In the final game he plays at Coors Field, Todd Helton homers in his first at-bat, a second-inning solo shot in Colorado’s 15-5 loss to Boston. The 40 year-old first baseman, who announced his retirement last week, has spent his entire 17-year career with the Rockies.

ByTom

In the final game he plays at Coors Field, Todd Helton homers in his first at-bat, a second-inning solo shot in Colorado’s 15-5 loss to Boston. The 40 year-old first baseman, who announced his retirement last week, has spent his entire 17-year career with the Rockies.

The Braves fall behind the Cardinals in the race for the best record in the National League with a 4 – 0 loss to the Brewers. The game is marred by a bench-clearing brawl in the 1st, after Carlos Gomez takes Paul Maholm deep to open the score, then admires the flight of the ball, flips his bat and trots slowly around the bases while shouting at Maholm. Gomez, Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman and back-up C Gerald Laird are all ejected as a result of the melee; Gomez later explains that Maholm had twice hit him with pitches in previous games and it was his way of evening the score. Kyle Lohse needs only 89 pitches to pitch the two-hit shutout. Gomez will be handed a one-game suspension and a fine for his actions, as will Braves OF Reed Johnson, who although not ejected was the first player to leave the bench to join the confrontation.

ByBaseball

The Braves fall behind the Cardinals in the race for the best record in the National League with a 4 – 0 loss to the Brewers. The game is marred by a bench-clearing brawl in the 1st, after Carlos Gomez takes Paul Maholm deep to open the score, then admires the flight of the ball, flips his bat and trots slowly around the bases while shouting at Maholm. Gomez, Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman and back-up C Gerald Laird are all ejected as a result of the melee; Gomez later explains that Maholm had twice hit him with pitches in previous games and it was his way of evening the score. Kyle Lohse needs only 89 pitches to pitch the two-hit shutout. Gomez will be handed a one-game suspension and a fine for his actions, as will Braves OF Reed Johnson, who although not ejected was the first player to leave the bench to join the confrontation.

For the third straight year, the Astros set a new team record for losses as they bow to the Rangers, 7 – 3, extending their current losing streak to 12 games and pushing their season’s total to 108. Houston lost 106 games in 2011 and 107 in 2012, after never topping 97 losses in its first 49 seasons. The Rangers have taken advantage of their cross-state rivals’ ineptitude to stay alive in the American League wild card race as rookie Martin Perez records his 10th win of the year.

ByBaseball

For the third straight year, the Astros set a new team record for losses as they bow to the Rangers, 7 – 3, extending their current losing streak to 12 games and pushing their season’s total to 108. Houston lost 106 games in 2011 and 107 in 2012, after never topping 97 losses in its first 49 seasons. The Rangers have taken advantage of their cross-state rivals’ ineptitude to stay alive in the American League wild card race as rookie Martin Perez records his 10th win of the year.