The Rockies acquire veteran 2B Mark Ellis from Oakland in return for P Bruce Billings and a player to be named later. Ellis became expendable with the promotion of rookie Jemile Weeks a few weeks ago.

The Phillie Phanatic, the Philadelphia Phillies’ furry green mascot, is being sued by a Pennsylvania woman who claims that she suffered an arthritis flare-up, leading to knee-replacement surgery, after the creature climbed on top of her at a minor league game in Reading, PA in 2008.

For the second night in a row, the Yankees’ bats are stymied by a Mariners hurler. One day after Cliff Lee’s complete game win, Felix Hernandez pitches a two-hitter and strikes out 11 in a 7 – 0 win. Michael Saunders hits two homers for the winners.

The Texas Rangers, leading the AL West, make a deal for veteran catcher Benjie Molina, acquiring him in a trade from the Giants for P Chris Ray. The Rangers have been winning in spite of lacking a proven backstop. In today’s game, Vladimir Guerrero’s bat does the damage, as he belts a grand slam and a solo homer among his four hits against his former teammates, the Angels, to lead Texas to a 6 – 4 victory. In his major league debut, Omar Beltre only goes 4 innings for the Rangers and Dustin Nippert picks up the win in relief – the team’s 21st this month, a franchise record. Josh Hamilton extends his hitting streak to 23 games in the contest.

Minutes before the game against the Mets in San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria tells his players at an impromptu team meeting that the club has decided to retain interim manager Edwin Rodriguez to the end of the season. Rodriguez, the first Puerto Rican manager in the major leagues, ironically is told of the decision when Florida is playing a series in Puerto Rico, five minutes away from his home.

Denard Span ties a modern major league record with 3 triples in the Twins’ 11 – 4 win over Detroit. The last player to do so was Rafael Furcal in 2002; Ken Landreaux is the only member of the Twins to have done it, in 1980. The all-time record was set by Bill Joyce with 4 triples in 1897. Span drives in 5 runs as the Twins retake first place from the Tigers, one day after losing it.

The Phillies suffer a tough blow as they place half of their starting infield – 2B Chase Utley and 3B Placido Polanco – on the disabled list. Utley suffers from a thumb injury sustained while sliding into second base, while Polanco feels discomfort in his right elbow and undergoes a cortisone injection. Both players are leading the All-Star balloting at their positions but are unlikely to play in the contest. In addition, SS Jimmy Rollins has been limited to 18 games this year because of a right calf strain.

The Cubs place Carlos Zambrano on the restricted list after the right-hander is suspended for three games for his recent dugout tirade, when he had to be separated from teammate Derrek Lee in the visitors’ dugout after surrendering four runs to the White Sox in the bottom of the first inning at U.S. Cellular Field. The excitable hurler is scheduled to be evaluated by doctors mutually selected by Major League Baseball and the players’ union.

Edwin Rodriguez, who became the first Puerto Rican manager in major league history last week, wins a game in front of his countrymen as the Marlins defeat the Mets, 10 – 3, at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the first major league game played in the stadium since the MLB-owned Montreal Expos were forced to move a number of home games there in 2003 and 2004. A crown of more than 18,000 is on hand for the historic game. With Bobby Valentine turning down an offer to manage the Marlins, Rodriguez will be confirmed as Florida’s skipper for the remainder of the season.