Twins 2, Indians 1

Moving the Needle: Danny Valencia brings home the winning runs, +.464 WPA. The Twins had put just five runners on base in the first eight innings, and found themselves down 1-0 as they took their last chance. Chris Perez got a quick out to start the inning, but then he walked Joe Mauer. Michael Cuddyer doubled, leading the Indians to intentionally walk Jim Thome. Valencia then laced one to left, deep enough to score both Mauer and Cuddyer and win the game. Chris Perez was seen in the dugout throwing everything in sight.

Notables

Justin Masterson: 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. Apparently he threw a lot of fastballs.

Francisco Liriano: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K. This is looking an awful lot like his 2008 season. An awful lot.

Also in this issue: Rangers 7, Angels 0 | Brewers 11, Diamondbacks 3 | Orioles 6, Red Sox 2 | Phillies 4, Cubs 2 | Tigers 8, A’s 3 | Rockies 12, Braves 3 | Royals 4, White Sox 2 | Padres 4, Marlins 0 | Astros 7, Nationals 6 | Rays 3, Yankees 2 | Mets 4, Cardinals 2 | Blue Jays 6, Mariners 5 | Pirates 1, Reds 0 | Giants 5, Dodgers 3

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Yankees 5, Rays 4

Moving the Needle: Russell Martin draws a walk to bring in the go-ahead run, +.324 WPA. A.J. Burnett had nothing, and it appeared that the Rays would get to him. But after scoring four in the first two innings they failed to score the rest of the way, giving the Yankees a chance to come back, which they did in the eighth and ninth. In the eighth they rallied to load the bases and brought home two runs to tie, and in the ninth they again loaded the bases. It started with an intentional walk to Nick Swisher, but that led to earned walks by Andruw Jones and Martin to give the Yanks a lead. Mariano Rivera finished off the Rays in the ninth and gave the Yanks the victory.

Notables

Evan Longoria: 1 for 3, 1 2B, 2 BB. He drove in two in the first.

Curtis Granderson: 2 for 3, 2 BB, 2 SB. Even when he’s not homering he’s getting things done.

Also in this issue: Red Sox 15, Orioles 10 | Diamondbacks 3, Braves 0 | White Sox 5, Royals 2 | Cubs 6, Phillies 1 | Indians 5, Twins 2 | Indians 6, Twins 3 | Braves 7, Rockies 3 | Nationals 6, Astros 2 | Marlins 4, Mets 1 | Pirates 2, Reds 0 | Giants 5, Dodgers 0

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Braves 9, Nationals 8

Moving the Needle: Freddie Freeman walks off with a single, +.391 WPA. After ending the third inning at a 2-2 tie, the Braves and Nats played a hectic middle third. In the fourth the Nats scored four to take a 6-2 lead, but then in the fifth the Braves put up a five-spot to take the lead. The Nats jumped right back in the top of the sixth when Danny Espinosa knocked a two-run blast, putting them up 8-7. In the eighth Nate McLouth homered to tie it, and in the ninth the Braves rallied for the win. The decisive hit came off the bat of Freeman, whose single wrapped up a hectic victory.

Notables

Brian McCann: 1 for 4, 1 HR, 1 BB. The question of the AL’s best catcher might be up for debate, but the best catcher in the majors? Right here.

Danny Espinosa: 3 for 5, 1 3B, 1 HR. He drove in three runs. Of his 84 hits this year, 37 have gone for extra bases.

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

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Indians 5, Blue Jays 4

Moving the Needle: Travis Hafner walks off with a grand slam, +.807 WPA. I had this one all written up. It was bottom of the ninth, Indians down 4-0, and I wrote up some lousy Rajai Davis RBI single. Next thing I know there’s this long orange line on the scoreboard, and I’m busy hitting the delete key. The Indians got a single, double, and walk to start off the bottom of the ninth, chasing Frank Francisco from the game. Apparently John Farrell had seen that movie before, as most of us have, and got him out before he could completely blow the game. Luis Perez came in and got the first guy he faced, but then allowed a single to Asdrubal Cabrera before Hafner took him deep — way deep — for the game-ending grand slam. That was Hafner’s third hit of the night.

Notables

Carlos Villanueva: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K. He allowed an additional base runner via a hit by pitch, and threw a wild pitch — which just adds to the marvel that was his zero-run performance. That’s the fourth time in 36 career starts that he’s allowed zero runs in six or more innings, but the first time since 2007. He did it twice in 2006.

Jose Bautista: 1 for 4, 1 HR, 1 BB. Hey, it’s the old Joey Bats checklist.

Also in this issue: Angels 5, Mariners 1 | Braves 6, Rockies 3 | Red Sox 10, Orioles 4 | Marlins 5, Astros 0 | Twins 6, White Sox 2 | Dodgers 6, Mets 0 | Brewers 5, Reds 4 | Tigers 3, Royals 1 | Cubs 10, Nationals 9 | Rays 5, Yankees 1 | Diamondbacks 4, Cardinals 1 | Rangers 6, A’s 0 | Giants 2, Padres 1

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Reds 9, Cardinals 8

Moving the Needle: Jon Jay homers to tie the score at eight, +.443 WPA. This is easily the best WPA graph of the night, and it certainly indicates an enjoyable watch for those who enjoy slugfests. The Reds jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first before they recorded an out, which is why the chart dipped so precipitously. They then made it 8-0 in the fifth. In the sixth and seventh the Cardinals mounted their comeback, getting two in the sixth and then a huge five-run seventh. The tying run came in the bottom of the ninth, a leadoff shot by Jay. That sent the game deep into extra innings, and it ended only when the Ramon Hernandez doubled home a run in the 13th.

Notables

Jay Bruce: 2 for 5, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 BB. His homer in the first made it 5-0. It was his first hit since Saturday.

Daniel Descalso: 4 for 6, 1 2B. He was an unexpected contributor in this one, driving in two and scoring a pair himself.

Also in this issue: Tigers 5, Angels 4 | Braves 9, Rockies 1 | Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 3 | Marlins 7, Phillies 6 | Royals 4, White Sox 1 | Mets 5, Dodgers 3 | Indians 5, Yankees 3 | Brewers 3, Diamondbacks 1 | Rays 12, Twins 5 | Nationals 5, Cubs 4 | A’s 2, Mariners 0 | Astros 8, Pirates 2 | Rangers 13, Orioles 5 | Giants 6, Padres 5

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Rangers 4, Orioles 2

Moving the Needle: Josh Hamilton drives home one, and gets help bringing home another, +.403 WPA. Down 2-1 in the seventh, Hamilton came up with runners on the corners and two out. He smacked one into left to bring home the runner from third. The trail runner slid into third, but Mark Reynolds couldn’t hold onto Nolan Reimold’s throw, and it rolled all the way to the wall in foul territory beyond third. That allowed the second run to score, which gave the Rangers the go-ahead run.

Notables

Matt Wieters: 3 for 4, 1 HR. He and J.J. Hardy brought home the only Orioles runs with solo shots. Hardy’s led off the game.

Nelson Cruz: 2 for 4. His RBI put the Rangers on the board for the first time in the sixth.

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

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Indians 6, Yankees 3

Moving the Needle: Austin Kearns turns the game on its head with a three-run blast, +.527 WPA. The Indians and Yanks had been through a game like this before, where A.J. Burnett pitched well, but the Yankees couldn’t score. This time, however, they broke through first, going up 2-0 in the top of the seventh. Burnett came out for the bottom half and got two outs, but then the wheels fell off. Shelley Duncan singled home a run, and Kearns followed that with a huge homer, putting the Indians up 4-2.

Notables

Curtis Granderson: 1 for 3, 1 HR, 1 BB. His homer made it 4-3 in the eighth, but the Indians squelched that rally in the bottom half with a two-run homer.

Josh Tomlin: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K. The only three hits he allowed came in the seventh, but they were big ones.

Also in this issue: Angels 5, Tigers 1 | Braves 4, Rockies 1 | Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 7 | Phillies 1, Marlins 0 | White Sox 5, Royals 4 | Mets 5, Dodgers 2 | Diamondbacks 8, Brewers 6 | Twins 7, Rays 0 | Nationals 5, Cubs 4 | Mariners 2, A’s 1 | Pirates 5, Astros 3 | Rangers 13, Orioles 4 | Cardinals 1, Reds 0 | Padres 5, Giants 3

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You can embed videos from MLB.com, sure, but apparently that means all of the ones except, you know, the awesome ones.

Cubs 5, Giants 2

Moving the Needle: Aramis Ramirez homers to tie it in the bottom of the ninth, +.465 WPA. The Giants held a 1-0 lead from the second through the eighth, and handed the ball to Brian Wilsin with just three outs to record. He got the first one easily enough, but on a 3-1 pitch he served Ramirez a succulent cookie. Ramirez obliged by bashing it over the left field wall, tying the game. Three extra frames passed without a run, though the Giants did load up the bases with one out in the 12th. In the 13th they finally re-took the lead with a Pablo Sandoval homer, and then got the first two batters out in the bottom half. But a Jeff Baker double and Darwin Barney single re-tied it, and following an intentional walk Geovany Soto capped the comeback with a three-run shot.

Notables

Marcos Mateo: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. That’s some heavy lifting in relief of Carlos Zambrano, who left the game with lower back problems in the second.

Matt Cain: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. He’s gone at least seven and allowed zero or one run in four of his last five starts. It’s always a shame when the bullpen can’t hold a game like this.

Also in this issue: Cardinals 9, Orioles 6 | Tigers 5, Mets 2 | White Sox 6, Rockies 4 | Yankees 5, Brewers 0 | Astros 7, Rangers 0 | Marlins 5, A’s 4 | Red Sox 5, Phillies 2 | Pirates 6, Blue Jays 5

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Cubs 2, Giants 1

Moving the Needle: Aramis Ramirez walks off with a single, +.368 WPA. Neither team scored through six, but in the seventh the Cubs led off with a double and a single to record the first run. The Giants added theirs in the top of the ninth, also after a leadoff double and a single. An intentional walk and a single loaded up the bases, but a ground ball double play ended the threat. That would have been the biggest WPA swing if not for Ramirez’s walk-off single with two outs in the ninth.

Notables

Ryan Dempster: 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K. The run scored after Carlos Marmol came on in relief, though Dempster did allow the leadoff double to set up the tying run.

Tim Lincecum: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K. One of the walks was intentional. That’s seven out of 17 starts with nine or more strikeouts.

Also in this issue: Angels 1, Nationals 0 | Indians 6, Diamondbacks 2 | Cardinals 5, Orioles 1 | Mets 16, Tigers 9 | White Sox 3, Rockies 2 | Twins 1, Dodgers 0 | Rangers 3, Astros 2 | Yankees 5, Brewers 2 | Phillies 2, Red Sox 1 | Marlins 3, A’s 1 | Padres 4, Royals 1 | Braves 5, Mariners 3 | Reds 4, Rays 3 | Blue Jays 2, Pirates 1

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Rays 4, Reds 3

Moving the Needle: Johnny Damon puts the Rays ahead in the eighth with a two-RBI double, +.602 WPA. Until the bottom of the ninth, Johnny Damon had done it all for the Rays. He opened up the scoring with a solo home run, which held up until the Reds got two in the eighth. Now down 2-1, the Rays put runners on first and second for Damon, who blooped one to shallow left. Chris Heisey went for the dive, but it ricocheted off his glove, allowing both runners to score. Jay Bruce then answered with a game-tying homer to lead off the ninth, but Evan Longoria felt he had something to prove and hit his own homer, the game-winner, to lead off the bottom half.

Notables

David Price: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 12 K. He was really rolling until the eighth. The Reds got half their hits and all their runs off him that inning.

Johnny Cueto: 7.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K. A bloop double ruined everything.

Also in this issue: Angels 11, Nationals 5 | Diamondbacks 6, Indians 4 | Cardinals 6, Orioles 2 | Giants 13, Cubs 7 | Giants 6, Cubs 3 | Mets 14, Tigers 3 | Twins 6, Dodgers 4 | Rockies 3, White Sox 2 | Yankees 12, Brewers 2 | Rangers 7, Astros 3 | A’s 1, Marlins 0 | Phillies 5, Red Sox 0 | Braves 5, Mariners 4 | Padres 4, Royals 2 | Pirates 7, Blue Jays 6 |

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