Also in the linked article:

Not since the Russo-Japanese war was St. Petersburg so wrought up over anything as this game of baseball. The papers were full of the grand game that is played in the United States and expressed the wish that the game be adopted in Russia.

Man, if this keeps up, we could end up with legendary ballplayers being born in Russia!

Elsewhere on July 20, 1912, the Pittsburgh Press reports that New Yorkers hope the Red Sox win the pennant (!) and this in the Pittsburgh Gazette Times:

Fifty blind women from the Pittsburgh Workshop for the Blind were enjoying a day's outing in Schenley Park. They heard the roaring of the thousands at Forbes Field when Wagner slammed that homer over the left field wall. They couldn't see, but they heard and understood and were very happy.

Today's Birthday Team features a phenom, a couple of Heinies, and three owners. Pretty good team, though the back end of the rotation is suspect.

C: Charles Johnson
1B: Mickey Stanley
2B: Alexi Casilla
3B: Heinie Mueller
SS: Otto Bluege
LF: Heinie Manush
CF: Gary Woods
RF: Tony Oliva

SP: Mike Witt
SP: Sam Weaver
SP: Stephen Strasburg
SP: Don Black
SP: Oscar Graham
RP: Mark Lee

Owners: Bob Short, Mike Ilitch, Nelson Doubleday
Manager: John Hatfield

The birthday teams are fascinating... I wonder which one would win a full season competition. For Bagwell/Thomas, did you put one at DH?

Thanks. No, I didn't. I figured most of baseball history has been played without the DH, so I wouldn't use them.

In real life, they probably would have kept Bagwell at third or moved him to left, I guess. I can't even imagine watching Frank Thomas attempt to play the outfield.

Up at THT, in honor of this weekend's upcoming HoF induction, it's Ron Santo career highlights going over the third baseman's best (and worst) games, personal highs, career milestones, most notable performance, as well as the greatest (or oddest) games he happened to appear in.

(If you're curious, I gave Barry Larkin the career highlights back in January when he was voted in.

Also, I have a historic item up at THT noting that today marks 5,000 days since the Paul Konerko-Mike Cameron trade. Ya know, it ain't that often a trade consists of two players who both have long and productive careers in front of them, but this sure qualifies as one.

Apollo 11 landed on the moon 43 years ago today. We're now farther away from the first moon landing than we were in 1969 from Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic.

Ya know, it ain't that often a trade consists of two players who both have long and productive careers in front of them, but this sure qualifies as one.

Gary Sheffield was involved in 2 of them. First in 1992 for Jose Valentin, then in 1993 for Trevor Hoffman.

Ya know, it ain't that often a trade consists of two players who both have long and productive careers in front of them, but this sure qualifies as one.

Fred McGriff was traded for a kid named Bobby Alomar back in the 1980s.

Ya know, it ain't that often a trade consists of two players who both have long and productive careers in front of them, but this sure qualifies as one.

Edinson Volquez's one-hitter yesterday suggests that another one will be added to the list.

What in the what?

Blue Jays acquired LHP J.A. Happ, RHPs Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter from the Astros in exchange for OF Ben Francisco, RHPs Francisco Cordero, Asher Wojciechowski and Joe Musgrove, LHP David Rollins and C Carlos Perez.

The most despised figure in the past 50 years of Washington baseball shares a birthday with someone on track to be one of the best-loved. What a coincidence.

Aaron Cook has 2 Ks and 2 BBs in 29 innings pitched this season.

Blue Jays acquired the guy the Phillies traded for Roy Oswalt, a relief pitcher, and a guy I've never heard of in exchange for the guy the Phillies unwisely dumped last winter, a relief pitcher, three guys I've never heard of and a crazy pitcher who retired ten years ago.

In other news, Jon Morosi reports that the Rockies are doubling down on last winter's challenge trade by sending Jeremy Guthrie to the Royals for Jonathan Sanchez. If Sanchez does not succeed they plan to trade him for Erik Bedard.

in exchange for OF Ben Francisco, RHPs Francisco Cordero...

...Sam Francisco, Francisco Goya, and Generalissimo Francisco Franco, who is still dead.

Rockies are doubling down on last winter's challenge trade by sending Jeremy Guthrie to the Royals for Jonathan Sanchez.

Trading deck chairs between two sinking ships?

in exchange for OF Ben Francisco, RHPs Francisco Cordero...

...Sam Francisco, Francisco Goya, and Generalissimo Francisco Franco, who is still dead.

...and a box of Rice-a-Roni.

Apollo 11 landed on the moon 43 years ago today. We're now farther away from the first moon landing than we were in 1969 from Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic.

But not from Alcock and Brown's flight, which was the first non-stop flight over the Atlantic.

But not from Alcock and Brown's flight, which was the first non-stop flight over the Atlantic.

Is there any other kind?

But not from Alcock and Brown's flight, which was the first non-stop flight over the Atlantic.

Is there any other kind?

Heh. Though I guess technically it could land on some small island midway through like Bermuda.

Is there any other kind?

Yes, actually. The first flight of any kind over the Atlantic was made in stages by the NC-4, a flying boat which took 19 days to travel across the Atlantic, with several stops along the way. They beat Alcock and Brown by two weeks, but because the latter was a non-stop flight, it's regarded as the greater achievement.

Game of the day (yesterday): Orioles 4, Twins 3. Minnesota's Cole DeVries gave up a pair of singles (to Jim Thome and Adam Jones) in the top of the first, but no runs. Baltimore's Wei-Yin Chen also gave up two singles (to Ben Revere and Josh Willingham); because he added a walk and a Trevor Plouffe double, the Twins scored twice to take the early lead. Chris Davis trimmed that advantage with a solo homer against DeVries in the second, and from there, the pitchers took over for a couple of innings, with Chen throwing two 1-2-3 frames and DeVries working around two singles and a walk to keep Baltimore from scoring further.

The bottom of the fourth saw Justin Morneau single to lead off, and move around to third when Ryan Doumit was hit by a pitch and Brian Dozier singled. Alexi Casilla followed with a sac fly, restoring Minnesota's lead to two runs, and the game returned temporarily to its orderly, pitching-heavy state, with DeVries and Chen combining to allow only a solitary double (by Joe Mauer) over the next two innings.

DeVries was pulled to start the seventh, having thrown 96 pitches. Facing Brien Duensing, Davis led off with a walk, and Mark Reynolds followed with a single. Ryan Flaherty advanced the runners with a bunt, putting the tying runs in scoring position. Nick Markakis followed with a grounder to third, and Plouffe's throwing error allowed Davis to score. JJ Hardy was intentionally walked to load the bases, and with the game temporarily in the balance, Jim Thome hit into a 6-3 double play to allow the Twins to escape.

Chen worked a scoreless seventh, and the O's went back to work in the eighth. Matt Wieters and Wilson Betemit drew back-to-back one-out walks from Alex Burnett. Davis grounded out against Tyler Robertson, moving both runners into scoring position and bringing Anthony Swarzak into the game. Reynolds hit his third pitch into center field for a two-run single that gave Baltimore its first lead.

It was Baltimore's turn to warm up the bullpen carousel for the bottom of the eighth. Darren O'Day walked Willingham to start the inning; Troy Patton came in and allowed a single to Morneau. Pedro Strop replaced Patton and recorded three prompt outs - a foulout to third from Plouffe, a forceout from Darin Mastroiani, and a fly ball from Dozier - to take his team's win expectancy from 46% to 84, which isn't bad for a 10-pitch outing. Neither team had a runner reach in the ninth, so the game ended at 4-3.

My commentary tank is running low at the moment. I will point out that this game gives us the quirky (though not terribly unusual) combo of the same pitcher recording a hold and a loss - Burnett put the eventual losing runs on base but left with the lead. The rules of pitching metrics are kind of weird.

in exchange for OF Ben Francisco, RHPs Francisco Cordero...
...Sam Francisco, Francisco Goya, and Generalissimo Francisco Franco, who is still dead.

...and a box of Rice-a-Roni.

One of my favorite crowd signs ever came from the 2010 NLDS (Braves-Giants) and was held up by an Atlanta fan: RICE-A-RONI SUCKS

EDIT:
Thank you, internet.

a flying boat which took 19 days to travel across the Atlantic

That's what they get for going through O'Hare.

Game of the day (yesterday): Blue Jays 6, Mariners 5 (14). Seattle scored against Brett Cecil in the first when Brendan Ryan doubled with one out, stole third, and was singled home by Dustin Ackley. Toronto struck back for two off of Michael Pinedain the bottom of the inning on a leadoff hit by Yunel Escobar and a two-run Adam Lind homer.

In the top of the second, the Mariners scored four runs. Mike Carp led off with a double, and Chone Figgins followed with a bunt single. Next up was the #9 hitter, left fielder Greg Halman. He worked a 2-0 count, then hit a go-ahead 3-run homer to left. After Ichiro flied out, Ryan also homered to left.

Coming into this game, Brendan Ryan hadn't homered in over a year (June 11, 2010 had been his last). Leaving this game, Halman hasn't homered in the year since (he hasn't played in the majors at all in 2012; he is only 24, so it's not guaranteed to be his last homer or anything). So this inning really had lightning striking twice. This is the kind of circumstance that had to arise for the 2011 Mariners to score 4 runs in an inning.

From that point, Pineda and Cecil settled in considerably, each pitching five consecutive shutout innings. Pineda allowed one hit in the third and two in the fifth, then had runners reach on an error and a walk in the sixth but escaped with the help of a double play. Cecil, meanwhile, gave up a walk and a wild pitch in the third, a hit batter and a single to start the fourth, then nothing through the seventh.

The Jays finally got to Pineda again in the bottom of the seventh. Aaron Hill led off with a double, and one out later, Corey Patterson walked behind him. Escobar doubled in one run to chase Pineda, Eric Thames followed with a sac fly, and Jose Bautista capped the rally with a game-tying single to center against Jeff Gray.

Seattle made some noise in the top of the eighth against Shawn Camp. Justin Smoak led off with a single, and was pulled for pinch runner Jack Wilson. Franklin Gutierrez bunted, and Camp threw the ball away, putting runners on first and second. Carp then hit into a double play, but Figgins walked, making it runners on the corners with two out... and then Figgins was picked off of first. Gray worked a scoreless home half of the inning, and Jon Rauch was perfect for the Jays in the ninth. Gray stayed in for the bottom of the ninth and allowed a one-out infield single to Patterson, who was then immediately caught stealing. Escobar drew a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Rajai Davis; Davis stole second and took third on a throwing error, but Thames grounded out to strand him, illustrating the hazards of using pinch runners for very good players with 2 outs in the inning.

Jason Frasor allowed singles to Ackley and Wilson in the tenth, but Miguel Olivo hit into a double play between them to keep Toronto from threatening seriously. David Pauley gave up only a two-out single to Edwin Encarnacion in the bottom of the inning. Carp led off the eleventh with a double, but catcher JP Arencibia picked him off of second, which is something you almost never see. Figgins then drew a walk, and Frasor was replaced by a pair of future Cardinals - Octavio Dotel, then Mark Rzepczynski, both of whom recorded an out to end the inning between them.

Pauley was perfect in the eleventh, and he and Rzepczynski both were in the twelfth as well. Scrabble allowed a two-out single to Carp in the thirteenth; Jamey Wright, in for Pauley at that point, allowed a bit more. Encarnacion drew a one-out walk, and pinch runner Mike McCoy stole second. Hill was intentionally passed behind him with two away before Arencibia whiffed to strand both runners.

Casey Janssen walked Ryan with two out in the fourteenth, but left him there. In the bottom of the inning, Davis singled with one out, bringing John McDonald to the plate. On the second pitch of the at bat, Davis stole second. On the fifth pitch, Davis stole third. And on the sixth, McDonald flied to center, bringing Davis home with the winning run.

Over the last 12 innings of this game, facing Brett Cecil and a decent Toronto bullpen, Seattle amassed 7 hits and 4 walks. Even in a game in which they scored 5 runs, they still demonstrated how you go about scoring less than 3.5 per game over a full season.

But that shouldn't take away from the baserunning shenanigans that were the actual highlight here. The Mariners stole one base and had two runners picked off; Toronto had two runners caught stealing but four steals, three of which were by one guy and one of which resulted in two bases thanks to a throwing error. And, of course, the basestealing largely created the winning run. So, for one day at least, hail to Rajai Davis and the concept of the pinch runner!

The Astros lineup tonight might be the most depressing lineup I've ever seen in July. Matt Downs (.195/.240/.407) is hitting 3rd against a righty. The OPS+ numbers of their starters in order: 69, 90, 72, 93, 74, 89, 78, -9.

Ryan Doherty was a decent minor league pitcher, a fringe relief prospect who actually put up pretty decent numbers in college and the pros and flashed a mid-90s fastball (normally a few mph slower) - but was most notable for his size (7-1). Now, he's a pro volleyball player.

rumor: Brett Myers dealt by HOU to the White Sox.

Game of the day (yesterday): Rays 4, Mariners 3 (14).

James Shields had a rough first inning. With one out, Ichiro tripled, and Casper Wells followed with an RBI double. John Jaso was then hit by a pitch; Jesus Montero struck out, but Kyle Seager walked to load the bases. Shields fanned Justin Smoak to limit the damage to one run. Seattle's Hisashi Iwakuma did rather better in the bottom of the inning; a Carlos Pena walk and a Ben Zobrist single put runners at second and third (Zobrist advanced when Seattle tried to get Pena at third), but Matt Joyce and Jeff Keppinger left them there.

After a rocky start, both pitchers settled down... a lot. Shields didn't allow another baserunner until the fifth, and only then on an error. He went through six without allowing an earned baserunner. Iwakuma was a bit less impressive (how could he not be?), but still only allowed two singles from the second through the fifth.

That changed promptly in the sixth when BJ Upton hit Iwakuma's second pitch for a game-tying home run. One out later, Zobrist doubled, and after Joyce whiffed, Zobrist came around to score the go-ahead run on a single by Keppinger (it's listed as a single to third on B-R, but the video shows a deflection off of Seager's glove that allowed the ball to escape into the outfield).

Having been given his first lead of the game, Shields quickly gave it back. Seager singled to lead off, and one out later, Carlos Peguero launched his first homer of the year, a bomb to right center.

Steve Delabar replaced Iwakuma to begin the bottom of the seventh. Desmond Jennings led off the inning with a double, and moved to third on a bunt by Jose Molina. Sean Rodriguez followed with a strikeout on a foul bunt, which would seem to indicate that Maddon was doing something arguably crazy; it worked out acceptably in the end, because Upton drove in Jennings with an infield single to tie the score.

Shields and Joel Peralta combined on a scoreless eighth for Tampa, and Seattle's Brandon League came in after Oliver Perez (in a shocking twist) walked the leadoff man; League recorded all three outs in the span of two plate appearances, thanks to a Brooks Conrad double play ball. Fernando Rodney and League both maintained the tie score in the ninth, and Rodney was spotless in the tenth largely thanks to a pair of foulouts. In the bottom of the tenth, League walked Upton to start the inning and was replaced by Lucas Luetge. Upton stole second and moved to third on a grounder by Pena. Zobrist was intentionally walked, and Conrad struck out to take the sac fly off the table. Josh Kinney came in to pitch, Zobrist took second on defensive indifference, Keppinger walked to load the bases, and Hideki Matsui flied out to leave them that way. Just your average inning of no runs, no hits, no errors, and three men left on.

Kyle Farnsworth worked a perfect 8-pitch eleventh, and the Rays offense went back to work against Kinney. Jennings drew a leadoff walk and stole second... and that was it, as the next three Rays all made outs and failed to advance him. JP Howell was spotless in the twelfth; Kinney, once again, wasn't, as he hit Zobrist with one out, allowed him to steal second, and walked Keppinger with two away before fanning Matsui to extend the game once more.

Howell worked another 1-2-3 frame in the thirteenth, and Tom Wilhemsen did the same for Seattle. The Mariners finally got their first baserunners of extra innings in the fourteenth, getting a one-out single from Jaso and a walk to Montero against Burke Badenhop, before Jake McGee entered and retired their last two hitters. And in the bottom of the fourteenth, the Rays picked up their first hits of the extras: a one-out single from Pena, and Zobrist's subsequent RBI double.

This is the #11 game of the year, and the Tampa side of extra innings demonstrated the way to play exciting baseball without actually getting any hits. Despite that, I'm guessing that most of you are thinking "where the heck is the 9-0 comeback win?"

The 9-0 comeback win grades out well, certainly much better than the other one we've had this year. This one is a 93rd percentile game, #89 on the year to date, and #3 on the day (it also comes in a hair behind Twins 2, Royals 1 (11)). The issue it runs into? The completion of the comeback is obviously quite exciting, and you can argue for giving it an extra push because you'd be watching it knowing the sequence of events that led up to it. But the process of building a 9-0 lead is pretty boring, at least by the standards of baseball; most of the dullest games of the year feature leads of that type. And during the first few runs of a comeback that big, the typical reaction would be, "at least we're not getting shut out," followed by "well, maybe...". But "glimmer of hope" is not exactly what I'm going for here, and that's most of what an Atlanta fan could have been expected to experience until at least the eighth.

The size of the eventual comeback is probably worth something of a subjective push; I think the bonus would probably be big enough to push it past Twins-Royals for the #2 spot on the day, but not enough to put it among the very best games of the year.

Game of the day (last year): Mets 6, Cardinals 5 (10). Facing RA Dickey, the Cardinals started the game with one of those fundamental baseball-type runs that announcers love and we make fun of sometimes. Skip Schumaker led off with a double, took third on a sac bunt by Jon Jay, and came in on Matt Holliday's fly ball. Kyle McClellan and Dickey combined to retire nine consecutive hitters starting in the bottom of the first, and then the Cardinals went back to work in the third. McClellan himself led off with a single, and Schumaker matched him. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Jay followed with a groundout to bring in a run. Holliday doubled to score Schumaker, and Lance Berkman singled to score Holliday, extending St. Louis's lead to 4-0.

New York broke through for the first time in the bottom of the third. Lucas Duda led off with a single, Josh Thole followed with an RBI double, and Dickey made the pitchers 2/2 on the day with a single to drive Thole home and cut the St. Louis lead in half. With the bottom of the order having put together three consecutive hits, the top of the order (Jose Reyes, Josh Turner, and Carlos Beltran) combined to go 0/3 for the second time in the day.

Gerald Laird led off the top of the fourth with a hit, but was erased on a double play. Daniel Murphy started the bottom of the inning with a double, but the next two hitters didn't advance him, and after Duda walked, Thole hit into a forceout to leave a pair on base. Dickey hit Schumaker to lead off the fifth, and gave up a single to Holliday, but Jay hit into a double play between them. In the bottom of the inning, Dickey led off with his second hit of the day; he was removed from the bases when Reyes hit into a force, but his hit was responsible for Beltran's plate appearance with two outs, which lasted 8 pitches and ended in a game-tying 2-run homer.

Dickey and McClellan both worked easy sixths. In the seventh, Daniel Descalso led off with a single against Dickey; Nick Punto entered as a pinch hitter and sacrificed him to second. Tim Byrdak came on in relief, and Tony Cruz hit for Schumaker and grounded out. Pedro Beato was the next reliever out of the pen, and naturally, the Cards put in another pinch hitter in response. His name? Albert Pujols. Pujols fouled out, but you have to wonder why LaRussa used two non-Albert pinch hitters early in the inning before finally putting in the big gun.

Pinch hitter Jason Pridie led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, and stole second one out later. Turner grounded out to move him to third, Beltran was intentionally walked, and Murphy grounded out to leave them at the corners. Bobby Parnell came on to pitch the eighth for New York, and gave up a leadoff hit to Holliday; he then retired the next two hitters, but Holliday moved up a base on each one (particularly interesting is the fact that he took second on Berkman's flyout). Colby Rasmus was then intentionally walked, and Laird followed that with...

... a bunt single. By the catcher. With two outs and a runner on third. To bring in the go-ahead run. How awesome is that?

Anyway, after a wild pitch put the runners on second and third, Descalso struck out to end the inning. Facing Lance Lynn, Angel Pagan led off with a single, and like Holliday, moved up a base on each of a pair of outs (unlike Holliday's case, neither of them was a flyout). Jason Motte entered to face Thole, and Thole singled anyway, driving Pagan home with the tying run.

Jason Isringhausen was perfect in the top of the ninth; Fernando Salas allowed a hit to Turner, but induced a double play from Belran to make up for it and send the game into extras. Isringhausen struck out Holliday and Berkman to start the tenth; he then walked Freese and gave up a hit to Rasmus before Laird grounded out to end the inning. Salas struck out Murphy to begin the bottom of the inning, which brought Pagan up again.

Pagan apparently wasn't satisfied with moving up one base at a time again. He ripped Salas's first pitch over the right field wall for a walkoff homer.

It's a very good game. It also beat Royals 2, White Sox 1 (11) by the slimmest of margins - this game was #83 on the year so far, that one was #84.

The Cardinals just sent seventeen men to the plate in the seventh inning. Twelve of them scored. Eight of them hit doubles - eight! Seems like that has to be the record for team doubles in one inning, right? For that matter, how many teams have even hit eight doubles in one game this year?

Edited to add: The game entered the seventh inning as a scoreless tie.

Eight of them hit doubles - eight! Seems like that has to be the record for team doubles in one inning, right?

The Cubs announcers just said that the Cardinals tied a 1936 Boston Bees record, but they did so with 7 doubles in the inning. MLB Gameday also shows 7 doubles, along with one triple and two singles (yeah, I lost count too).

The Cubs announcers just said that the Cardinals tied a 1936 Boston Bees record, but they did so with 7 doubles in the inning. MLB Gameday also shows 7 doubles, along with one triple and two singles (yeah, I lost count too).

Does appear to have been 7 and 1 triple. Fangraphs, I think, originally had the triple listed as a double. But it's equally possible that I just screwed it up.

The first flight of any kind over the Atlantic was made in stages by the NC-4, a flying boat

wait stop right there

Game of the day (yesterday): Rockies 8, Padres 6 (12). San Diego started the scoring in the bottom of the first against Jeff Francis. Chris Denorfia led off with a single, Logan Forsythe doubled him to third, and Chase Headley singled to bring both runners home. The Padres added another run in the second on a solo homer by Jesus Guzman, and meanwhile, their starter, Kip Wells (yes, the Kip Wells who hadn't been seen in MLB since 2009 until recently), was giving up one hit through his first three innings of work.

In the fourth inning, the Rockies reminded us why Wells hasn't pitched in the majors in the last two seasons. Carlos Gonzalez reached on an error with one out, Michael Cuddyer walked, and Tyler Colvin singled to load the bases. Jordan Pacheco, Ramon Hernandez, and Josh Rutledge all singled as well, bringing in four runs between them. Wells didn't record the second out until Francis came up; he ended the inning without further damage, but what had already been done was plenty, as Colorado had taken its first lead of the game.

They extended that lead in the fifth. Marco Scutaro led off with a single, but was caught stealing second. Gonzalez struck out, but Cuddyer doubled, and Colvin singled him home to drive Wells from the game. Nick Vincent entered as the new pitcher, and fared much the same as the old pitcher at first, allowing an RBI double to Pacheco before bringing the inning to a close. San Diego rallied against Francis in the bottom of the inning, with a triple by Guzman and an RBI double by Everth Cabrera. Vincent struck out; Denorfia followed by singling Cabrera home to cut the margin to one, but was also thrown out going for second on the play to empty the bases and defuse the rally.

The next four half-innings featured one baserunner each. Rutledge led off with a single in the top of the sixth, Yasmani Grandal drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, Cuddyer singled in the seventh, and Cabrera singled and stole second in the latter half of the inning. San Diego's Brad Brach broke that trend in the top of the eighth, working a 1-2-3 inning, and the Padres finally put a second runner on in the bottom half, as Carlos Quentin doubled after Matt Belisle recorded the first two outs, and Grandal singled to bring home pinch-runner Cameron Maybin. (Can anyone who saw the game speak to whether Quentin would also have scored on the play, or whether the substitution was necessary?)

Huston Street was flawless for San Diego in the top of the ninth; Belisle gave up singles to Cabrera and Alexi Amarista with one out, but pinch hitter Mark Kotsay hit into an inning-ending double play. Cuddyer led off the tenth with a single against Luke Gregerson and took second on a passed ball before being left there, while Colorado's Carlos Torres worked a spotless bottom of the inning. Gregerson again gave up a single in the eleventh, this one to Dexter Fowler. Fowler went on to steal second, but like Cuddyer before him, advanced no further. Torres extended his streak to six consecutive Padres retired in the eleventh, giving Colorado its chance in the twelfth.

Joe Thatcher recorded the first out quickly, then gave up a hit to Cuddyer. Torres, batting for himself, bunted Cuddyer to second, and Pacheco singled him home from there. Since he took second on the throw home, Pacheco was then able to score on Hernandez's single, providing his bullpen with an insurance run; it would prove unneeded, as Rafael Betancourt set the Padres down in order in the bottom of the twelfth.

I'm kind of straining for insightful commentary on this one... it was a good game, obviously. 12 innings, a game-tying rally in the eighth. It had Kip Wells in it. Michael Cuddyer and Jordan Pacheco combined to go 7/11 with a walk and 2 doubles; Cuddyer scored 3 runs, Pacheco scored 2 and drove in 4, and they had .750 WPA between them. The Padres used two players whose first names end with the letter "i," which I expect has been done before (including by the Padres themselves a few more times this year), but which doesn't seem like it probably happens a lot.

Game of the day (last year): Braves 9, Rockies 6. Colorado's Jhoulys Chacin struck out three Braves in the top of the first - is it still considered striking out the side if you give up a walk and a single? Anyway, that's what happened. Tommy Hanson struck out a pair himself, but gave up a solo homer to Carlos Gonzalez before that. After Chacin worked around a two-out walk in the second, Hanson's day got worse: Ian Stewart singled with one out, Chris Iannetta worked a walk, and Dexter Fowler tripled both runners home... and then, with Chacin at the plate, Fowler stole home to make it 4-0. (Anyone have more detail on this play? I'm always curious as to how exactly steals of home play out.)

Atlanta reduced the deficit considerably in the third. Martin Prado led off with a walk, and Jason Heyward followed with a two-run homer. One out later, the Braves loaded the bases on a Freddie Freeman single and a pair of walks, then scored again when Alex Gonzalez hit into a force at second. The Rockies put runners on second and third with two out, but couldn't score, and both pitchers worked spotless fourths.

The same could not be said in the fifth. With one out, Freeman launched a game tying home run to center. Eric Hinske then drew a walk; Brooks Conrad forced him at second, but then stole second himself, and later scored the go-ahead run on Nate McLouth's single (which came on the first pitch from reliever Matt Belisle).

The Rockies waited until the sixth to strike back. Troy Tulowktzki led off with a single, and Seth Smith tripled him home to tie the game. After Stewart struck out, Iannetta hit a sac fly to center, putting Colorado back on top. That state of affairs proved as temporary as the rest of the game's leads had been, however. Matt Reynolds entered for the seventh inning, and after recording the first out, served up a game-tying homer to Conrad. Gonzalez followed that with a double, and was promptly tripled home by McLouth. Matt Lindstrom replaced Reynolds, and Wilkin Ramirez pinch hit for Hanson; Ramirez grounded to third, and the Rockies threw home to try and get McLouth. They failed, he scored, and Ramirez reached first, from where he scored on Heyward's double after the second out.

That concluded the scoring for the day. Colorado had two hits in the seventh, but a double play in between them kept the Braves out of danger. Neither Jonny Venters nor Craig Kimbrel ever faced the tying run while working the eighth and ninth innings, and Atlanta's hitters went 1-2-3 in the top halves of the innings as well.

Still, though, that's a pretty impressive first six and a half innings. Of course, it is Coors Field.