Game Recap

David Ortiz became the first Boston Red Sox slugger to win the home run derby on Monday night, powering his way past Hanley Ramirez at Angel Stadium.

Ortiz put on a show for the fans from start to finish, and he outlasted his younger competition on his way to the silverware.

Read below to get a blow-by-blow account of the evening's home run derby showdown.

For the second game in a row, the Philadelphia Phillies have pulled off a 1-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. With the win, Philadelphia also capped off their first four-game series sweep of the Reds since 1975.

And for the second game in a row, it came down to great pitching and a clutch base knock by Jimmy Rollins. It wasn't quite as dramatic as an 11th inning walk-off hit, but Rollins came through in the third inning, driving in what turned out to be the winning run.

With Cliff Lee’s struggles last night against the Orioles, some have declared that Lee cannot continue his All-Star performance for the Rangers, citing all sorts of stats to back up their panic. I say it’s still too early to worry.

NEW YORK — The performance that Mike Pelfrey gave the Mets this afternoon was the exact opposite of what they were looking for.

Trying to rebound from a bad recent stretch of games, Pelfrey gave up four runs on 12 hits for the second time in his last three starts.

He scattered singles all over the field, and it took the Braves until their 10th hit to record a run. He walked the first man to face him to start the game, but Martin Prado was left stranded.

NEW YORK— This had the makings of a big series between two teams atop the NL East. The Braves facing the Mets at Citi Field, having been swept there in late April.

The Braves got the upper hand in the weekend series, widening their NL East lead over the Mets to four games, in a 4-2 win.

Jerry Manuel decided to bat Jose Reyes second in the lineup, since he could only bat right-handed, going with the switch-hitter Angel Pagan in the leadoff spot.

Reyes has been battling a sore left oblique, and that may have led to his big first-inning error.

After a miserable June, A.J. Burnett has apparently returned to form.

Burnett limited Oakland to two runs over seven innings as New York topped Oakland, 6-2, Wednesday night at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

NEW YORK-- It has been pretty evident that the Mets have not given Johan Santana any run support this season. Knowing that, Santana promptly parked a home run off the right field foul pole in the third inning, his first career home run, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead off Reds starter Matt Maloney.

Aaron Harang, who was scratched from his Monday night start due to back problems, was placed on the disabled list before tonight's game. With the lefty Maloney starting, shortstop Jose Reyes was inserted back in the lineup, as he can only bat from the right side with his sore oblique.

Hopefully, after tonight, Johan Santana likes the National League a little bit more. While he has not found nearly as much success in the NL as he had in the AL with the Minnesota Twins, Johan tonight realized that the easiest way to win is to do it all yourself.

Santana provided the hitting and the pitching, en route to a Mets 3-0 win over the Reds.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden is famous for being protective of his pile of dirt. Especially if you trot over it on your way off the field.

Javier Vazquez entered Monday’s game as the only Yankees starter with a losing record. Not only did he improve his record to the .500 mark, but he also won for the first time in more than three weeks.

Vazquez limited Oakland to one run over seven innings as New York topped Oakland, 3-1, Monday night at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.