Today In Major League Baseball- July 10, 2014

Today in Major League Baseball, the Washington Nationals moved a game in front of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East after they beat the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards 6-2 and the Braves dropped their fourth in a row in New York against the Mets. Right-hander Doug Fister won his club leading eighth game while right fielder Jayson Werth went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI's. Today, the Nationals go for the Beltway Series win with lefty Gio Gonzalez (6-4, 3.52) on the mound looking to extend his 22 consecutive scoreless innings streak. The Orioles will counter with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (8-3, 4.12) who held the Texas Rangers to two-runs over six-innings in his last start. Baltimore leads the AL East by 2 1/2 games over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The San Francisco Giants picked up their first win of the Bay Bridge Series with the Oakland Athletics and pulled back into a first place tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants provided starter Matt Cain (2-7, 4.18) with rare run support while right fielder Hunter Pence went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI's in the Giants 5-2 win. Right-hander Jason Hammel (8-6, 3.01) in his Athletics debut gave up three runs, two earned, in five innings of work. Today, right-hander Tim Hudson (7-5, 2.53) gets the start for the Giants against left-hander Scott Kazmir (10-3, 2.53). Hudson has been a good-luck charm for the Giants this year as they are 11-5 in his starts, including 7-2 at AT&T Park. Kazmir has been pitching at the top of his game this season with a 10-3 mark. He held the Blue Jays to a run on three hits over seven innings in his last start.

The Detroit Tigers swept their brief two-game interleague series at home against the Dodgers to maintain their 4 1/2 game lead over the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. Right-hander Max Scherzer (11-3, 3.35) went seven innings, giving up just a run on four hits while striking out seven in the Tigers 4-1 win. Tigers first baseman Don Kelly went 2-for-3 with an RBI. The Dodgers were swept in a series for the first time this year. Left-hander Zack Grienke (11-5, 2.73) failed to tie New York Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka for the major league lead in wins with 12.

The Tigers head to Kansas City to face the Royals in a four-game AL Central showdown that will determine who will have the momentum when the second-half begins. Left-hander Drew Smyly (4-8, 3.89) of the Tigers will face the Royals right-hander Jeremy Guthrie (5-7, 4.10). Both starters are coming off subpar performances in their last outings.

The Dodgers return home to Dodgers Stadium for a four-game divisional series against the San Diego Padres. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw (10-2, 1.85) will put his 36-inning scoreless streak on the line while the Padres will oppose him with right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne (2-0, 0.92).

The Milwaukee Brewers find themselves in a four-game losing streak after falling to the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1. The Brewers are in an offensive power outage and Wednesday was no better as they managed just one run on three hits. The Brewers have dropped eight of nine and their once commanding lead of 6 1/2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals just a week ago has evaporated to just two games. The Brewers will send right-hander Matt Garza (6-5,3.78) to the mound in hopes of keeping the Phillies from sweeping the four-game series. The Phillies will counter with rookie right-hander David Buchanan (4-5, 4.82). The Brewers have an important three-game series against the Cardinals on Friday before the All-Star break.

Masahiro Tanaka (12-4, 2.51 ERA) was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation. The Yankees have declined to go into details about the extent of the problem but concerns linger about possible Tommy John Surgery in the future. An MRI is pending for Tanaka. The Yankees have been hit hard with injuries to their pitching staff this season but still remain in the playoff chase.

The NL has their first 12 game winner as Cincinnati Reds right-hander Alfredo Simon got the win in the Reds 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Simon gave up just a run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. The Reds have won five in a row to move to within 2 1/2 games of the Brewers in the NL Central race.

The Texas Rangers have fallen into last place in the AL West following their 8-4 loss to division rival Houston Astros, who leapfrog the Rangers by percentage point. The Astros swept the Rangers, who are now 1-9 in their last 10 and have lost four straight. This is the first time since the Astros joined the American League two years ago that they are not in last place past April.

All-Star Game Final Vote: Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday that first baseman Justin Morneau of the Colorado Rockies and LHP Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox continue to lead the All-Star Game's Final Vote. The deadline for balloting is today at 4 pm EDT. Click here to vote now.

Other news around the MLB: Boston Red Sox have designated A.J. Pierzynski for assignment; Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels hits his 512th career home run; Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon has said he would welcome a trade to a contender. Chris Sale has moved into the lead in the AL with 2.08 ERA.

This Day In Baseball History:

1932: Penny-pinching Philadelphia Athletics' owner and manager Connie Mack decides to take just two pitchers to a one-game series in Cleveland so he could save money on train fare. The plan backfires right of the bat as Athletics starter Lew Krausse gives up four hits in the first and is immediately replaced by reliever Eddie Rommel. Rommel ends up pitching 17 innings that day, giving up a record 29 hits but gets the extra-innings win in the 18-7 Athletics victory over the Indians. Indians infielder Johnny Burnett collects a major league record nine hits in 11 at-bats. Athletics first baseman Jimmie Foxx gets six hits, including three homers for a record-tying 16 total bases.

1934: Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants strikes out five future Hall of Famers in a row in the All-Star Game. Hubbell mows down Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jimmie Fox in the first inning. He follows that with strikeouts of Al Simmons and Joe Cronin to begin the second.

1936: Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Chuck Klein hits four homers in five at-bats during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. Kleins final at-bat in the 10th inning results in a home run that beats the Pirates 8-6.

1945: The All-Star Game scheduled to be played at Fenway Park is canceled due to travel restrictions because of WWII.

1964: San Francisco Giants outfielder Jesus Alou gets six hits off of six different Chicago Cubs pitchers in the Giants 10-3 victory

1968: The National League announces a major change in alignment as they will break into two divisions beginning in 1969. The NL East will contain the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. The NL West will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, and Atlanta Braves.

1982: Larry Parrish of the Texas Rangers hits a record-tying third grand slam of the week in the Rangers 6-5 win over the Detroit Tigers. Parrish tied the record set by Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers in 1968.

1984: NL. pitchers Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets combine to strikeout six consecutive batters, an All-Star record. Valenzuela strikes out Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees, Reggie Jackson of the California Angels, and George Brett of the Kansas City Royals in the fourth innings. Gooden fans Lance Parrish and Chet Lemon of the Detroit Tigers and Alvin Davis of the Seattle Mariners in the fifth inning. Gooden at the age of 19 is the youngest All-Star in history.

Baseball Birthdays

1945- Hal McRae

1954- Andre Dawson