AL West

Houston Astros pitcher Erik Bedard had a no-hitter going in Saturday evening's game against the Seattle Mariners, but with one out in the seventh inning, manager Bo Porter decided to relieve him of his duties.

UPDATE: Saturday, July 20, at 10:17 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

With the All Star break officially underway, many of the Texas Rangers will get the opportunity to rest up after a long first half of the season. With the exception of Joe Nathan, Yu Darvish and Nelson Cruz, the entire Texas Rangers organization will use this four day break to recharge and get ready for the long haul ahead.

The 2013 MLB All-Star Game Tuesday night at Citi Field in New York has a chance to carry an interesting and historical meaning, opening the proverbial door for special opportunities in communities that need them. 

I think I'm supposed to write something like, "And so the legend of Yoenis Cespedes grows" here.

Don't look now, but Josh Hamilton and the Los Angeles Angels are kind of hot at the moment.

Actually, my bad. Please do look now, because this is something that we have to talk about.

The Angels have played 25 games since June 12. They've won 17 of those, which is a .680 winning percentage. And that's a nice number for them to look at, because their winning percentage in their previous 65 games was .415.

Top prospect Jarred Cosart made his MLB debut for the Houston Astros on Friday night, giving hope that the worst team in baseball has a bright future ahead of it.

Cosart was nearly flawless against the Tampa Bay Rays, throwing eight shutout innings and allowing just two hits and three walks while striking out two en route to his first big league win.

Houston Astros center fielder Brandon Barnes made what could possibly be the best catch of his career on Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jarred Cosart was making his MLB debut and pitching a no-hitter at the time, and Barnes kept his no-no alive.

When Manny Ramirez signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers earlier this week it didn't seem as though he could offer much help to the team as a 41-year-old.

That might not be the case.

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 draft, Mark Appel, made his professional debut on Friday for the Single-A Tri-City Valley Cats in the New York-Penn League. I attended the game and have several observations of the long-awaited arrival for the most highly touted pitcher in this year's draft.

The Oakland Athletics, which are currently tied for first with the Texas Rangers in the American League West and also have the fourth most wins in the majors, only have one All-Star representative: Bartolo Colon.