With their 10-1 loss in Milwaukee, the Astros finish July with a dismal 3-24 record. Only the 1988 Orioles (April – 1-22), 1916 A’s (July – 2-28), 1982 Twins (May – 3-26), and the 1943 A’s (August – 3-26) have compiled worse months in baseball history.

With their 10-1 loss in Milwaukee, the Astros finish July with a dismal 3-24 record. Only the 1988 Orioles (April – 1-22), 1916 A’s (July – 2-28), 1982 Twins (May – 3-26), and the 1943 A’s (August – 3-26) have compiled worse months in baseball history.

A.J. Burnett flirts with a no-hitter but settles for a one-hitter as he beats the Cubs, 5 – 0. With two outs in the 8th, pinch-hitter Adrian Cardenas lines a single to right for the Cubs’ lone hit. Neil Walker drives in all 5 runs for the Pirates.

Albert Pujols hits two homers to lead the Angels over Texas, 6 – 2, as Jered Weaver improves to 14-1, and 6-0 for the month. Rookie Mike Trout goes 2 for 4 with a two-run homer; his two runs scored give him 32 for July, tying Hal Trosky for the rookie record for the month, while his 10 homers are an American League rookie record.

The Phillies are sellers on the last day before the trading deadline, sending away two of their starting outfielders. CF Shane Victorino goes to the Dodgers for Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin, while RF Hunter Pence heads for San Francisco in return for Nate Schierholtz, Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin. Among other deals, the Pirates obtain 1B Gaby Sanchez from Miami and then trade 3B Casey McGehee to the Yankees for P Chad Qualls; the Cubs send P Ryan Dempster, who had earlier vetoed a trade to Atlanta, to the Rangers for Christian Villanueva and Kyle Hendricks; and the Reds obtain P Jonathan Broxton from the Royals.

Jason Heyward homers and scores three times as the Braves defeat the Marlins, 8 – 2. For the Braves, it is a first win in a Monday game since last season; they had lost 16 in a row, including all 12 Monday games they had played so far this season. All of their players wear their socks high in order to break the curse, except for pitcher Tommy Hanson, who still picks up the win to improve to 12-5 on the year.

Kendrys Morales becomes only the third major leaguer to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning as the Angels drop a 9-run 6th inning on the Rangers on their way to a 15 – 8 win. Morales opens the scoring in the frame with a two-run homer off righty Roy Oswalt to put the Halos ahead, 5 – 3, then, after the batting order turns around, adds a grand slam off lefty Robbie Ross. Carlos Baerga, in 1993, and Mark Bellhorn, in 2002, were the other two players to accomplish the rare feat. Morales’s 6 RBI in the inning are one shy of the American League record of 7, set by Alex Rodriguez on October 4, 2009.

What has already been a busy trading season gets busier with a number of deals one day before the trading deadline. The Blue Jays deal twice, first sending OF Travis Snider to Pittsburgh for P Brad Lincoln and then dispatching another OF, Eric Thames, to Seattle for P Steve Delabar. The Cubs are also busy, trading C Geovany Soto to the Rangers for AA P Jacob Brigham, and P Paul Maholm and OF Reed Johnson to the Braves for Ps Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman. Finally, the Dodgers acquire P Brandon League from Seattle, for prospects Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom.

Clayton Kershaw pitches a five-hit shutout against the Giants to bring the Dodgers into a tie for first place with San Francisco in the NL West.

Heading the opposite direction are division rivals the Reds, who win their 10th straight in defeating the Rockies, 7 – 2, behind Mat Latos. They have won 17 of their last 19, consolidating their hold on first place in the NL Central, in spite of the absence of their best player, Joey Votto.