Needing a home run to complete the sixth cycle in franchise history, Carlos Gonzalez, the leading hitter in the National League, belts a game-ending round-tripper that gives the Rockies a 6-5 comeback victory over Chicago. ‘CarGo,’ who becomes the fifth player to complete the cycle with a walk-off home run, smashes the first pitch thrown in the bottom of the ninth into the third-deck, making it the 29th long ball to land there in the 11-year history of Coors Field.

One of the players traded yesterday makes a splash in his debut for his new team. Starting at 3B for the Tigers, Jhonny Peralta homers twice over the Green Monster as Detroit defeats Boston, 6 – 5, withstanding a late-game grand slam by David Ortiz. Armando Galarraga’s run of bad luck continues as he is hit on the ankle by a line drive off the bat of Kevin Youkilis with a 4 – 1 lead, and has to leave the game one out shy of qualifying for the win. Rookie Robbie Weinhardt relieves him and picks up his first major league victory.

However, the Phillies may be having buyer’s remorse as prize acquisition Roy Oswalt is rocked by the Nationals, losing his debut, 8 – 1. Making it worse, the man he was traded for, J.A. Happ, shines in his first outing for Houston, throwing 6 scoreless innings in a 5 – 0 win over Milwaukee.

The deals continue on the eve of tomorrow’s trading deadline. The Chicago White Sox acquire P Edwin Jackson, author of a no-hitter earlier this year, from the Diamondbacks in return for young Ps Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg; the Rangers obtain IF Cristian Guzman from Washington for Tanner Roark and Ryan Tatsuko just as starting 2B Ian Kinsler is placed on the disabled list; and the Yankees snap up OF Austin Kearns from the Indians, although the bigger news is that they have tentatively reached a deal with Houston for 1B Lance Berkman.

The two best teams in the majors this year, the Yankees and the Rays, begin a three-game series before a rare sold-out crowd at Tropicana Field. Two batters into the game, New York leads 2 – 0 on a homer by Nick Swisher, but that’s all the runs they’ll score. Tampa Bay comes back with a three-run shot by Matt Joyce in the 6th to win, 3 – 2. Wade Davis beats Phil Hughes, with Rafael Soriano picking up the save. Alex Rodriguez, who has been sitting on 599 homers for a week, goes 0 for 4 in the loss.

There is a frenzy of deals in anticipation of the trading deadline. The Phillies acquire P Roy Oswalt from the Astros for P J.A. Happ and minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar; the Astros then flip Gose to Torontofor another top prospect, 1B Brett Wallace. In other deals, the Rangers acquire Jorge Cantu from the Marlins for minor leaguers Evan Reed and Omar Poveda; the Twins bolster their bullpen with All-Star closer Matt Capps, pried from Washington for young C Wilson Ramos; and the Padres obtain veteran infielder Miguel Tejada from Baltimore for minor league P Wynn Pelzer.

After Roy Oswalt gives his approval to a trade from the Astros to the Phillies, Philadelphia sends J.A. Happ, outfielder Anthony Gose, and shortstop Jonathan Villar to Houston for the three-time All-Star hurler and a considerable amount of cash. The 32 year-old right-hander compiled a respectable 3.24 ERA, but posted only a 6-12 record, due to a severe lack of run support.

The front-running Padres trade Double-A right-hander Wynn Pelzer to obtain veteran infielder Miguel Tejada from the Orioles, who also include more than $1.15 million in the deal. San Diego is hoping the 36 year-old former American League Most Valuable Player can help the potential playoff team, both in the field and at the plate, with his 14 years of experience in the major leagues.

The Twins acquire Matt Capps (3-3, 2.74 ERA, 26/30 saves) and $500,000 from the Nationals for highly touted catching prospect Wilson Ramos and southpaw minor leaguer Joe Testa. Minnesota will use Washington’s only All-Star as its closer, filling a void created during spring training when Joe Nathan underwent Tommy John surgery.

Giants closer Brian Wilson is fined $1000 for wearing bright orange cleats in a game against the Marlins on July 27th. Wilson wore the offending shoes in the All-Star Game, but they are not legal for regular-season games as they do not conform to Major League Baseball’s rules pertaining to uniform colors. Liking the shoes, Wilson decides to render them legal by covering some of the orange color with a black marker.