Game Recap

Baseball is a 162-game season, but not 40 games in David Ortiz appeared to be a lost cause. Despite hitting near the Mendoza Line, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona remained confident in his aging slugger, not ready to bench the player that had carried the team for so many years.

Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Alex Rodriguez’s 19th career grand slam gave New York a lead they would not relinquish in an 8-4 win over Minnesota Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

Joba Chamberlain (1-1) struck out the side in the eighth inning to earn the win. Scott Baker (4-3) suffered the loss despite striking out nine in six innings.

MIAMI-- After a start in which Oliver Perez walked seven batters in 3 1/3 innings, blaming it on cold conditions, he had abolutely no excuse for this terrible outing.

Perez, who was given a vote of confidence by Jerry Manuel and was told that he was not pitching for his spot in the rotation, gave up four home runs in 3 1/3 innings as the Mets took a 7-2 loss.

It didn't start out too terribly for Perez as he struck out two in the first inning. Although he walked the first two batters to face him in the second, he bounced back with another two strike outs to escape trouble.

Nothing is better for a struggling Houston Astros team than a trip to St. Louis? That doesn't make any sense. St. Louis is in first place in the NL Central. Houston? They aren't in first place, or second, or third or fourth. Nope, they proudly reside in fifth place, one game back of the powerful Pittsburgh Pirates.

And this is after a three game sweep of the Cardinals.  

Astros baseball! After two eight game losing streaks, a third place finish isn't impossible, just improbable! I think that would be a great slogan for the rest of the season.   

Less than a week ago Mat Latos was three outs away from his first career shutout in Houston. It did not take long for him to get another shot at it.

Latos came within one hit of a perfect game Thursday, yielding only an infield single in the sixth inning to Eli Whiteside while overshadowing Jonathan Sanchez yet again as the first-place Padres won 1-0 to complete a three-game sweep at AT&T Park.

On a windy day in Detroit, the Yankees were shut out for the second time in the past three games as Justin Verlander dominated them in a 6-0 loss on Thursday.

The Tigers ace allowed just four hits and struck out four in 6.2 scoreless innings as he outdueled CC Sabathia, who was touched up for six runs on nine hits in six frames.

New York's offense has gone silent over the past week. Outside of a six-run ninth on Wednesday, the Bombers have scored just nine runs in their last five games, losing four of them.

Justin Verlander pitched 6.2 scoreless innings, and Miguel Cabrera and Brennan Boesch homered to lead Detroit to a 6-0 triumph Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park. The Tigers won three of four from the Yankees in a series that featured three shutouts.

Miss any of Wednesday night’s action? Don’t fret. Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight is here to recap all things fantasy relevant, starting with game No. 23 on our summer-long journey.

Game No. 23 – New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers

When you have a team with this much talent, you have to wonder why they are struggling to stay above the .500 mark (the Red Sox currently have a record of 18-17) and, frankly, the only thing I have been able to come up with is that there is a pervasive sense of entitlement and unhappiness within the Red Sox clubhouse.

Miguel Olivo spoiled hometown hero Roy Halladay's first ever trip to Coors Field.

Leading off the bottom of the 10th inning, Olivo hammered a hanging curveball from Chad Durbin deep into the left field seats. The home run capped an incredible day for the catcher, who entered Wednesday mired in a 2-for-28 skid.