Wednesday's highlights
Braves' Uggla gets 25th
Were it not for a three-run homer by the Atlanta Braves' Dan Uggla and his own costly error, Chien-Ming Wang might have secured his first win since June 28, 2009, with the New York Yankees. Instead, he was the main culprit in a defeat that ended the Washington Nationals' four-game winning streak.
Uggla extended his career-best hitting streak to 25 games, Freddie Freeman had two hits and two RBIs, and Braves held on to avoid a three-game sweep.
Uggla went 2 for 4, including a homer that put the Braves up 6-0 in the fifth inning. His hitting streak is Atlanta's longest since Marquis Grissom put together a 28-game run in 1996, and it comes from a batter whose average was an anemic .173 on July 4.
Rays 9, Blue Jays 1: Robinson Chirinos hit his first major league homer and drove in four runs, James Shields pitched into the eighth inning and Tampa Bay beat visiting Toronto.
Astros 5, Reds 4: Rookie J.D. Martinez homered and hit a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning to help rookie starter Jordan Lyles pick up his first career win as Houston beat visiting Cincinnati.
Royals 6, Orioles 2: Luke Hochevar pitched neatly into the eighth inning, Billy Butler homered and drove in four runs as Kansas City beat Baltimore.
Red Sox 4, Indians 3: Jacoby Ellsbury got the winning hit for the second night in a row, homering with two outs in the ninth inning to give Boston a win over Cleveland.
Cubs 1, Pirates 0: Starlin Castro homered and Matt Garza pitched seven shutout innings to lead Chicago to a win in Pittsburgh.
Tigers 5, Rangers 4: Doug Fister pitched seven effective innings to win his Detroit debut while Alex Avila and Ryan Raburn homered as the Tigers beat Texas.
Brewers 10, Cardinals 5: Edwin Jackson allowed three home runs to Casey McGehee and gave up all 10 runs - including eight earned - as visiting St. Louis fell 4 1/2 games behind in the NL Central race.
Phillies 8, Rockies 6: Roy Halladay fought through an erratic outing for his NL-leading 14th victory, Ryan Howard drove in four runs with a homer and a double as visiting Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep.
Mariners 7, Athletics 4: At Seattle, newly acquired Charlie Furbush retired the first 13 batters in five strong innings.
Giants 8, Diamondbacks 1: Charlotte native Ryan Vogelsong won his career-best sixth straight decision, Orlando Cabrera hit a two-run double and drove in three runs, and host San Francisco increased its NL West lead to two games over Arizona.
In the news
Poker questions for A-Rod
Major League Baseball plans to interview Alex Rodriguez as it investigates allegations the New York Yankees star took part in illegal celebrity poker games.
What they're writing
Tigers give Adams rough intro
In fairness, let's say this about the Mike Adams acquisition. Cliff Lee's Rangers debut wasn't much to watch, either.
Rangers fans had to wait two days after Sunday's trade with San Diego and then more than three hours of Tuesday's game in Detroit to see Adams' first performance as a Ranger. Here's betting it's one of the worst they will see the rest of the season.
Adams entered a tie game in the eighth inning but struggled through a driving rain and gave up the go-ahead home run in a 6-5 loss to the Tigers.
Adams almost never gives up home runs. Adams almost never loses. This will not be a sign of things to come any more than Lee getting shelled for three home runs in a loss to Baltimore last July was a sign that he wouldn't help Texas come post-season.
Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News
