Albert Pujols ends a brief slump with two home runs, including a 10th-inning grand slam, as the Cardinals beat the Mets, 12 – 7. The extra-inning blast comes after Mark DeRosa is plunked by Sean Green with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run; it ties Ernie Banks’s National League record of 5 slams in a season, set in 1955, and is his League-leading 36th homer of the year.

Yusmeiro Petit takes a no-hitter into the 8th inning, before combining with Leonel Rosales on a one-hitter for a 6 – 0 Diamondbacks win over Pittsburgh. The win snaps a personal seven-game losing streak for Petit and is the longest outing of his career so far.

Justin Verlander of the Tigers gives up 5 runs to the Orioles in the 1st inning, before settling down. Brian Roberts leads off the game with a home run, and four more runs score before the second out is recorded. Detroit scores three in the bottom of the inning, on doubles by Placido Polanco and Miguel Cabrera, who then homers to tie the game in the 5th. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Clete Thomas homers to deepest center field off Danys Baez to give Detroit the comeback 6 – 5 win, which extends its lead over the idle White Sox to 2 games in the AL Central.

Two days after being acquired from Cleveland, Victor Martinez makes his presence felt in the Red Sox line-up, banging out 5 hits and collecting 4 RBI in an 18 – 10 thrashing of Baltimore. For his part, Kevin Youkilis goes 10 for 12 in the BoSox three-game sweep of the Birds at Camden Yards.

Melky Cabrera completes a cycle with a ninth-inning triple during an 8-5 victory in Chicago to become the first Yankee in 14 years to accomplish the feat. Tony Fernandez had been the last Bronx Bomber to collect a single, double, triple, and a home run in the same game with his four hits against Oakland on September 3rd, 1995.

The Oakland Athletics retire Rickey Henderson’s uniform number 24, to mark his recent induction into the Hall of Fame. Rickey says that he is “very, very humbled”.

Recently-acquired Matt Holliday continues his hot hitting for the Cards, banging two solo homers in a 3 – 1 win over Houston. Holliday is hitting .606 since being acquired from Oakland on July 25th.

Rookie Andrew McCutchen homers three times and drives in 6 runs to lead the new-look Pirates to an 11 – 6 win over Washington. Pittsburgh has traded away 6 regulars over the last week and won their first two games since the deals. McCutchen is the first Pirate rookie ever to go deep three times in a contest.