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.