Red Sox 4, Indians 3

Moving the Needle: Jacoby Ellsbury walks off with a homer, +.461 WPA. It seemed as though they were tied all game. The Red Sox did have a 3-2 lead for a few innings, but in the seventh the Indians tied it up. They remained tied until the bottom of the ninth. With two outs Ellsbury got a hold of one and drove it out to deep center. Over the wall it went, and again he played the hero for the Sox.

Notables

Jason Kipnis: 1 for 2, 1 HR, 2 BB. He’s had a nice little start to his career: 8 for 33 with two doubles, four homers, and three walks.

Also in this issue: Twins 11, Angels 4 | Phillies 8, Rockies 6 | Astros 5, Reds 4 | Yankees 18, White Sox 7 | Brewers 10, Cardinals 5 | Tigers 5, Rangers 4 | Braves 6, Nationals 4 | Royals 6, Orioles 2 | Cubs 1, Pirates 0 | Mariners 7, A’s 4 | Padres 3, Dodgers 0 | Rays 9, Blue Jays 1 | Giants 8, Diamondbacks 1

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Marlins 4, Mets 3

Moving the Needle: Justin Turner’s errant throw costs the Mets the game, -.464 WPA. The Mets held a 3-2 lead heading into the ninth inning last night, but Jason Isringhausen ran into a bit of trouble. With one out he loaded up the bases, bringing pinch-hitter Bryan Petersen to the plate. He grounded one right to Turner at second, who, seeing that John Buck had frozen in his tracks, made a quick throw to first. Why he didn’t go to second I’m not sure, because a force double play was the only way to ensure that the runner from third didn’t score. Plus, with Buck frozen it was an easy get, so they’d at least prevent another runner from reaching scoring position, even if they didn’t turn two. But throwing to first was a folly in the first place, since it ensured the tying run would score. Turner did the Marlins one better by throwing it away, allowing the go-ahead run to score as well.

Notables

Chris Capuano: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K. It wasn’t the most pristine start, but it was almost good enough for a Mets win.

Omar Infante: 3 for 5, 2 HR. Yes, yes, that’s more homers in one game than he’d hit all season.

Also in this issue: Angels 5, Twins 1 | Phillies 5, Rockies 0 | Red Sox 3, Indians 2 | Reds 5, Astros 1 | Yankees 6, White Sox 0 | Cardinals 8, Brewers 7 | Tigers 6, Rangers 5 | Nationals 9, Braves 3 | Orioles 8, Royals 2 | Mariners 4, A’s 3 | Cubs 11, Pirates 6 | Blue Jays 3, Rays 1 | Dodger 1, Padres 0 | Diamondbacks 6, Giants 1

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Marlins 7, Mets 3

Moving the Needle: Lucas Duda ties the game with a homer in the bottom of the ninth, +.489 WPA. The Mets appeared to have a little magic last night, but it only lasted so long. They fell behind 3-0 early, but then Jason Bay put them on the board with a homer, his third of the year at home, which is as many as he had at home last year. The 3-1 score persisted until the bottom of the ninth, when Angel Pagan doubled, and then, two batter later, Duda got a cookie. He whaled it over the fence in right-center to tie the game at three. But the next inning the Marlins loaded up the bases with one out, and Mike Stanton hit a homer of his own, effectively crushing the Mets chances.

Notables

Javier Vazquez: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K. He’s given up more than three runs just once in his last nine starts. That’s the his fifth start in which he’s allowed zero or one runs, which is more than most people probably thought he’d have coming into the season.

Omar Infante: 3 for 5, 1 3B. That’s his fourth triple in his last 11 games.

Also in this issue: Indians 9, Red Sox 6 | Phillies 4, Rockies 3 | Yankees 3, White Sox 2 | Astros 4, Reds 3 | Mariners 8, A’s 4 | Brewers 6, Cardinals 2 | Nationals 5, Braves 3 | Cubs 5, Pirates 3 | Dodgers 6, Padres 2 | Diamondbacks 5, Giants 2

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Rays 10, A’s 8

Moving the Needle: Desmond Jennings singles home a pair to give the Rays a lead, +.300 WPA. Before they knew it, the Rays were down 5-0. Yet somehow Wade Davis found his groove, and retired 17 in a row. Seriously. Five runs allowed, then 17 retired in a row. Odd, odd game it was. It got oder, still, when the Rays went to town in the eighth, raking up seven runs and taking a lead. The big shot came off the bat of Jennings — though it was big in terms of significance rather than distance. (He had taken care of distance earlier, hitting a two-run homer, first of his career, the previous inning.) It was a sharp grounder through the right side, bringing home two and putting the Rays up 6-5.

Notables

David DeJesus: 1 for 4, 1 3B. He drove in three, leading the way for the A’s.

Sean Rodriguez: 1 for 3, 1 BB. He was the only one on the team, other than Jennings, to score more than once. No one on the team other than Jennings drove in more than one run.

Also in this issue: Royals 4, Red Sox 3 | Pirates 5, Braves 2 | Angels 12, Tigers 7 | Mets 10, Reds 9 | Brewers 4, Cubs 2 | Rangers 4, Twins 1 | Marlins 5, Nationals 2 | Blue Jays 8, Orioles 5 | Giants 4, Phillies 1 | Astros 5, Cardinals 3 | Padres 4, Diamondbacks 3

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Astros 4, Cardinals 2

Moving the Needle: Jose Altuve breaks the tie with a single in the ninth, +.448 WPA. The good news: Jon Jay drove in a run with a double in his first official game as Colby Rasmus’s replacement. The bad news: the Cardinals couldn’t muster more than two runs. That opened an opportunity for the Astros in the ninth. They started with a double, and with two outs they had men on first and second. Altuve grounded one right back up the middle, bringing home the first run easily. The second run came around, too, when Jay’s throw got away from cutoff man Albert Pujols. The Cards threatened in the ninth, but could not strike.

Notables

Bud Norris: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K. He hasn’t struck out more than five since the first of July.

Clint Barmes: 2 for 4, 1 2B, 1 HR. He’s the one who started the ninth with the double, making him a pretty big figure in this one (even though he got cut down before he got to third).

Also in this issue: Red Sox 12, Royals 5 | Braves 2, Pirates 1 | White Sox 2, Tigers 1 | Mets 8, Reds 2 | Angels 3, Indians 1 | Rockies 3, Dodgers 1 | Mariners 9, Yankees 2 | Brewers 2, Cubs 0 | A’s 13, Rays 4 | Marlins 7, Nationals 5 | Twins 7, Rangers 2 | Giants 2, Phillies 1 | Blue Jays 3, Orioles 0 | Diamondbacks 4, Padres 3

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Twins 9, Rangers 8

Moving the Needle: Jim Thome sets up the ninth inning comeback, +.274 WPA. After suffering a humiliating defeat on Monday, the Twins got right back on the horse Tuesday and actually took a lead in the second. But the Rangers assaulted them with five runs in the fourth. By the ninth it was 8-7 Rangers, but the Twins still had some fight. With a man on first and one out Thome hit one deep, but in the park, to left. Josh Hamilton appeared to have simply missed it. That put runners on second and third. The tying run scored when Elvis Andrus couldn’t field a bouncer in the middle of the infield, and then the go-ahead run scored on a Joe Mauer double. Joe Nathan didn’t make the save easy, but he did strike out the final two batters of the game.

Notables

Nelson Cruz: 3 for 3, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 HBP. He drove in two and scored three times on his perfect night.

Michael Cuddyer: 2 for 5, 1 2B, 1 BB. His wOBA is up over .370 now. It would seem like a good time to trade him, since the Twins could probably get a decent amount of value.

Also in this issue: Red Sox 13, Royals 9 | Braves 4, Pirates 3 | Tigers 5, White Sox 4 | Mets 8, Reds 6 | Angels 2, Indians 1 | Dodgers 3, Rockies 2 | Yankees 4, Mariners 1 | Brewers 3, Cubs 2 | A’s 6, Rays 1 | Marlins 11, Nationals 2 | Phillies 7, Giants 2 | Orioles 12, Blue Jays 4 | Cardinals 3, Astros 1 | Diamondbacks 6, Padres 1

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Indians 3, Angels 2

Moving the Needle: Bobby Abreu homers to give the Angels a lead in the eighth, +.484 WPA. The Indians’ run in the first held up through seven, but then the game got interesting. With a man on first and one out in the eighth, Vinny Pestano served Abreu a spicy meatball. He might have had only three homers coming into the game, but he knew exactly what to do with that one. Into the seats it went, giving the Angels a 2-1 lead. But in the ninth Jordan Walden blew the save, and Hisanori Takahashi, who inherited a bases loaded, one out situation, allowed the winning hit to the greenhorn Jason Kipnis, the first of his career.

Notables

Fausto Carmona: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K. It’s never great when you allow seven base runners in six innings. But Fausto spread them out and didn’t even get the help of a double play to get him out of it.

Dan Haren: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 10 K. He and Scott Downs took care of the first eight, but the Angels just couldn’t hold on for the win.

Also in this issue: Royals 3, Red Sox 1 | Pirates 3, Braves 1 | White Sox 6, Tigers 3 | Mets 4, Reds 2 | Dodgers 8, Rockies 5 | Yankees 10, Mariners 3 | Padres 5, Phillies 4 | A’s 7, Rays 5 | Cardinals 10, Astros 5 | Rangers 20, Twins 6

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Marlins 5, Mets 4

Moving the Needle: David Wright gives the Mets a lead with a homer, +.396 WPA. Down 3-2 with none on and two outs in the seventh, Carlos Beltran singled. That brought up Wright, who, after going down 0-2, worked the count full before popping one over the wall in left. The 4-3 lead would last just an inning, though, as the Marlins came back in the eighth to reclaim the lead and take the game.

Notables

Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton: both 2 for 4, 1 HR. Both of them were homers to lead off innings, too. Stanton’s shot in the second gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead, while Morrison’s shot in the eighth tied the game at four.

David Wright: 3 for 4, 1 2B, 1 HR. He’s 6 for 14 with three doubles and a homer since coming off the DL.

Also in this issue: Angels 9, Orioles 3 | Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 0 | Red Sox 12, Mariners 8 | Cubs 5, Astros 4 | White Sox 4, Indians 2 | Reds 4, Braves 3 | Rays 5, Royals 0 | Tigers 5, Twins 2 | Dodgers 3, Nationals 1 | Yankees 7, A’s 5 | Phillies 5, Padres 3 | Blue Jays 3, Rangers 0 | Pirates 4, Cardinals 3 | Giants 2, Brewers 1

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Blue Jays 7, Mariners 5

Moving the Needle: Rajai Davis breaks the tie with a two-RBI double in the eighth, +.342 WPA. Up 2-1 in the seventh, the Jays tacked on another three to take a 5-1 lead, which, against the Mariners, is as close to a lock as it gets. But they pulled off the comeback in the eighth when two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Miguel Olivo. On a 1-0 pitch he whaled one over the wall in center, tying the game in one swing. It wouldn’t last long, though. In the next half inning Davis smacked a triple into the gap, bringing home both base runners and giving the Blue Jays a 7-5 lead.

Notables

Mike McCoy: 2 for 2, 2 2B. I’m sorry, but there’s really nothing substantial to say about McCoy. Good game, though.

Jose Bautista: 1 for 3, 1 2B, 1 BB. The walk was intentional. He also picked up an RBI on a sac fly.

Also in this issue: Angels 1, Rangers 0 | Diamondbacks 4, Brewers 0 | Tigers 6, Twins 2 | Braves 9, Rockies 6 | Rays 2, Yankees 1 | Padres 5, Marlins 3 | Cardinals 6, Mets 2

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Mets 6, Cardinals 5

Moving the Needle: Angel Pagan walks off with a homer, +.430 WPA. It was a hard-fought battle for the Mets, who found themselves down 4-0 after two and a half. They halved that lead in the bottom half, though, and then tied the score with a two-run shot in the fifth. They then traded runs with the Cards in the eighth, which ultimately sent the game to extras. With one out in the 10th, Angel Pagan lifted the first pitch he saw deep into the right field seats for the game-winning run.

Notables

Carlos Beltran: 1 for 4, 1 HR, 1 BB. Pumping up that trade value again, I see. His two-run shot tied the game in the fifth.

Matt Holliday: 3 for 4, 1 2B. He drove in two and scored two

Also in this issue: Angels 9, Rangers 8 | Brewers 5, Diamondbacks 4 | Red Sox 4, Orioles 0 | Phillies 9, Cubs 1 | A’s 7, Tigers 5 | Rockies 3, Braves 2 | Royals 2, White Sox 1 | Padres 14, Marlins 3 | Twins 7, Indians 5 | Astros 3, Nationals 2 | Yankees 4, Rays 0 | Blue Jays 11, Mariners 6 | Reds 3, Pirates 1 | Dodgers 1, Giants 0

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