– The Chicago Cubs couldn’t have pictured a worse start to the second half, dropping four of their last five games. Their latest defeat – a 9-2 drubbing at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks – allowed the Milwaukee Brewers to inch just one game out of first in the NL Central. All of a sudden the Cubs’ potent lineup has disappeared. Outside of a 9-0 win against Houston, the Cubs are averaging just one run a game.
– The Brewers are officially the hottest team in baseball, winners of six in a row after Bill Hall homered in the top of the ninth to give Milwaukee a 4-3 win over division rival St. Louis. The Brewers are now 7-3 in their last 10 games and sit just one game out of first in the NL Central.
– If the Brewers are the hottest team in baseball, the New York Yankees are by far the hottest team in the AL. With an 8-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, the Yankees have won five in a row and have cut the deficit in the AL East down to 3.5 games. Bobby Abreu hit his 11th homer of the year and although he didn’t pick up the win, Darrell Rasner (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 K) kept the game close until NY’s lineup produce three runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh to top the Twins.
– Dice-K improved to 11-1 on the season after pitching 7.1 strong innings in Boston’s 4-2 win over the Mariners. He fanned six and gave up just two runs on five hits while J.D. Drew continued his masterful season, homering in the first and driving in Jacoby Ellsbury on a sac fly in the fifth. The BoSox remain just a half game out of first in the AL East after the Rays lost to the A’s 8-1.
– The Florida Marlins are officially making a push in the NL East after shutting out the Atlanta Braves 4-0. Youngster Rick YanderHurk threw a one-hitter threw five innings and he also struck out seven in picking up his first win of the year. The Marlins and Mets trail the Phillies by only one game in the division.
