The Pennant Chase - 8/27

If the Mets miss the playoffs by one game, they can look at last night's failure with the Phillies as the difference. The Mets built up a 7-0 lead behind four RBI from Fernando Tatis, but Pedro Martinez and the shaky Mets pen couldn't hold it, and the Phillies prevailed, 8-7, in 13 innings. The win moved the Phils into first place in the NL East by a half-game.

The Red Sox win moved them to within 3.5 of the Rays in the AL East. Tampa had the unfortunate task of going up against the Blue Jays' Roy Halladay last night. The Jays ace won his 16th as red hot Vernon Wells drove in three runs to lead the Blue Jays to a 6-2 win.

The White Sox are now two full games in front of the Twins in the AL Central. Orlando Cabrera had a big night (4-5, 2 RBI, 2 runs), and Nick Swisher hit seventh home run of the month as Chicago downed the Orioles 8-3. Gavin Floyd picked up his 14th win and Carlos Quentin added his 100th RBI.

The Twins meanwhile lost a nail biter to the Mariners, 3-2. Jose Lopez's RBI single snapped a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning, and Ryan Rowland-Smith out dueled Scott Baker.

The Cubs and Brewers broke out the offense in big wins yesterday. Chicago maintained their five game lead in the NL Central with a 14-9 over the Pirates. The Cubbies put seven runs across home plate in the eighth inning to end the see-saw battle. Rookie catcher Geovany Soto hit his 20th home run and drove in a career high seven runs.

The Brewers couldn't gain any ground on the Cubs, but they did increase their wildcard lead to 4.5 games over the Mets and Cardinals, by pounding St. Louis, 12-0. Ben Sheets picked up his 12th win and Ryan Braun hit his 33rd home run of the season. He now has 67 home runs and 189 RBI in 234 big league games.

There was no movement in the NL West as Brandon Webb failed in his attempt to become the first pitcher to win 20 games this year. The Padres shelled him in a 9-2 win. Meantime, the Dodgers were done in 2-1 by the Washington Nationals, despite a complete game by Derek Lowe.

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Cliff Lee tied Brandon Webb for the major league lead in wins with his 19th as the Tribe won their ninth straight, 10-4 over the Tigers.

Were those really a bunch of complete games we saw last night? In addition to Lowe, John Lackey (11-2, 2.95) threw one in the Angels 5-1 win over the A's, Bronson Arroyo went the distance in the Reds 2-1 win over the Astros, and Texas' Kevin Millwood threw his second straight CG in beating the Royals, 2-1.

Boston had to place J.D. Drew on the DL with a herniated disk in his back, but acquired outfielder Mark Kotsay from the Braves for minor league outfielder Luis Sumoza.

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The Pennant Chase - 8/15

NL EAST

Look out, the Mets train is steam rolling along. They're now in sole possession of first place after beating the Nationals for the third straight night. Meanwhile the Phillies were swept by the Dodgers in a four game series.

Oliver Perez struck out eight in six-plus innings and Carlos Delgado continued his torrid second half with his 26th home run as the Mets rolled to a 9-3 win. After practically being left for dead through the end of June, Delgado hit .357 with 9 home runs and 24 RBI in July. He's added 3 home runs and 9 RBI in 12 games in August.

The Phillies meanwhile managed only 2 hits off of Hiroki Kuroda in seven innings. Manny finally went hitless, but Matt Kemp stepped up with his 14th home run of the season. On the bright side, the Phils got another solid outing from Brett Myers.

NL WEST

The Dodgers couldn't break their first place tie with Arizona though, as the Diamondbacks topped the Rockies 6-2. Dan Haren won his 13th game with help from home runs by two of the Chrises, Young and Burke.

The Diamondbacks sent catcher Wilkins Castillo to the Reds as part of the Adam Dunn deal.

The Dodgers reportedly put in a claim on Ronnie Belliard to keep him from going to the Diamondbacks, who are in need of a second baseman after the season-ending injury to Orlando Hudson.

NL CENTRAL

The Cubbies extended their lead over the Brewers to 4.5 games with an 11-7 win over the Braves. Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano homered to back Ted Lilly's pitching. Lilly almost incited a brawl when he hit Yuniel Escobar on the arm. There were no ejections though the benches emptied. The pitch was thought to be retribution for Soriano being thrown out the night before. Ramirez also had to leave the game with a bruised hip.

Mark Kotsay went 5-5 for Atlanta and became the second Brave, (Albert Hall was the other), to hit for the cycle.

Jake Peavy outpitched Ben Sheets as the Padres edged the Brewers 3-2. The Cardinals kept pace with a 3-0 behind Todd Wellmeyer's seven and two-third innings of 3-hit ball.

AL EAST

Tampa lost Troy Percival to the DL again, but after blowing a ninth inning lead they beat the A's 7-6 in 12 innings. Percival's leg injuries will make the Rays look elsewhere for a closer next season.

Dice-K and the Red Sox pounded the Rangers again, 10-0, after putting 9 on the board in the second inning.

AL CENTRAL

The White Sox moved a full game ahead of the idle Twins with a 9-2 pasting of the Royals. Chicago outscored KC, 22-2, in the three game series. The Chisox tied a major league record in the sixth inning when Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexi Ramirez, and Juan Uribe connected for four consecutive home runs. Hawk Harrelson must have wet his pants.

The Twins meanwhile claimed Jarrod Washburn off waivers from the Mariners in an effort to block him from going to the White Sox. The Tigers claimed Raul Ibanez from the Tigers- for what reason we have no clue. Neither team was able to work out a deal though, and both players will stay put. A really poor job by the M's in their handling of Washburn. They could have dumped his contract on the Yankees quite easily.

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Cameron, Kotsay on the Move

We breathe a sigh of relief that Mike Cameron will not be a Yankee. Earlier tonight Cameron and the Milwaukee Brewers agreed to a 1-year, $6+ million deal.

Meanwhile, Mark Kotsay is close to returning to the National League. According to a source the Braves are set to acquire the veteran outfielder for a prospect.

According to Ken Rosenthal, Kyle Lohse has backed off of his demands for a 4-year contract. K-Ros also says that the Dodgers, Phillies, and Brewers are showing interest in free agent Pedro Feliz.

The A's have signed Emil Brown, a veteran of Kansas City, to a 1 year deal. Meanwhile the Royals are taking a look at free agent Bartolo Colon. Buster Olney reported that the Mets were close to signing Colon last week, but didn't like the condition of his right arm.

As expected, Eddie Guardado signed a 1-year deal with the Rangers, while Matt Mantei grabbed a minor league deal with the Tigers.

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