Daisuke Matsuzaka and Daniel Bard combine on a one-hitter as Boston defeats Philadelphia, 5 – 0. The Phils’ only hit comes with two out in the 8th, when Juan Castro drops a pop-up just beyond the reach of shortstop Marco Scutaro.

Gio Gonzalez of the Athletics has the best outing of his career so far, tossing 8 shutout innings in beating San Francisco, 1 – 0. He retires the final 20 batters he faces before manager Bob Geren gives the ball to Andrew Bailey to pitch the 9th. However, the news is not all good for Oakland: they place long-time 3B Eric Chavez on the disabled list with two bulging disks in his neck; Chavez, who has been bothered by injuries continually since 2007, hints that his career may be over. He is hitting .234 with one homer in 33 games and has been used almost exclusively as a designated hitter. He won’t play for Oakland again, but will make a successful comeback as a back-up with the Yankees next season.

Cardinals pitcher Brad Penny makes his mark with the bat, connecting for a grand slam in the 3rd inning, but then has to leave the game shortly afterwards with a back injury. The Cardinals beat the Angels, 9 – 5, as reliever Jason Motte picks up the win.

Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt vents his frustration about pitching in front of the worst offense in the major leagues, saying he is willing to waive his no-trade clause. With the team headed for a third straight losing season, Oswalt has a sparkling 2.66 ERA but is only 2-6 because of the lack of support. In today’s game, Houston scores only two runs, but still tops the major league-leading Tampa Bay Rays, 2 – 1, thanks to a stellar start by Brett Myers. Oswalt will be traded to Philadelphia later this season.

The Blue Jays blast six home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but they’re all solo shots. They lose, 8 – 6, wasting a three-homer effort by Edwin Encarnacion; Fred Lewis also leads off the contest with a long ball, to no avail. Since 1920, only one other team has scored six runs, all on solo homers, in a game: the Athletics in 1991.

Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies flirts with his second no-hitter of the year, allowing only an infield single to Humberto Quintero before leaving the game after the 7th inning because of leg cramps. The Rockies win, 4 – 0, and Jimenez is now 8-1 with an ERA of 0.99.

The Braves score a 9th-inning touchdown to overtake the Reds, after trailing 8 – 0 earlier and being down by 6 when the fateful inning starts. After another good start by rookie Mike Leake, reliever Mike Lincoln gives up four consecutive singles to start the 9th, scoring two runs. He is replaced by Nick Masset, who walks Cody Ross to load the bases; Martin Prado follows with a apparent double play grounder, but 3B Miguel Cairo fails to get the ball out of his glove and the score is now 9 – 6. Arthur Rhodes strikes out Jason Heyward for the first out and Francisco Cordero comes out to face pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad. Conrad hits a drive to deep left field which deflects off the glove of Laynce Nix and falls in the stands for a walk-off grand slam. It is only the second time in major league history that a pinch-hit grand slam overcomes a three-run deficit to end a game; the first was on July 8, 1950, by Jack Phillips of the Pirates. Joey Votto also hit a grand slam earlier in the game for the Reds, and Craig Kimbrel earns his first big league win.

Adrian Gonzalez homers and drives in 6 runs to snap the Dodgers’ winning streak at 9 games, as San Diego wins, 10 – 5. Also for the Padres, Will Venable has four hits, including two doubles and a triple, while Jon Garlandrecords the win over his former team.

The Yankees learn that C Jorge Posada has a broken bone in his right foot and will be out of action for three to four weeks. Francisco Cervelli has already assumed the bulk of the playing time behind the plate this season. Posada joins DH Nick Johnson, out with a wrist injury, and OF Curtis Granderson on the disabled list, while OF Marcus Thames and Nick Swisher are both day-to-day because of a sprained ankle and a sore biceps, respectively. The Rays take advantage of their banged-up opponents, beating them, 10 – 6, and increasing their lead in the AL East to 4 games.

CF Angel Pagan hits the first inside-the-park homer in the history of Nationals Park in the 4th inning, starts a triple play in the 5th and for good measure makes a spectacular diving catch of Roger Bernadina’s line drive with the bases loaded in the 6th, but New York still manages to lose for the 9th time in 11 games, 5 – 3 to the Nationals. It has been 55 years since Ted Kazanski was the last major leaguer to perform the two feats in the same game.