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Stay For a Nightcap! - All-Star Rosters Edition

AL Starters
C - Alex Avila, Detroit (1)
1B - Adrian Gonzalez, Boston (4)
2B - Robinson Cano, NY Yankees (3)
3B - Alex Rodriguez, NY Yankees (14)
SS - Derek Jeter, NY Yankees (12)
OF - Jose Bautista, Toronto (2)
OF - Curtis Granderson, NY Yankees (2)
OF - Josh Hamilton, Texas (4)
DH - David Ortiz, Boston (6)

AL Pitchers
RHP - Josh Beckett, Boston (3)
RHP - Aaron Crow, Kansas City (1)
LHP - Gio Gonzalez, Oakland (1)
RHP - Felix Hernandez, Seattle (2)
RHP - Brandon League, Seattle (1)
RHP - Chris Perez, Cleveland (1)
LHP - David Price, Tampa Bay (2)
RHP - Mariano Rivera, NY Yankees (12)
RHP - James Shields, Tampa Bay (1)
RHP - Jose Valverde, Detroit (3)
RHP - Justin Verlander, Detroit (4)
RHP - Jered Weaver, LA Angels (2)
LHP - C.J. Wilson, Texas (1)

AL Reserves
3B - Adrian Beltre, Texas (2)
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland (1)
1B - Miguel Cabrera, Detroit (6)
OF - Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota (1)
OF - Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston (1)
OF - Matt Joyce, Tampa Bay (1)
2B - Howie Kendrick, LA Angels (1)
C - Russell Martin, NY Yankees (3)
OF - Carlos Quentin, Chi. White Sox (2)
C - Matt Wieters, Baltimore (1)
INF - Michael Young, Texas (7)

AL Final Vote
OF - Alex Gordon, Kansas City
OF - Adam Jones, Baltimore
1B - Paul Konerko, Chi. White Sox
C - Victor Martinez, Detroit
2B - Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay

NL Starters
C - Brian McCann, Atlanta (6)
1B - Prince Fielder, Milwaukee (3)
2B - Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee (1)
3B - Placido Polanco, Philadelphia (2)
SS - Jose Reyes, NY Mets (4)
OF - Ryan Braun, Milwaukee (4)
OF - Lance Berkman, St. Louis (6)
OF - Matt Kemp, LA Dodgers (1)

NL Pitchers
RHP - Heath Bell, San Diego (3)
RHP - Matt Cain, San Francisco (2)
RHP - Tyler Clippard, Washington (1)
LHP - Cole Hamels, Philadelphia (2)
RHP - Roy Halladay, Philadelphia (8)
RHP - Joel Hanrahan, Pittsburgh (1)
RHP - Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta (1)
LHP - Clayton Kershaw, LA Dodgers (1)
LHP - Cliff Lee, Philadelphia (3)
RHP - Tim Lincecum, San Francisco (4)
LHP - Jonny Venters, Atlanta (1)
RHP - Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco (1)
RHP - Brian Wilson, San Francisco (3)

NL Reserves
OF - Jay Bruce, Cincinnati (1)
OF - Carlos Beltran, NY Mets (6)
SS - Starlin Castro, Chi. Cubs (1)
OF - Matt Holliday, St. Louis (5)
3B - Chipper Jones, Atlanta (7)
C - Yadier Molina, St. Louis (3)
OF - Hunter Pence, Houston (2)
2B - Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati (2)
1B - Gaby Sanchez, Florida (1)
SS - Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado (2)
1B - Joey Votto, Cincinnati (2)
OF - Justin Upton, Arizona (2)

NL Final Vote
OF - Andre Ethier, LA Dodgers
1B - Todd Helton, Colorado
RHP - Ian Kennedy, Arizona
1B - Michael Morse, Washington
OF - Shane Victorino, Philadelphia

Tigers 6 - Giants 3

- Rick Porcello pitched 7 innings and allowed just 3 earned runs for his 7th win.  He was erratic all day as he hit three batters and had three wild pitches.  After the game the team fired pitching coach Rick Knapp.  Jeff Jones, the bullpen coach, will take over.  
- Ryan Vogelsong had a quality start with 6.2 innings pitched and 3 runs (2 earned) allowed.  He issued 4 walks to go with his 5 strikeouts, in the no-decision.  The righty now has a 2.13 ERA and was named to the All-Star Game roster.
- Brennan Boesch went 2-4 with a double, solo homer, and 2 runs.  He's hitting .310/.367/.507 in this, his sophomore season.
- W: Rick Porcello (7-6), L: Jeremy Affeldt (1-2), SV: Jose Valverde (20)
- HR: Brennan Boesch (12)

Blue Jays 7 - Phillies 4

- Cliff Lee got rocked for 7 runs (6 earned) on 10 hits and no walks over 7.1 innings.  He did strikeout 9 batters and was in line for the win, until he gave up 3 homers in the 8th inning.  His scoreless innings streak (34) had to come to an end sometime.
- Jo-Jo Reyes gave up 4 earned runs over 6 innings, in a no-decision.  He walked 2 batters and struck out none to bring his season K/BB to 59/30.
- Jose Bautista hit his MLB leading 27th homer of the season in a 2-4 effort.  He set a record with 7.4 million votes for the All-Star Game. 
- Eric Thames went 2-4 and also hit a homer.  Has three homers in just over a week, since coming back from the minors.
- W: Octavio Dotel (2-1), L: Cliff Lee (9-6)
- HR: Eric Thames (3), Jose Bautista (27), Edwin Encarnacion (6)
- Rajai Davis (19, 20, 21); CS: Shane Victorino (2)

Reds 7 - Indians 5

- Mike Leake tied a season high with 8 strikeouts as he pitched 6 innings and allowed 4 earned runs.  Over the past two seasons (227.2 innings) he has a 4.15 ERA. 
- Mitch Talbot got knocked around for 6 earned runs over 4 innings.  He's now 2-5 with his last win coming back in late May. He has a 33/22 K/BB ratio over 53 innings this season.
- Chris Heisey went 2-4 with a solo homer.  He's hitting .268/.324/.477, now if he could only find some consistent playing time.
- W: Mike Leake (8-4), L: Mitch Talbot (2-5), SV: Francisco Cordero (17)
- HR: Shelley Duncan (3), Chris Heisey (9), Edgar Renteria (1)
- SB: Michael Brantley (10)

Mets  3 - Yankees 2

- Freddy Garcia pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball with 6 hits allowed and no walks.  While he did only strikeout out 1 batter, for the second start in a row, he did allow just 1 extra-base hit.  How many thought he'd have a 3.13 ERA this far into the season?
- R.A. Dickey held the Yankees to just 1 run over 5 innings on 2 hits and 2 walks.  He left the game after only 85 pitches due to tightness in his left hindquarters.  He's not expected to miss his next start.
- Mariano Rivera blew his 4th save of the season after Ronny Paulino singled in Jason Bay in the 9th.  The ageless wonder has a 1.91 ERA and will be appearing in his 12th All-Star Game.
- Daniel Murphy went 3-5 with a RBI and is now batting .303/.348/.426.  After a few more starts at third base, he'll have played at least 20 games at 1B, 2B, and 3B.  Position flexibility is never a bad thing.
- W: Francisco Rodriguez (2-2), L: Luis Ayala (1-2), BSV: Mariano Rivera (4)
- SB: Curtis Granderson (15); CS: Daniel Murphy (5)

Orioles 5 - Braves 4

- Brandon Beachy pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 earned runs on 7 hits.  He struck out 6 batters and walked none to push his season K/BB ratio to 72/15 in 61.1 innings.  He's yet to pitch more than 6 innings in his three starts, since coming back from the DL.
- Zach Britton also pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 earned runs.  He gave up 6 hits and issued 3 walks to go with his 4 strikeouts.  He also hit his first career home run, a solo shot, off of Beachy.  While he's young, he needs to start pitching deeper into games, as he has only pitched past the 6th inning in 3 of his 17 starts this season.
- Nick Markakis went 5-5 with a double, RBI, and run.  The OF is now batting .296/.343/.391.  His isolated power is nearly half what it was back in '07and '08.  Where did all the power go?
- Dan Uggla took the collar yet again with an 0-4 performance at the plate.  And he only saw 9 pitches.
- W: Jim Johnson (5-1), L: Scott Proctor (1-2), SV: Kevin Gregg (15)
- HR: Mark Reynolds (18), Zach Britton (1)
- SB: Nick Markakis (7), Jordan Schafer (10)

Rays 8 - Cardinals 3

- Jeremy Hellickson allowed 3 earned runs over 7.1 innings for his 8th win.  He gave up 6 hits and 1 walk with 2 strikeouts.  While he did strikeout 9 batters in his last start, his strikeout rate has been down in general lately (5.6e K/9 in June). 
- Kyle Lohse gave up 4 earned runs over 5.1 innings for his 5th loss.  He struck out only 2 batters, but didn't walk any batters either.  His 2.97 ERA this season is some of Dave Duncan's finest work yet.
- Johnny Damon went 3-5 with a double, triple, 4 RBI, and a run.  At 37 years old, he's batting .284/.328/.435 this season.
- W: Jeremy Hellickson (8-7), L: Kyle Lohse (8-5), SV: Kyle Farnsworth (17)
- HR: Lance Berkman (22), Yadier Molina (5)

Red Sox 2 - Astros 1

- Josh Beckett struck out a season high 11 batters as he pitched 8 innings of 1-run ball.  He gave up just 5 hits with no walks in what was one of his most dominant starts of the season. 
- Jordan Lyles allowed just 1 run (unearned) over his 5 innings with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts.  The rookie has a 4.17 ERA over 41 innings and is still searching for his first MLB win.
- Mark Melancon took the loss, after he intentionally walked Adrian Gonzalez to load the bases and face Kevin Youkilis in a 1-1 tie in the 9th.  The Greek God of Walks lived up to his name as Melancon walked in the game deciding run.  The Astros are now 4-11 in interleague play.
- Chris Johnson went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts.  In the 2nd half, more Matt Downs and less CJ please.
- W: Josh Beckett (7-3), L: Mark Melancon (5-2), SV: Jonathan Papelbon (17)
- SB: Jacoby Ellsbury (26), Dustin Pedroia (16), Angel Sanchez (3)

Twins 9 - Brewers 7

- Zack Greinke struck out 9 batters, but left with a no-decision after he gave up 5 runs (4 earned) over 6 innings.  A 3-run homer to Rene Tosoni in the 4th inning did most of the damage.  Despite stellar peripheral numbers, his ERA is a robust 5.66. 
- Nick Blackburn also took a no-decision, after he gave up 6 earned runs over 4 innings.  He walked 1 batter and struck out 2, which is pretty much par for the course when it comes to Blackburn.
- Glen Perkins got the final two outs, both strikeouts, to get his first save of the season.  Matt Capps was pulled from the game, after he let two batters get on base.  It's somewhat unknown who might get the Twins next save among Capps, Perkins, and Joe Nathan.
- Michael Cuddyer, the lone All-Star representative from the Twins, went 2-4 with 2 RBI and a run.  On the season he's batting .239/.372/.478. 
- W: Phil Dumatrait (1-1), L: Kameron Loe (2-7), SV: Glen Perkins (1)
- HR: Rickie Weeks (15), Mark Kotsay (1), Jim Thome (6), Rene Tosoni (2)

Cubs 3 - White Sox 1

- Rodrigo Lopez pitched 7 shutout innings with just 2 hits and no walks for his first win of the season.  It was just his third start for the Cubs, after pitching out of the bullpen and for the Braves, before being traded.
- Gavin Floyd had a quality start with 7 innings pitched and 3 earned runs allowed.  He gave up 7 hits with just 1 walk and 8 strikeouts.  All of the damage came in the 4th innings when Starlin Castro had a RBI triple and Aramis Ramirez hit a 2-run homer.  Floyd's road ERA is now 3.60, while his home ERA is 5.21. 
- Marlon Byrd went 0-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts in his first game back from the DL (face).  And with that, the Reed Johnson/Tony Campana experiment at center is over. 
- Aramis Ramirez went yard in a 1-2 effort with 1 walk at the plate.  That's his 7th homer in a little over a week.
- W: Rodrigo Lopez (1-2), L: Gavin Floyd (6-8), SV: Carlos Marmol (17)
- HR: Aramis Ramirez (12)

Royals 16 - Rockies 8

- Jason Hammel had a rough day as he gave up 6 runs (5 earned) on 7 hits and 1 walk in 3.2 innings.  A 3-run homer to Melky Cabrera in the 3rd inning did him no favors.  He has now given up 5 homers over his last 4 starts (23 innings).  With 53 strikeouts to 39 walks in 104.1 innings this season, he's tough to trust.
- Luke Hochevar was almost as bad as he gave up 5 earned runs over 4.1 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks.  All of his damage came in the 5th inning when Car-Go hit a 3-run double and Mark Ellis hit a 2-run homer. 
- Carlos Gonzalez went 2-4 with a double, homer, 6 RBI, and 2 runs all before he left the game with a wrist injury, after he slammed into the outfield wall.  He had to be carted off and looked to be in serious pain.  The x-rays came back negative and he is said to very sore.  Hopefully his injury isn't serious.
- Eric Hosmer went 4-6 with a double, homer, 4 RBI, and a run.  The rookie is now batting .274/.319/.420, after one of his best offensive games of the season.
- W: Blake Wood (4-0), L: Jason Hammel (4-8)
- HR: Melky Cabrera (10, 11), Eric Hosmer (6), Carlos Gonzalez (13), Mark Ellis (3)
- SB: Alcides Escobar (13); CS: Jeff Francoeur (3)

A's 7 - Diamondbacks 2

- Gio Gonzalez tossed 7 innings of 1-run ball at the D-Backs with 7 strikeouts for his 8th win.  He has given up just 2 earned runs over his last 3 starts (22 innings).
- Ian Kennedy got lit up for 7 earned runs over 5.2 innings for a loss, his third.  A 5-run 6th inning where Conor Jackson and Scott Sizemore homered, inflicted most of the pain.  He walked 2 batters and struck out 6 as his ERA went up to 3.38.
- Scott Sizemore went 3-4 with a double, homer, 2 RBI, and a run.  It was his second homer as a member of the A's and first in 3 weeks.  All of the A's hitters, except Landon Powell had at least 1 hit in this game.
- W: Gio Gonzalez (8-5), L: Ian Kennedy (8-3)
- HR: Scott Sizemore (2), Conor Jackson (2)

Mariners 3 - Padres 1

- Blake Beavan made his MLB debut with 7 innings pitched and just 1 earned run for the win.  He gave up 3 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.  Don't expect big strikeout numbers from Beavan as he's more of a control guy with a 1.94 BB/9 walk rate in 93 innings at Triple-A this season.
- Mat Latos took the loss, after he gave a quality start with 6 innings pitched and 3 earned runs.  He walked 3 with 5 strikeouts.  His road ERA is now 5.09, in comparison to his home ERA which is 3.61.  In his 16 starts, he has only pitched past the 6th inning once this season.
- Ichiro Suzuki went 2-3 with a stolen base, his 21st on the season.  The 37 year old did not make the All-Star team, but is showing some great wheels with his base running this season.
- W: Blake Beavan (1-0), L: Mat Latos (5-9), SV: Brandon League (22)
- SB: Ichiro Suzuki (21); CS: Brendan Ryan (2)

Marlins 6 - Rangers 4

- C.J. Wilson held the Marlins to 2 runs (1 earned) over 7.1 innings, but came away with a no-decision.  He gave up 5 hits with just 1 walk and 9 strikeouts.  His 2nd tour of duty as a starter is going better than the first as he has a 3.02 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 125 innings.
- Javier Vazquez had another decent start with 2 earned runs allowed over 6 innings.  It could have been much worse as he gave up 2 homers with no men on base.  Over his last 4 starts (23.1 innings) he has given up 4 earned runs with a 15/3 K/BB ratio.  Who knows if this will stick, but at least he's not hurting owners.
- Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz each went 3-4 with a homer.  Beltre is hitting .271/.317/.470, while Cruz is hitting .245/.296/.545. 
- Ian Kinsler went 2-4 with 2 stolen bases to put him at 18 for the season.  A 20/20 season looks to be well within reach. 
- W: Mike Dunn (5-5), L: Mark Lowe (2-2), SV: Leo Nunez (23)
- HR: Adrian Beltre (15), Nelson Cruz (20)
- SB: Emilio Bonifacio (10), Ian Kinsler (17, 18); CS: Mike Stanton (1), Nelson Cruz (3)

Angels 3 - Dodgers 1

- Ervin Santana held the Dodgers just 1 run over 7.2 innings with 8 strikeouts for his 4th win.  He gave up 6 hits, only 1 of which did any damage - a James Loney RBI double.  His home ERA is 3.34 this season, while his road ERA is 4.76. 
- Chad Billingsley pitched a complete game with 8 innings of 3-run ball.  He gave up just 3 hits with 2 walks, but was out matched by Santana and the Angels bullpen.  His road ERA is 5.37 this season, while it's just 2.81 at home.  A career high .321 BABIP isn't helping matters.
- James Loney went 3-4 with 2 doubles and a RBI.  Two doubles is known as a powerful day at the plate for him. 
- W: Ervin Santana (4-8), L: Chad Billingsley (7-7), SV: Jordan Walden (19)
- HR: Russell Branyan (2)
- SB: Tony Gwynn Jr. (10), Rafael Furcal (3), Aaron Miles (3)

Pirates 10 - Nationals 2

- Kevin Correia improved to 11-6, after he pitched 6 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs with 6 strikeouts.  He gave up 6 hits with 1 walk as he cruised to yet another victory.  With one more win, he'll match his single season win total record of 12.  Much of his success this season is due to a walk rate (1.99 BB/9) that he has cut in half from where it was last season (3.97 BB/9).  The fact that he's 4th in run support (5.97 runs per 9 innings) among NL starters doesn't hurt either.   
- Jason Marquis got 4 outs and gave up 7 runs (6 earned) on 8 hits.  Whoa.  Talk about implosion.  He gave up 3 runs in the first, before coming back out for another 4 as his ERA ballooned to 4.11.  His ERA was nearly a half run better (3.62), before starting this game. 
- Andrew McCutchen went 3-5 with a double, 2 RBI, and 3 runs, fresh off of his All-Star Game snub.  He's hitting .294/.393/.498 and isn't even on the Final Vote ballot. 
- W: Kevin Correia (11-6), L: Jason Marquis (7-3)
- HR: Wilson Ramos (7)
- SB: Chase D'Arnaud (4)