Adam Lind helped power the Toronto Blue Jays to a big early lead with his first career grand slam. He then put the game finally out of reach after Texas cut an 11-run deficit to one. Lind finished with a career-high eight RBIs after adding a solo homer and three-run double in a seven-run ninth for Toronto in a wild 18-10 over the slipping Rangers on Monday night.
Carlos Lee has a simple reason for putting up big numbers at Wrigley Field. "I just think that I see the ball real good here," Lee said. If you take a ballpark that you see the ball real good, for me it's here. I hit a lot here — I got places I don't see the ball good and it's the other way around.
Six innings in, Chipper Jones and the Braves didn't feel too good about their chances against the Marlins. Then they figured out Josh Johnson. Omar Infante hit a two-run triple in the seventh and Kenshin Kawakami pitched six effective innings to carry the Atlanta Braves past the Florida Marlins on Monday night, 5-2 in a matchup between NL wild-card contenders.
After an error ruined Andy Pettitte's bid for perfection, the left-hander's effort to console his dejected teammate was absolutely flawless. Pettitte retired his first 20 batters before a lamentable seventh-inning sequence spoiled both his perfect game and no-hit bid, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 Monday night.
Brandon Phillips hit one homer and had another overturned after a review Monday night, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 to complete a doubleheader sweep that drew the two smallest crowds in Great American Ball Park's history. Phillips had three hits off left-hander Paul Maholm (7-8), including a solo homer.
Brad Penny and the Giants agreed to a minor league contract Monday night, adding another proven arm to San Francisco's strong rotation for the stretch run. Penny cleared waivers after he was released by Boston last week. Because he reached a deal with San Francisco by Aug. 31, he is eligible for postseason play with the Giants.
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal and his wife have been forced to evacuate their home in an area of La Canada Flintridge threatened by the massive Station Fire. Furcal was not in the lineup for Monday's night game against Arizona, having been given the day off. "That's a lot of baggage that doesn't include what you're doing here," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said,…
Royals owner David Glass gave general manager Dayton Moore a vote of confidence two weeks ago despite one of the team's worst seasons in years. Apparently, he meant it. Kansas City extended Moore's contract through the 2014 season on Monday, tacking on three more years after he exercised an option for 2011.
A pair of grand slams provided bookends to a crazy week in a crazy season for the San Francisco Giants. All seemed lost following a heartbreaking, 14-inning defeat to the Rockies in Denver on Aug. 24, when Ryan Spilborghs' game-ending slam lifted Colorado to a 6-4 victory after the Giants scored three runs in the top of the inning.
Carlos Pena and the Tampa Bay Rays headed into September on a high note. Next up, a key series against the Boston Red Sox. Pena hit his AL-best 38th homer and drove in four runs to help the Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 11-7 on Monday for a split of their four-game series. Tampa Bay scored six times in the first inning against the AL Central leaders, capped by Pena's two-run drive.
