– In what perhaps could be the AL Championship Series preview, the Los Angeles Angels topped the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Saturday. The Halos trailed 2-0 heading into the seventh, but a Vladimir Guerrero home run cut the deficit to 2-1 and then pinch hitter Erick Aybar tripled to right, scoring Torii Hunter, Garrett Anderson and Howie Kendrick to give L.A. an eventual 4-2 victory.
– With their 6-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Tampa Bay Rays sit 1.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East. The Rays hammered Jays’ ace Roy Halladay for five runs on eight hits over six innings. Matt Garza picked up his eighth win of the year, yielding no runs on two hits over 7.2 innings. It appears the All-Star Break served Tampa well.
– Pat Burrell went 3 for 5 with two dingers, two RBI and three runs scored, but the Philadelphia Phillies fell to the Florida Marlins 9-5. Marlins’ second basemen Dan Uggla hit his 24th homer of the year and Scott Olsen improved to 6-4 on the season.
– The Minnesota Twins absolutely gorilla-smacked the Texas Rangers 14-2. Joe Mauer hit his sixth dinger of the year, while Justin Morneau (15) and Delmon Young (4) each homered as well. Even though his ERA is floating north of 5.20, Livan Hernandez picked up his 10th win of the year. The Twins are now a half game out of first in the AL Central thanks to the Chicago White Sox’s 9-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
– The Chicago Cubs continue to slide in the NL Central after losing 4-1 to the Houston Astros. With their 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres, the St. Louis Cardinals are now only two games back in the division, while the Milwaukee Brewers are only three games back after topping the San Francisco Giants 8-5.
