The Marlins acquire Nick Johnson from the Nationals in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Aaron Thompson. The 30 year-old injury-prone first baseman’s ability to get on base should provide more scoring opportunities for a Florida team vying for a wild-card berth.

Cliff Lee’s adaptation to the National League is a quick one. Traded to the Phillies on July 29th, Lee gives up no hits over the first five innings against the Giants, on his way to a complete-game four-hitter. He adds two base hits of his own in the 5 – 1 win.

In a stunning last-minute deal, the White Sox obtain Jake Peavy from the Padres for four pitching prospects, Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell. The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner, presently on the disabled list, had previously refused to waive his no-trade clause to join Chicago in a similar deal proposed in May.

A story in the New York Times states that sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are among the 104 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. The test results were supposed to be kept secret, but Alex Rodriguez’s presence on the list of those who tested positive had already been leaked earlier this year. Ortiz states that he was not aware he had tested positive six years earlier and denies using steroids.

Action continues on the trading front with Los Angeles acquiring closer George Sherrill from the Baltimore Orioles for two players currently at AA Chattanooga. For their part, the Pirates are still busy house-cleaning, sending Ps John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to the Cubs, one day after trading three players on their 25-man roster. The Pirates receive P Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio and minor league infielder Josh Harrison from their NL Central rivals.

The Pirates spend a busy day on the trading block, sending 2006 batting champ Freddy Sanchez to the Giants for 20 year-old former first-round draft pick Tim Alderson, a right-hander with excellent control. The Bucs also deal shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to the Mariners for shortstop Ronny Cedeno and four minor leaguers, including triple-A catcher-first baseman Jeff Clement.

The Royals play an entire game without registering a single defensive assist for the first time in franchise history in their 7-3 loss to Baltimore at Camden Yards. During Kansas City’s eight innings in the field, the team records 24 outs via nine strikeouts, 13 fly outs, and two unassisted groundouts handled by first baseman Billy Butler.

In a thriller in St. Louis, the Cardinals rally from a 1 – 0 deficit with two outs in the 9th against Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton. A broken-bat single by Colby Rasmus sends the game into extra innings, negating a great start by Clayton Kershaw, who pitches 8 scoreless innings for Los Angeles, helped by a magnificent leaping catch by slugger Manny Ramirez at the LF fence that robs St. Louis of at least two runs in the 7th. Both teams score in the 11th, then in the 15th, Brendan Ryan leads off with a triple, and, two outs later, Albert Pujols hits a single off Jeff Weaver to end the marathon, handing Blake Hawksworth the 3 – 2 victory, his first in the big leagues.

2009 – In his first start since throwing a perfect game on July 23rd, Mark Buehrle retires the first 17 batters he faces to set a new major league mark of 45 consecutive batters retired. The previous mark of 41 was set by Jim Barr in 1972 and tied by Buehrle’s teammate, Bobby Jenks, in 2007. The Twins still manage to beat the White Sox, 5 – 3.