The Red Sox just cannot stay healthy this season. Today, OF Mike Cameron decides to have surgery on a torn abdominal muscle which has limited him to 48 games, and he will not play again this season. Fellow OF Jacoby Ellsbury, who has played only 18 games because of broken ribs, goes back on the disabled list for the third time, the victim of another cracked rib expected to keep him out 4 to 6 weeks. Still, Boston manages to hang on to the fringes of the wild card race, beating the Angels, 7 – 5, thanks to a leaping 8th-inning catch by Daniel Nava, just called up to replace Ellsbury; Nava also drives in the winning run with a bases-loaded hit by pitch. Jonathan Papelbon picks up his 30th save, becoming the first pitcher to reach that total in each of his first five full seasons in the majors.

The Braves acquire 1B Derrek Lee from the Chicago Cubs in return for three minor league pitchers (Robinson Lopez, Tyrelle Harris and Jeffrey Lorick) on the same day they place starting 1B Troy Glaus on the disabled listwith inflammation around his left knee. In the game which follows, the first-place Braves beat the Nationals, 3 – 2, on a 9th-inning run-scoring single by Jason Heyward off Tyler Clippard.

The Tampa Bay Rays complete a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with an 8 – 6 win at Tropicana Field in what is a possible preview of the postseason. Evan Longoria drives in 4 runs today and goes 7 for 12 overall in the series.

Jim Thome ties the major league record for career walk-off home runs with his 12th, as the Twins beat the White Sox, 7 – 6. Thome catches Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Frank Robinson and Babe Ruth.

The Mets place closer Francisco Rodriguez on the disqualified list and will not pay him until he is able to pitch again. He suffered a season-ending thumb injury punching his father-in-law last week, an action for which he faces criminal assault charges. The Mets may still try to void the last year of his contract as well, worth $11.5 million, although such a decision would be certain to be contested by the Players union.

Bobby Thomson, who hit what is arguably the most famous home run in baseball history – the Shot Heard ‘Round the World – dies at home in Savannah, GA. The memorable walk-off homer off Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca on October 3, 1951, sent the New York Giants to the 1951 World Series. Thomson was a star outfielder mostly with the Giants and Milwaukee Braves during the 1950s.

Jonathan Albaladejo earns his 39th save of the season for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in a 7 – 4 win over Toledo, breaking the International League single-season mark held by Matt Whiteside since 2004.

Shaun Marcum only allows a 7th-inning homer to Conor Jackson in beating the Oakland Athletics, 3 – 1, pitching a one-hitter for the first complete game of his career. He joins Blue Jays teammate Brandon Morrow who pitched a one-hitter on August 8th. All the Jays’ runs come on homers: a solo shot by José Bautista that is originally ruled an inside-the-park homer before the umpires state that it had in fact hit the foul pole, and a two-run shot by Edwin Encarnacion.

On the final deadline for signing players selected in this year’s amateur draft, the Nationals agree to a last-minute major league contract worth $9.9 million with first overall pick Bryce Harper. A number of other top draftees sign as well, leaving only 3 of the top 32 picks unsigned.

Albert Pujols becomes the first player to hit 30 homers in his first 10 seasons with a 1st-inning shot off Ryan Dempster of the Cubs, but the Cardinals lose, 9 – 7, in spite of scoring 5 runs in the 9th. Pujols has also hit over .300 and driven in over 100 runs each season he has played so far, and is on pace to reach those totals once again. Meanwhile, the Reds complete a three-game sweep of the Marlins with a 2 – 0 win and retake first place by a game over the Cards in the NL Central.