets 10, Giants 6. San Francisco is now nine games under .500 and is still tied for last in the NL West following this embarrassing loss on Tuesday night. Down 5-3 going into the bottom of the sixth, the Giants cut the deficit to a run following an infield single by Tony Abreu. In the seventh, Pablo Sandoval tied the game with a sac fly. But then, things imploded for the Giants in the eighth. They sent three pitchers to the mound in that inning, and the trio of Jose Mijares, Jeremy Affeldt, and Jake Dunning proceeded to allow five runs, with a grand slam by Marlon Burd coming as the big blow. Believe it or not, the Mets and Giants are within percentage points of having the same record. That's simply unfathomable.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Wily Peralta pitched great for the Brewers in their 2-0 win over the Reds, spinning a complete game shutout while allowing three hits, four walks, and striking out six. Tony Cingrani pitched very well for the Reds in their loss, giving up two runs on three hits in seven innings, punching out ten and walking two. Eric Stults was the Padres' savior in their 2-1 win over the Rockies, allowing one run on four hits in his complete game victory, striking out five and walking three. Adam Wainwright did Adam Wainwright things to the Astros in the Cardinals' 9-5 win, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out nine and walking one. Finally, there was Ricky Nolasco's successful Dodgers debut, as he led the team to a 6-1 win in Arizona while allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out five without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Adrian Beltre helped the Rangers to an 8-4 win agaainst Baltimore, going 4/4 with five RBI, a walk, and two homers. Alex Rios and Dayan Viciedo helped the White Sox blast the Tigers 11-4, as Rios went an unreal 6/6 with a run, two RBI, two stolen bases, and a triple, while Viciedo went 3/4 with four RBI and two homers. David Ortiz mashed in Boston's 11-8 win in Seattle, going 4/5 with three runs, two doubles, a homer, and a stolen base. In the losing effort for the Mariners, Kendrys Morales went 3/5 with two homers and three RBI.
Other Games: The Royals beat the Yankees 3-1. The Rays stayed hot, beating the Twins 4-1. The Braves rallied to top the Marlins 6-4. The A's edged the Pirates 2-1. The Indians shut out the Blue Jays 3-0. The Cubs homered five times in a 7-2 win over the Angels.
What You Missed: Larry King supports Yasiel Puig and Josh Donaldson as All-Stars. Matt Garza's extension talks with the Cubs are likely just a plot. Matt Kemp's latest injury might not matter to the Dodgers – it didn't on Tuesday.
Today's Games: Mike Leake starts for the Reds in Milwaukee. Zack Wheeler starts for the Mets in San Francisco against Matt Cain. Wei-Yin Chen makes his return to the hill for the Orioles against the Rangers. Justin Masterson and the Indians host the Blue Jays. Francisco Liriano and the Pirates host the A's. Gio Gonzalez and Cliff Lee duel in Philly. CJ Wilson and Jeff Samardzija will battle in Chicago. Jordan Lyles and Shelby Miller square off in St Louis. Hyun-Jin Ryu and Tyler Skaggs go at it in Arizona. Andrew Cashner and the Padres host Jorge de la Rosa and the Rockies.
National TV: Braves-Marlins (12:30, MLB Network), Reds-Brewers (2 PM, MLB Network), A's-Pirates (7 PM, ESPN)
MLB.tv Free Game: Mets-Giants (3:45 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Gio Gonzalez vs Cliff Lee (7 PM, Nationals vs Phillies)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
