Rich VandenHurk (great name, by the way) was pulled by Marlins' manager Fredi Gonzalez after 5 innings, without allowing a single hit. He DID walk 5 batters, and his pitch count was already nearing 100, but there are times when, as a manager, you just have to ask yourself... WWDD... What Would Dusty Do?

It turned out fine for the Marlins, as 3 other pitchers combined to only allow one hit as the Marlins shut out the Braves, 4-0. Mike Jacobs provided the offense, with a 3-run home run in the 4th inning. Chipper Jones had the Braves' lone hit, as he maintains a .371 average, which is the best in baseball.

Barry Zito hasn't exactly lived up to his $126M contract, but he did pick up his 2nd win in a row last night, as the Giants beat the Nationals 6-3. Zito pitched 6 innings, surrendering only 3 runs on 7 hits. He's still not back to his Cy Young form, but it's better than we've seen lately from him. Maybe he'll turn it around in the 2nd half. The Giants' offense has been pretty awful this year, but Bengie Molina provided the spark, with 2 HR and 3 RBI.

Daisuke Matsuzaka improved to 11-1, and Jon Papelbon picked up his 30th save, as the Red Sox shut down the Mariners again, 4-2. On a night that saw Matsuzaka's scoreless innings streak snapped at 24 and 2/3 innings, Manny Ramirez extended a streak of his own, hitting in his 11th straight game. Dustin Pedroia hit in his 23rd straight road game. With the win, the Sox pulled within a half a game from the AL East leading Rays.

----- Other games -----
AL:
Blue Jays 10, Orioles 8 - Adam Lind: 4-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR
Yankees 8, Twins 2 - Abreu: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR ... Jeter, Cano, 2 RBI each
A's 8, Rays 1 - Jack Hannahan: 2-4, HR, 4 RBI ... Jack Zeigler set an AL record for most scoreless innings to start a career, with 23 2/3 and counting.
White Sox 10, Rangers 2 - Buerhle: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 3 K, 0 BB
Tigers 7, Royals 1 - Placido Polanco: 2-5, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI
Angels 3, Indians 2 - Jeff Mathis: 1-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI

NL:
Reds 4, Padres 3 - Cueto: 6 IP, 10 K ... Jay Bruce: 3-6, game-winning run.
Phillies 8, Mets 6 - Phillies take over top spot in NL East
Pirates 8, Astros 2 - Paul Maholm: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 5 K, 3 BB
Brewers 4, Cardinals 3 - Brewers haven't lost since July 12
Rockies 10, Dodgers 1 - Ubaldo Jimenez: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 K, 2 BB
Diamonbacks 9, Cubs 2 - Conor Jackson: 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR


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: 6 wins
Mariners: 4 losses


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

(Homer alert!) Jed Lowrie looks like the Red Sox' SS of the future. That just about takes care of the last lineup position the Sox needed to solidify for years to come. Now, how about some relievers?

Trade rumors run wild around this time every year. For the Diamondbacks and Astros, they were more than just rumors. I'm not sure why the 'Stros even bothered, since they can't even hit off Paul Maholm... but whatever.

R.I.P. Mike Coolbaugh, the man whose death inspired the ridiculous helmet law for base coaches.

Manny being Manny once again... and some cop being a raging d-bag, too.