And That Happened

Rays 3, A's 2: Emil Brown, whose misplay of a ball in the eighth made the difference in the game, is not exactly the consummate teammate: "Brown said he tried to get low to the ground to have a better view of the ball, but that didn't work. After speaking to the official scorer after the game to tell his side, the play was changed from an error to a hit."There's nothing I can do about losing the ball in the lights," Brown said.

I have no idea if players think about this stuff, but his lobbying act added half a run to Joey Devine's ERA. Over the whole season that one run will cost him less to his overall ERA, of course, but it could still end up costing Devine some money, couldn't it?

Braves 6, Mets 1/Braves 6, Mets 2: Think the Mets are finally getting wise to that whole send-Glavine-to-NY-to-sabotage-the-franchise-then-invite-him-back-for-victory-lap scheme? Nah, probably not. I mean, if they were that sharp, they would have fired Willie Randolph already. Of course, with a twin bill like this one, that may come pretty soon.

Orioles 12, Yankees 2: It's been 16 years since both New York teams finished under .500. I doubt that's going to happen this year, actually, but I do like to give the non New Yorkers out there something to root for from time to time.

Phillies 1, Nationals 0: When you have two pitchers throwing like Hamels (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 11K) and Bergman were (7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER) you hate to see one of them have to lose while the other wins. Thankfully, the bullpens didn't let that happen to either of them, as Tom Gordon snatches the victory because Jon Rauch couldn't hold the lead.

Brewers 7, Pirates 2: While ShysterBall can not independently confirm this, sources close to the Milwaukee Brewers organization tell ShysterBall late this evening, in the midst of another horrid road trip, and on the heels of a sweep by the Boston Red Sox, that Brewers manager Ned Yost fired up his laptop this morning and laughed his ass off at all of the scorn being heaped on bloggers who incorrectly reported his demise. Or not.

Red Sox 2, Royals 1: From the AP game recap: "Papelbon then came in and got Butler to swing and miss at a third strike. The closer pumped his fist several times as he walked from the mound." We're reporting on the showboating now? Why didn't they do this back when Pascual Perez used to pitch?

Marlins 3, Diamondbacks 2: Hanley Ramirez is having a pretty bad month (.266, 1 HR, 5 RBI). Lucky for the fish, Dan Uggla has been a house a fire: (.429/.507/1.036).

Tigers 12, Mariners 8: If you're a Tigers fan and you see this score and you know that Verlander was pitching, you assume that the troubles continue. Except he was pretty good actually (6 IP, 4 H, 1ER, 7K, 1 BB). It was the bullpen that cratered late. Tigers fans hope Jim Leyland's profane pregame ramblings [right sidebar under "audio"] helped light a fire. (Thanks to Mike at The Daily Fungo for the link).

White Sox 4, Indians 1: The Tribe's 1-4 hitters combine to go 0-16 with five Ks and zero walks. That's the kind of thing that will cause your otherwise en fuego pitching staff to despair.