Today’s games:

Marlins vs. Brewers

Josh Johnson (5-2) and the Marlins finish up their series with the Brewers. Chris Capuano (0-0) makes his first start for the Brewers since having Tommy John surgery. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. in Florida.

Braves vs. Dodgers

Kris Medlen (2-1) and the Braves look to make it nine wins in a row as they begin a series with the Dodgers. Hiroki Kuroda (5-3) gets the start for the Dodgers. Game time is 10:10 p.m. in L.A.

Nationals vs. Astros

J.D. Martin (0-1) goes for his first win of the season, as he and the Nationals finish up their series with the Astros. Brian Moehler (0-2) will take the mound for the Astros. First pitch is set for 2:05 in Houston.

Mets and Phillies are both off today.

Pedro celebrates the Phillies divisional win

The Phillies rode a four run fourth inning against the Astros to take this game and the division, 10-3.  Raul Ibanez contributed a two run home run and a total of three RBI and two runs scored as the Phillies had a laugher.  Pedro Martinez only went four innings but Kyle Kendrick(3-1) worked three scoreless innings allowing just two hits for the victory.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more on the victory and congrats to them and their team on the third straight division victory.

Brian Moehler(8-12) was pretty terrible in this game, only lasting 4.1 innings but allowing six hits and seven runs including three walks in the loss.  Josh Towles had a great game, hitting two solo home runs to provide two of the three runs they received.  The series between the two teams ends today.

Chipper watches the playoffs fly away

The Florida Marlins are playing spoiler once again, as they seem to do every year, with their second consecutive win against the Braves, 5-4.  Ross Gload had a two run home run and Jorge Cantu went 3-5 with two runs scored and an RBI to lead the Marlins in this one.  Ricky Nolasco(13-9) went 7.2 innings allowing just four hits and two runs and striking out SIXTEEN batters in this one, what a gem.  Brenden Donnelly came on for the final out to get the save(2) in this one as Leo Nunez was struggling, but still got his 14th save of the season, check out FishGuts for more.

Javier Vazquez had a rare loss in a big game for the Braves.  Vazquez(15-10) went six innings and allowed eight hits and five runs (only three earned) but also struck out nine.  The Braves made a comeback bid in this one as they were down 5-0 entering the seventh.  Adam LaRoche had a two RBI single, followed by Yunel Escobar and Omar Infante RBI singles in the ninth before the Marlins put the game away, check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

Maxwell with a walkoff granny

Ah, the sought after matchup of the basement teams was won in a sweep by the Nats, with a 7-4 walk off win on Wednesday night.  Justin Maxwell came to the plate and hit a grand slam sending the Nats to a 7-4 win when they entered the inning down 4-2.  Adam Dunn had walked just before him to get them within one run and he took a KRod pitch out of the stadium.  Ron Villone(5-6) got the win with 0.2 innings pitched and you can get more at Centerfield Gate.

Francisco Rodriguez had one of the worst games a closer can take, thank god it meant nothing.  Rodriguez(3-6) blew his seventh save of the year and got two outs in the ninth while allowing three hits, five runs and two walks on 37 pitches.  Omir Santos had two RBI in this game to lead the Mets along with Carlos Beltran and Fernando Tatis, but all for naught.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Blanton with another strong game

The Philadelphia Phillies were looking to have another successful series and take two out of three games from the formerly Central division leading St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.  They ended up routing them for the second straight day, led by home runs from Utley, Howard, Rollins and Ibanez, all of the two run variety on way to a 9-2 victory.  Starter Joe Blanton(7-4) went eight innings, having yet another strong start giving up seven hits, two runs and six strike outs as Brad Lidge worked the ninth in a non save situation.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more info on the Phils.

The Cardinals once again had production from their latest trade pickups, but they will need the rest of the team to produce to be successful.  Lugo went 2-4 with a run scored, Holliday was 1-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly and Mark DeRosa was 2-4 with a solo home run for this game.  The rest of the team only had three hits and produced no runs as Todd Wellemeyer took the loss.  Wellemeyer(7-9) went 5.2 innings giving up seven runs, five earned on this day.

HanRam takes one for the team

The Florida Marlins yesterday were able to derail the best team in the National League, by taking two out of three games from the NL West leading Los Angeles Dodgers.  Hanley Ramirez finished with three RBI while going 2-4 with a run scored to lead the Marlins and even was retaliated against by Jeff Weaver for having such a game.  Chris Volstad(8-9) worked 5.1 innings giving up eight hits and four runs but that held up for the win by a final of 8-6.  In the bottom of the seventh inning, Burke Badenhop was ejected along with manager Fredi Gonzalez for retaliation for Hanley Ramirez being hit, or so the umps thought so.  Check out  FishGuts for more Marlins insight.

The Marlins were down 8-0 yesterday before fighting back with six runs between the sixth and ninth innings.  James Loney had a two RBI double and an RBI single, Russell Martin had a two home home run an RBI single by Ethier capped the scoring.  Jason Schmidt(1-1) only lasted three innings while getting tagged for five runs and five hits, but only four earned runs.

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Kotchman with a bomb

The Braves were only up 1-0 yesterday on the Brewers when entering the sixth inning yesterday but Casey Kotchman and the rest of the team wanted to put this one out of reach.  Kotchman hit a three run home run to make it 5-0 in the sixth after Matt Diaz had produced a run with a single before him.  They added five more runs in the final four innings on a McCann and Kelly Johnson home runs, a Prado Sac fly, and a bases loaded walk for Yunel Escobar.  Derek Lowe(10-7) worked six strong innings only giving up a two run home run as the Braves won 10-2 to take the series in Milwaukee.  The Braves Baseball Blog will have more info on the Braves for you.

The Brewers offense was held in check yesterday by Brave pitching except for one inning in the game.  In the sixth inning after falling behind 5-0, Corey Hart hit his 10th home run of the season to cut the lead to 5-2.  Braves relief pitching though couldn’t hold on to allow them to come back.  Braden Looper(9-5) went six innings giving up seven hits and five runs on four walks to take the loss in this one.

Livan rebounds for a good outting

After the first inning yesterday in Houston, it looked like the same old rubber game for the Mets this season.  Livan Hernandez(7-5) gave up three runs on three consecutive doubles to start the game before the Astros made some baserunning mistakes to get him out of an even bigger inning.  After that, Hernandez settled in for six more innings allowing no more runs than the initial three as the Mets came back to win 8-3.  The Mets had three triples in this game, one each from Luis Castillo, Angel Pagan and Jeremy Reed.  Sean Green worked the final out of the eighth and the ninth inning to get his first save fo the season.  The Mets now return home to face the wild card leading Colorado Rockies for four at Citi Field and hope to bring some momentum with them.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Doubles in the first by Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee and Geoff Blum after a single by Kaz Matsui provided all three runs for the Astros.  Hunter Pence followed with a single by Blum was thrown out at home for the second out by a mile, followed by Pence being caught stealing while Pudge was at bat.  Brian Moehler(7-6) worked 4.2 innings but gave up five runs on eight hits and walked two in taking the loss for the Astros.

Kearns sends fans home happy

The Washington Nationals completed their second straight series victory with a walk off victory against the San Diego Padres.  Austin Kearns with his first at bat of the game, replacing Adam Dunn hit a walk off single which scored Nyjer Morgan to give the Nats a 3-2 victory.  Josh Willingham homered in the seventh to even them with the Padres at 1 and then Adam Dunn singled home Willie Harris in the eighth inning for the lead.  John Lannan worked eight innings but got a no decision as Mike MacDougal blew his first save of the year for the Nationals.  Joe Beimel(1-5) worked two thirds of an inning and qualified for the win.  Centerfieldgate has more info for you on the Nats.

The Padres started Chad Gaudin pitched well but also got a no decision and Luke Gregerson was thankful for Kyle Banks hitting another home run, this time off Mike MacDougal to save him from a loss.  Greg Burke(2-3) took the loss as he was an out away from getting out of the rally when Kearns won the game for the Nats.

Feliz Powers Phils

The Phillies started this homestand on July 3rd with a terrible record at home, especially for a 1st place team in July of a season.  They changed that with a 9-1 homestand which was capped by a series sweep of the Pirates this weekend.  Pedro Feliz hit his 6th home run of the season and 6th grand slam of his career in the first inning, giving J.A. Happ and the Phillies pitching all the runs they would need in winning 5-2.  Happ(6-0) finished a very solid first half,  with his sixth win against zero losses while starting the year in relief and finishing the half as likely Philly’s most solid starter.  The Phillies will go into the break with a four game division lead, check out Phillies Phandom for more Philly info.

Virgil Vasquez(1-3) took the loss for the Pirates and after a solid debut for the Pirates, has lost three straight starts.

Johnson stays strong

Josh Johnson made sure to show that he is absolutely deserving of the All-Star nod he got a week ago, with another very solid start on Sunday.  Johnson(8-2) got his eighth win of the year while pitching into the seventh allowing eight hits and one run, while striking out seven batters.  He was helped by some early runs by the Marlins hitting with Cody Ross delivering a bases clearing double in the first, and the Marlins led 6-1 when he left the game and won 8-1 at the end of the day.  Florida had been only one game back of first nine days ago, but faltered slightly as the Phillies stayed hot going into the break.  Most of their team and especially relief pitching will get their much needed break this week before getting back to the grind.

Doug Davis(4-9) only lasted four innings on Sunday as he gave up five runs on three walks and seven hits and a home run for the loss.

Hawpe delivers before the ASG

The Braves took a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning yesterday in Denver, in what would turn out to be a back and forth game between the teams.  The Rockies steadily fought back scoring single runs in the second,third, fourth and eighth while sprinkling in three runs in the seventh and the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.  First time All-Star Brad Hawpe hit a double with the game tied in the ninth which scored Seth Smith to give the Rockies the 8-7 win and sending the Braves to the break on a sour note.  Huston Street(3-1) got the win in relief as he pitched a perfect ninth of the inning before the Braves won the game.  The two teams used a total of thirteen pitchers, so those pitchers are very happy to see the break come so they can rest up.

Luis Valdez(0-1) took the loss while giving up the game winning hits and runs in the ninth inning for the Braves.  Check out the Braves Baseball Blog for more on this.

Schneider ends the drought

The New York Mets did what seemed the impossible this weekend, and won a series and at the same time, winning the rubber game.  Taking two out of three from the Reds will go down as only their second series victory since the beginning of June.  Mike Pelfrey(7-4) pitched seven strong innings giving up three earned runs and leaving with a 9-3 lead, but the Mets bullpen made it interesting before giving him the win.  Sean Green and Pedro Feliciano couldn’t get out of the eighth inning with a single out before Bobby Parnell had to come in and save them, but not before allowing three runs, all charged to Sean Green.  Francisco Rodriguez worked a shaky ninth inning giving up a run, a hit and a walk before retiring the side for his 23rd save of the first half and a 9-7 Mets victory.   Check out The Real Dirty Mets blog for more Mets info.

Aaron Harang(5-9) once again could not get the win in a start, getting his ninth loss while giving up five runs in just three innings pitched.

Valverde looks funny in glasses

The Washington Nationals continue have trouble winning games, and did just that on Sunday afternoon in Houston.  Brian Moehler(6-5) shut the Nats down for 6.1 innings while allowing seven hits and two runs en route to a 5-0 Astros win.  For a while it looked like Miguel Tejada’s RBI single in the first would hold up, but Kaz Matsui gave some insurance runs in the seventh with a three run homer.  Jose Valverde worked the ninth inning with a strike out and a hit to get his eighth save this season for the ‘Stros.

Jordan Zimmermann(3-4) also worked 6.1 innings for the Nats but was charged with four of the five runs the Astros got and now has a losing record for the Nationals.  Late last night, Manny Acta was fired by the Nationals after his team’s 26-61 start to the season., read more about that and the Nationals at CenterfieldGate.