What's up Big Perm?... I mean Big Worm.

I'm filling for Carson, who is traveling.  I'm sure you've had your fill of me this week...

Boom, Outta Here:

Torii Hunter got tossed Friday night for arguing balls and strikes.  He got his money's worth though, as he threw a bag of balls on to the field.  Unfortunately, he'll probably be getting a little note from the league office because it looked like he might have bumped into home plate umpire Ron Kulpa.  Hunter has been hot lately, with 11 hits in the month of August and homers in back-to-back games. 

Notables:
 
- Matt LaPorta played hero Friday night for the Indians.  He hit a walk-off shot in the bottom of the 9th, after Chris Perez blew a 2-run lead in the top of the inning.  It was LaPorta's first homer since July 5th.
- Clay Buchholz collected win number 12, after he pitched 7.1 innings of 3-run ball against the Yankees.  Buchholz struck out 4 and walked none, but did give up 9 hits.  The Red Sox are now 5 games back of the Yankees for the AL East crown.
- John Danks & Brad Bergesen engaged in a pitchers duel that left both with a no-decision.  Each pitched 7 innings, allowed 1 earned run, and struck out 5 batters.  It was Danks first no-decision since May 1st.  Bergesen hasn't won a game since May 12th.  The White Sox lost the game, but remain 1.5 games up on the Twins.  Buck Showalter is now 4-0 as the manager of the Orioles.
 - Jered Weaver pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball against the Tigers, in a win.  Weaver struck out 9, walked 4, and scattered 3 hits.  Weaver leads MLB in strikeouts with 171.
- Brennan Boesch awoke from his post All-Star break slumber (.100 batting average) to go 2-4 with 1 home run.  It was his second extra-base hit since the mid-Summer classic.
- Matt Garza pitched 8 innings with 0 earned runs, but took a loss after he and Sean Rodriguez committed costly throwing errors.  Garza struck out 4, walked none, and gave up only 4 hits, but again the defense was the story here.  This is the Rays third straight loss and they're now a half a game back of the Yankees in the division.
- Brett Cecil improved to 9-5, after he pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball opposite Garza.  Cecil, who struck out 9 and walked 2, lowered his ERA to 3.62.  It was his first win since July 8th.
- Cliff Lee did what Cliff Lee does... pitch 8 innings with 1 earned run, 8 strikeouts, and 0 walks.  The win, his 10th, helped keep the Rangers 8.5 games ahead of the A's.  Lee has now pitched at least 8 innings in each of his last 10 starts.  His K/BB ratio is now an absurd 126/9.
-  Luke French allowed 1 earned run over 8 innings against the Royals.  He struck out 4, walked none, and allowed 9 hits, in what was his first win of the season. 
- Bronson Arroyo pitched 7 innings of shutout ball against the Cubs.  He struck out 7 and walked 1, in the win.  The Reds maintain a half game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central.
- Carlos Gonzalez, you can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him.  Friday night he went 3-4 with a homer (his 24th), 2 RBI, 2 runs, and a stolen bases (his 16th).  He now has 7 homers and 12 RBI, over his last 9 games.
- Adam Wainwright pitched a complete game shutout against the Marlins.  He struck out 7, walked 3, and allowed only 2 hits.  Wainwright is now 16-6 with a 2.07 ERA. 
- Barry Zito & Tommy Hanson went toe-to-toe, for 7 innings, in a pitcher's duel.  Zito struck out 10, walked 2, and allowed 2 earned runs, while Hanson struck out 3, walked 2, and allowed 1 earned run.  Both remain stuck on 8 wins. 
- Carlos Ruiz was one of the 11 Phillies hitters that batted in the 8th inning against the Mets.  Ruiz, who went 2-4 with 1 RBI, now has 3 HR and 14 RBI in his last 15 games.  The Phillies are now 1 game back of the Braves in the NL East and 1.5 games back in the NL wild card race. 
- Wandy Rodriguez took a no-decision after he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed 1 earned run against the Brewers.  He struck out 7, walked none, and was in line for the win, before Matt Lindstrom came in with a gang of fail.  Over his last 8 starts (53.1 innings), Wandy is 6-1 with a 1.85 ERA.
- Dan Hudson won his debut in Chase Field for the Diamondbacks.  He pitched 7.2 innings of 1-run ball with 4 strikeouts, 2 walks, and only 3 hits against the Padres.  Hudson, who is a fly ball pitcher, induced 11 fly balls, 8 ground balls, and 2 line drives.
- Adam LaRoche is dare I say, en fuego.  Friday night he went 2-4 and hit his 18th home run of the season.  He's now batting .325 since the All-Star break with 5 homers and 17 RBI.  LaRoche is a .301/.363/.546 post All-Star break career hitter.
- Adam Dunn is country strong, I do declare, I do declare!  The 6'6" 287 lb. Texan blasted his 29th and 30th homers of the season, both 3-run Jimmy Jacks.  Dunn is now batting .280 with 77 RBI.

Save Chances:

- Brian Wilson, converted (32).  Struck out 1 in a scoreless 11th.  The Giants remain 1.5 games up in the wild card race.
- Francisco Cordero, converted (30).  Struck out 2 and walked 2 in a scoreless 9th.
- Jonathan Papelbon, converted (27).  Walked 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Kevin Gregg, converted (25).  Struck out 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Brian Fuentes, converted (21).  Struck out 2 and walked 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Brad Lidge, converted (13).  Got the final batter of the game out on a strikeout. 
- Huston Street, converted (7).  Struck out 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Aaron Heilman, converted (5).  Struck out 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Drew Storen, converted (1).  Walked 1 in a scoreless 9th. 
- Billy Wagner, blown (6).  He walked 1, but that 1 runner came around to score after Larry Jones misplayed a grounder to third. 
- Matt Lindstrom, blown (5).  This one was fuuuuuuugly.  Lindstrom gave up 4 earned runs on 2 walks and 3 hits, yet only got 1 out. 
- Chris Perez, blown (4), win.  He received a vulture win after he blew the save (2 earned runs, 1 inning), thanks to Matt LaPorta's walk-off shot.

Other Closer Outings:

- Alfredo Simon collected a win, after he pitched 2 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts.
- Joel Hanrahan got 2 outs and allowed 2 earned runs.

Non-Closer Outings:

- Jon Rauch struck out 1 in a scoreless 7th.
- Daniel Bard got 2 clean outs.
- Kerry Wood pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with 1 strikeout.
- Koji Uehara struck out 2 in a scoreless 8th.
- Fernando Rodney gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 8th.
- Ryan Perry pitched 2 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts.
- Shawn Camp pitched a clean 8th.
- Frank Francisco struck out 1 in a scorless 9th.
- Arthur Rhodes pitched a clean 8th.
- Matt Belisle pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with 1 strikeout.
- Evan Meek struck out 1 in a scoreless 8th.
- Burke Badenhop, Taylor Tankersley, & Brian Sanches (the Marlins bullpen) pitched 4 scoreless innings.
- Chris Ray, Sergio Romo, & Javier Lopez (the Giants bullpen) pitched 3 scoreless innings.
- Jonny Venters struck out 1 in a scoreless 8th.
- Brandon Lyon walked 1 in a scoreless 8th.
- Sean Burnett pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with 1 strikeout. 

Tough Days:

- Francisco Liriano only lasted 4.2 innings against the Indians.  He gave up 4 earned runs on 6 walks and 7 hits. 
- Zack Greinke allowed 6 earned runs over 7 innings against the Mariners.  He walked 2 and gave up 10 hits.
- Ricky Nolasco pitched 5 innings and gave up 7 earned runs on 10 hits and 1 walk.  Hey, at least he struck out 6 Cardinals batters.
- Lance Berkman went 0-4 and is now 2-19 as a Yankee.
- Jacoby Ellsbury went 0-4 and is now 0-12 since coming off the DL.
- Carlos Beltran went 0-4 and is batting .203 since coming off the DL.
- Justin Maxwell went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts for the Golden Sombrero.

Lineup-ology/Injuries:

- Nyjer Morgan (sore right hip), Carlos Pena (plantar fasciitis in right foot), Carlos Gomez (concussion), Jesse Litsch (right hip labral tear), & Hideki Okajima (right hamstring strain) were all placed on the DL.
- J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays), Kevin Mench (Nationals), Felix Doubront (Red Sox), Michael Brantley (Indians), Brad Mills (Blue Jays), Dale Thayer (Rays), & Lorenzo Cain (Brewers) were all called up/recalled. 
- Kila Kaaihue (aka Ghosface Killah) & Billy Butler will reportedly share first base & DH at-bats for the remainder of the season.
- Ben Zobrist played 1B for the Carlos Pena-less Rays.  Willy Aybar hit out of the DH spot, while Gabe Kapler played LF. 
- Mike Sweeney started at 1B for the Phillies.  The team traded for him recently and he should see decent time there until Ryan Howard is back.  Sweeney went 2-4 with 1 RBI and 1 run. 
- Troy Glaus was back at 1B for the Braves, after he got a few days off to clear his head.  He went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts.  If you're still holding on to him, stop.

Home Runs:

- Adam Dunn (29 & 30), Albert Pujols (28), Carlos Gonzalez (24), Josh Hamilton (24), Mark Teixeira (24), David Ortiz (24), Alex Gonzalez (20), Torii Hunter (18), Adam LaRoche (18), Andre Ethier (18), Jason Kubel (14), Brennan Boesch (13), Will Venable (10), Chipper Jones (10), Pedro Alvarez (9), Gordon Beckham (6), Matt LaPorta (6), Ryan Langerhans (3), Ryan Hanigan (3), Taylor Teagarden (2), Ryan Kalish (1), Mike Hessman (1), & Joe Inglett (1).

Stolen Bases:

- Michael Bourn (34 & 35), Chone Figgins (29), Andres Torres (20 & 21), Carlos Gonzalez (16), Jose Tabata (11), Ian Desmond (10), Ronny Cedeno (10), Alexei Ramirez (7), Felipe Lopez (6), Jeff Keppinger (4), & Justin Maxwell (4).

Caught Stealing:

- Bobby Abreu (9), Gordon Beckham (5), Kosuke Fukudome (5), Nate Schierholtz (5), Maicer Izturis (2), & Rusty Ryal (2).