Nationals vs. Tigers

The Tigers beat the Nationals in a score of 8-3.  Alex Avila doubled in 2 runs in the 2nd scoring Carlos Guillen and Brandon Inge.   In the 5th and 6th inning they tacked on 5 more runs thanks to hits by Carlos Guillen, Miguel Cabrera, and Ramon Santiago.   The Nationals scored in the 6th when Christian Guzman singled home Ian Desmond.  In the 7th they added another run from an Adam Dunn homer and again in the 8th when he singled home Christian Guzman.  Magglio Ordonez added the 8th run for the Tigers in the 8th inning when he singled home Ramon Santiago.

Jeremy Bonderman got the win pitching 7 innings giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, and 7 strikeouts.  The lose went to Luis Atilano who pitched 4.1 innings giving up 9 hits, 5 runs, with 1 strikeout.

Mets vs. Indians

The Mets beat the Marlins in a score of 8-4.  The Mets scored 3 runs in the first thanks to singles by Ike Davis, Henry Blanco, and a sac fly by Jeff Francoeur.  The Indians scored 2 runs in the 2nd and 3rd  but the Mets countered with 2 more runs in the 4th.  Travis Hafner grounded in runs from both the 5th and 7th inning.  Jose Reyes added the 8th run for the Mets when he tripled home Ruben Tejada.

R.A Dickey got the win pitching 6 innings giving up 7 hits, 3 runs, with 5 strikeouts.   Jake Westbrook  took the loss pitching 7 innings, giving up 11 hits, 5 runs, and 5 strikeouts.

Phillies vs. Yankees

The Phillies beat the Yankees in a score of 7-1.  Ryan Howard singled home Shane Victorino in the 4th to score the first run of the game.  In the 5th Shane Victorino hit a homerun with Carlos Ruiz on base.  The Yanks scored the only run of the game in the 6th when Robinson Cano singled home Mark Teixeira.  The Phillies added 4 more runs thanks to Wilson Valdez, Plácido Polanco, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez.

Kyle Kendrick got the win pitching 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 run with 3 strikeouts.  Andy Pettitte got the loss pitching 7 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs with 7 strikeouts.

Braves vs. Rays

The Braves beat the Rays in a score of 3-1.  Carlos Pena singled home Carl Crawford in the 4th to score the 1st run of the game.  Jason Heyward hit a solo shot in the 4th to tie the game.  In the 6th Troy Glaus doubled home Tim Hudon and Martin Prado.

Tim Hudson got the win pitching 7 innings giving up 4 hits, 1 run and 5 strikeouts.  James Shields got the loss pitching 6 innings giving up 5 hits, 3 runs with 2 strikeouts.  Billy Wagner got his 12th save of the season with 1 strikeout.

Marlins vs. Rangers

The Rangers beat the Marlins in a score of 6-4.  The Marlins struck 1st scoring 3 runs in the 2nd from hits by Ronnie Paulino and Chris Coghlan.  Guerrero put the Rangers on the board with a solo shot in the 4th.   The Rangers added 3 more runs in the 5th thanks to Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler and 2 more runs in the 7th when Michael Young singled home David Young and Ian Kinsler hit a sac fly to score Elvis Andrus.  The Marlins added another run in the 8th when Cody Ross doubled home Dan Uggla.

Dustin Nippert pitched 3 innings giving up 7 hits, 4 runs, and 4 strikeouts.  Alexi Ogando got the win pitching just 2.1 innings with 4 strikeouts.  Ricky Nolasco got the loss pitching 6 innings with 7 hits, 4 runs, and 4 strikeouts.  Neftali Feliz got his 18th save of the season including 1 strikeout.

Blanton outpitches Santana

Sunday afternoon, Joe Blanton pitched the Phillies to a series sweep of falling fast divisional rival New York Mets.  Blanton(5-4) pitched 7.1 shutout innings and was assisted by three double plays the only times he was in any trouble.  Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley provided the offense each with a solo home run as the Phillies only managed a total of three hits on the day and Brad Lidge got another 1-2-3 save and his 16th save of the season and 2nd of the weekend.  The Phillies will welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Philadelphia for a four game set starting tomorrow night.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more info, and check back tomorrow for the NLEC Series Preview.

The Mets are now 2-8 in their past 10 games and have even lost their last two starts by the team ace, Johan Santana(9-7).  They will look to limp into the All-Star break with a day off on Monday and then a three game set with the 1st place Dodgers, with Manny.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog to get more Mets information.

Another gem from Ricky

Ricky Nolasco must have figured something out during his brief minor league demotion, as he is the pitcher the Marlins expected now.  Ricky Nolasco(6-6) pitched eight innings with twelve strikeouts in a shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon.  The win was his fourth straight decision and the Marlins stayed hot and on the tail of the Phillies with the victory.  With Hanley Ramirez getting a day off the offense was supported by Coughlan, Uggla, Hermida and Baker each getting an RBI a piece.  The Marlins will now head to the west coast, starting with a game with the Giants tomorrow night.

Ross Ohlendorf(7-7) took the loss for the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

Olsen Delivers

Newly acquired Nyjer Morgan made an immediate impact today in Washington.  Morgan had three hits, a run scored and an RBI during a Nationals 5-3 win on Sunday in D.C.  Scott Olsen(2-4) pitched 8.2 innings, just one short of a complete game as Mike MacDougal came on for the second game in a row to get his fifth save this season.  Nick Johnson and newly named all-star Ryan Zimmerman also had RBI in the game as the last place Nats took two of three from the formerly hot Atlanta Braves.  The Nationals now travel to Colorado for a series starting tomorrow night, CenterfieldGate will have more about the Nats.

Derek Lowe(7-7) has been in a rut of late, and Sunday was no better as he only lasted into the six inning while giving up four runs on ten hits in taking another loss.  A bright spot for the Braves was that Nate McLouth looks healthy and hit a two run home run in the ninth to give the Braves some late hope.  The Braves end the weekend tied with the Mets for third and four games back of the Phillies.  They will go to Chicago for three, to find out more go to The Braves Baseball Blog.