Cubs 6, Astros 5: The Cubs came back from a 5-1 deficit, led by Derrek Lee, who went 3-4 with a home run and 3 RBI. Matt Murton hit a home run in a pinch-hit at-bat in the 7th inning. Carlos Marmol (5-1) got the win, facing one batter in the eighth inning. Chad Qualls (6-4) got the loss, giving up two runs on the Lee home run in the eighth. Ryan Dempster threw a perfect 9th, striking out two of the three batters he faced, for his 25th save. The Cubs  are 1.5 games ahead of the Brewers and 2 games ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central. Brewers 7, Pirates 4: Ryan Braun went 3-4 with a homer and 3 RBI, and Prince Fielder hit his 40th home run of the year, a two-run shot. Jeff Suppan (9-11) gave up four runs (two earned) for the win, while Pirates reliever Franquelis Osoria (0-1) gave up three runs in two innings for the loss. Francisco Cordero picked up his 39th save. The Brewers  are 1.5 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Cardinals 3, Reds 2: Cardinals' Rick Ankiel hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, and drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Braden Looper (12-10) pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up four hits. Bronson Arroyo (7-14) gave up three runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings for the loss. Jason Isringhausen gave up a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly, but picked up his 28th save. The Cardinals  are 2 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central race.  Royals 8, Twins 1: The Royals' Alex Gordon hit solo homers (13, 14) in the 2nd and 3rd innings, two of sixteen hits recorded by the Royals. Twins first baseman Garrett Jones went 3-3 in the game, with three of the six hits recorded by the Twins (all singles). Brian Bannister (12-7) allowed one run and six hits in eight innings of work, receiving the win. Boof Bonser (6-12) pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing five runs for the loss.  Blue Jays 6, Mariners 4: Gregg Zaun (8) and Matt Stairs (18) each hit a two-run homer in the game to put Toronto ahead early. The loss is Seattle's ninth in a row. A.J. Burnett (8-7) got the win, while Jeff Weaver (6-11) left after three innings, allowing five runs for the loss. Casey Janssen recorded his fifth save of the season for the Blue Jays. Seattle (73-62) remains two games back of the Yankees in the AL Wild Card race. Rangers 8, Angels 7: Hank Blalock hit a grand slam in the eighth inning, to take the lead. Wes Littleton (3-1) pitched two hitless innings in relief for the win, while Scot Shields (3-5) got the loss, giving up four runs on the Blalock slam. C.J. Wilson picked up his 10th save. The Angels  remained 6.5 games ahead of the Mariners in the AL West race. IGNORE THIS Padres 7, Dodgers 0. Padres center fielder Mike Cameron hit a grand slam off the Dodgers' Derek Lowe as part of a six-run fifth inning. Padres pitchers Jake Peavy, Cla Meredith, and Joe Thatcher combined for a two-hit shutout, with eleven strikeouts and just one walk. The Dodgers' Juan Pierre was responsible for both of the hits allowed, a single and a double. Peavy (16-5) received the win, while Lowe (11-12) pitched 4 1/3 innings in the loss. The Padres (75-60) are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks (76-61) at the top of the NL West standings, while the Dodgers (70-65) are five games back.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Diamondbacks 13, Rockies 7. Both starting pitchers (Elmer Dessens for Colorado, Dana Eveland for Arizona) left the game before the fourth inning. Diamondbacks first baseman Tony Clark knocked a three-run homer to cap a seven-run 2nd inning and a two-run single to cap a four-run 3rd inning. Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki knocked in two of the Rockies' seven runs with a double in the 3rd. Diamondbacks pitcher Edgar Gonzalez (7-2) took the win, pitching 3 1/3 innings of two-hit baseball in relief, while Dessens (2-2) took the loss, lasting just 1 1/3 inning while giving up seven runs. With the win, Arizona (76-61) remains tied with the San Diego Padres (75-50) at the top of the NL West standings. Nationals 4, Giants 1 : The Nationals' Jesus Flores went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI in the win. Nationals pitcher Joel Hanrahan (4-2) pitched six innings, giving up just one hit (a solo home run to Pedro Feliz. Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez (1-3) was credited with the loss, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up three runs. Chad Cordero pitched a hitless 9th for the save, his 29th .
Cubs 6, Astros 5: The Cubs came back from a 5-1 deficit, led by Derrek Lee, who went 3-4 with a home run and 3 RBI. Matt Murton hit a home run in a pinch-hit at-bat in the 7th inning. Carlos Marmol (5-1) got the win, facing one batter in the eighth inning. Chad Qualls (6-4) got the loss, giving up two runs on the Lee home run in the eighth. Ryan Dempster threw a perfect 9th, striking out two of the three batters he faced, for his 25th save. The Cubs (70-65) are 1.5 games ahead of the Brewers and 2 games ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central. Brewers 7, Pirates 4: Ryan Braun went 3-4 with a homer and 3 RBI, and Prince Fielder hit his 40th home run of the year, a two-run shot. Jeff Suppan (9-11) gave up four runs (two earned) for the win, while Pirates reliever Franquelis Osoria (0-1) gave up three runs in two innings for the loss. Francisco Cordero picked up his 39th save. The Brewers (69-67) are 1.5 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Cardinals 3, Reds 2: Cardinals' Rick Ankiel hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, and drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Braden Looper (12-10) pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up four hits. Bronson Arroyo (7-14) gave up three runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings for the loss. Jason Isringhausen gave up a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly, but picked up his 28th save. The Cardinals (67-66) are 2 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central race. Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 3: Matt Holliday hit a two-run single in the first inning. Josh Fogg (8-9) got the win, giving up two runs in six innings. Brandon Webb (14-10) gave up four runs in seven innings of work for the loss. Manny Corpas earned his 12th save. The Diamondbacks (76-62) are tied with the Padres for the NL West lead. Royals 8, Twins 1: The Royals' Alex Gordon hit solo homers (13, 14) in the 2nd and 3rd innings, two of sixteen hits recorded by the Royals. Twins first baseman Garrett Jones went 3-3 in the game, with three of the six hits recorded by the Twins (all singles). Brian Bannister (12-7) allowed one run and six hits in eight innings of work, receiving the win. Boof Bonser (6-12) pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing five runs for the loss. Dodgers 5, Padres 0. The Dodgers scored one run in the sixth and four in the seventh for the win. Chad Billingsley pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out nine for the win. Justin Germano pitched six innings, giving up one run for the loss. The Padres (75-61) are tied with the Diamondbacks for the NL West lead, while the Dodgers (71-65) are four games back. Blue Jays 6, Mariners 4: Gregg Zaun (8) and Matt Stairs (18) each hit a two-run homer in the game to put Toronto ahead early. The loss is Seattle's ninth in a row. A.J. Burnett (8-7) got the win, while Jeff Weaver (6-11) left after three innings, allowing five runs for the loss. Casey Janssen recorded his fifth save of the season for the Blue Jays. Seattle (73-62) remains two games back of the Yankees in the AL Wild Card race. Rangers 8, Angels 7: Hank Blalock hit a grand slam in the eighth inning, to take the lead. Wes Littleton (3-1) pitched two hitless innings in relief for the win, while Scot Shields (3-5) got the loss, giving up four runs on the Blalock slam. C.J. Wilson picked up his 10th save. The Angels (80-56) remained 6.5 games ahead of the Mariners in the AL West race. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Nationals 2, Giants 1 : Ryan Zimmerman hit a ninth-inning single, scoring Felipe Lopez to break a 1-1 tie and win the game for the Nationals. Chad Cordero (3-3) pitched one inning for the win, while Brian Wilson (1-1) gave up two hits and one run in the ninth inning for the loss .
A
(70-65)
A
(69-67)
A
(67-66)
A
Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 3: Matt Holliday hit a two-run single in the first inning. Josh Fogg (8-9) got the win, giving up two runs in six innings. Brandon Webb (14-10) gave up four runs in seven innings of work for the loss. Manny Corpas earned his 12th save. The Diamondbacks (76-62) are tied with the Padres for the NL West lead.
A
Dodgers 5, Padres 0. The Dodgers scored one run in the sixth and four in the seventh for the win. Chad Billingsley pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out nine for the win. Justin Germano pitched six innings, giving up one run for the loss. The Padres (75-61) are tied with the Diamondbacks for the NL West lead, while the Dodgers (71-65) are four games back.
A
(80-56)
D
IGNORE THIS
D
Padres 7, Dodgers 0. Padres center fielder Mike Cameron hit a grand slam off the Dodgers' Derek Lowe as part of a six-run fifth inning. Padres pitchers Jake Peavy, Cla Meredith, and Joe Thatcher combined for a two-hit shutout, with eleven strikeouts and just one walk. The Dodgers' Juan Pierre was responsible for both of the hits allowed, a single and a double. Peavy (16-5) received the win, while Lowe (11-12) pitched 4 1/3 innings in the loss. The Padres (75-60) are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks (76-61) at the top of the NL West standings, while the Dodgers (70-65) are five games back.
D
Diamondbacks 13, Rockies 7. Both starting pitchers (Elmer Dessens for Colorado, Dana Eveland for Arizona) left the game before the fourth inning. Diamondbacks first baseman Tony Clark knocked a three-run homer to cap a seven-run 2nd inning and a two-run single to cap a four-run 3rd inning. Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki knocked in two of the Rockies' seven runs with a double in the 3rd. Diamondbacks pitcher Edgar Gonzalez (7-2) took the win, pitching 3 1/3 innings of two-hit baseball in relief, while Dessens (2-2) took the loss, lasting just 1 1/3 inning while giving up seven runs. With the win, Arizona (76-61) remains tied with the San Diego Padres (75-50) at the top of the NL West standings.
R
4, Giants
2, Giants
R
: The Nationals' Jesus Flores went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI in the win. Nationals pitcher Joel Hanrahan (4-2) pitched six innings, giving up just one hit (a solo home run to Pedro Feliz. Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez (1-3) was credited with the loss, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up three runs. Chad Cordero pitched a hitless 9th for the save, his 29th
: Ryan Zimmerman hit a ninth-inning single, scoring Felipe Lopez to break a 1-1 tie and win the game for the Nationals. Chad Cordero (3-3) pitched one inning for the win, while Brian Wilson (1-1) gave up two hits and one run in the ninth inning for the loss