Blue Jays GM JP Ricciardi trashed Adam Dunn about a month ago, saying that the Blue Jays weren't interested at all. While I understand his point that 200 K's don't really help a ballclub, his Jays are competing with the Orioles for last place in the AL East, while Dunn is tied with Ryan Howard with and MLB-best 29 HR's, after hitting a grand slam last night, to lead the Reds over the Padres, 9-5. Might want to re-think your strategy, Mr. Ricciardi. Dunn finished with 5 RBI's, while Edwin Encarnacion and Javier Valentin also homered for the Reds.

The loss kept Greg Maddux winless for his 14th straight start, dating back to May 10, when he won his 350th career game. He has been rather inconsistent this year, and the Padres simply haven't had a very potent offense, leading to several losses and no-decisions for the MLB's active leader in wins.

It's a good day when you can produce runs from the 8th and 9th spots in your batting lineup. That's exactly what happened for the Rays, as Ben Zobrist (2-3, HR, 2 RBI) and Jonny Gomes (1-2, 2-run HR) provided all the offense that the Rays would need in a 4-3 win over the A's. The rest of the lineup combined for only 3 more hits, but James Shields was excellent on the mound, going 8+ innings, and only allowing 3 ER on 6 hits, while walking none, and striking out 7. Of the 6 hits, two were HR's, courtesy of Emil Brown and Carlos Gonzalez, who provided the only runs for the A's.

The White Sox and Rangers played a crazy one... Ozzie Guillen got ejected arguing balls and strikes (shocking, I know), the White Sox committed 4 errors, and were losing 8-4 at the 7th inning stretch. But they scored 1 run in the 7th, and 5 in the 8th to defeat the Rangers 10-8. "Every Day" Eddie Guardado might be better served taking some days off, as he gave up 4 of the 5 runs in the 8th. Carlos Quentin played a huge role in the win, with 2 HR's and 4 RBI for the Pale Hose.

How do you think Brewers fans are feeling about that CC Sabathia trade now? Sabathia improved to 4-0 since moving the the NL, pitching his 3rd straight complete game for the Brewers in a 3-0 shutout over the division rival Cardinals. That makes it 7 wins in a row for the Brewers, 3 of which have been won by Sabathia. The Brewers will send their other ace Ben Sheets to the mound tomorrow to try to complete the 4-game sweep.


----- Other games -----
AL:
Red Sox 6, Mariners 3 - Mike Lowell: 2 RBI in the 12th inning, Sox sweep Mariners
Yankees 5, Twins 1 - Mussina: 8 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K ... Rivera: 25th SV in 25 chances
Tigers 7, Royals 1 - Armando Galarraga: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 7 K, 1 BB, he was perfect through 6
Angels 14, Indians 11 - Jeff Mathis: 4-5, 2 R, 6 RBI, Grand Slam ... Kendrick: 4-5, 3 R, 3 RBI
***Blue Jays 2, Orioles 1*** - This one was suspended in the 6th due to rain, and will be completed tomorrow before the regularly schedule game.


NL:
Pirates 8, Astros 7 - Mientkiewicz: 4-4, 2 RBI, Jason Bay: 2-run HR, Pirates sweep 'Stros
Rockies 5, Dodgers 3 - Matt Holliday: 2-3, 2 RBI
Braves 9, Marlins 4 - Hudson: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K, 1 BB ... Gregor Blanco, 4-5, 3 R, 3 RBI
Mets 6, Phillies 3 - Jose Reyes: 3-run HR
Cubs 10, D-Backs 6 - Reed Johnson: 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI (Grand Slam)
Giants 6, Nationals 4 - Bengie MolinaL 3-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 doubles


----- Other MLB News -----

Marlins might be thinking about getting Brian Fuentes.

If Cal Ripken was the Iron Man, I think Chipper Jones must be the Ceramic Man.

Cubs fans are putting a hit out on Steve Bartman. At least that's what I suspect is going on here.

The Phillies' offense is ridiculous, in case you didn't know this already.

Melky being Melky... if only he could hit like Manny.



Streakers - In case any team tries to make history, I'm going to list the teams with the longest active winning and losing streaks. Today's streakers:
Brewers: 7 wins
Mariners: 5 losses