Joel Hanrahan wins his first game of the year while sitting in a hotel room in Philadelphia. He is credited with the win as Washington finishes off a game suspended on May 5th by defeating the Astros, 11 – 10. Hanrahan, who has since been traded to Pittsburgh on June 30th, pitched the top of the 11th two months ago, before the game was halted by rain in the bottom of the inning with him in the on-deck circle. When play resumes – in Houston, since the Astros are not scheduled to make another trip to D.C. this year – Nyjer Morgan, acquired in return for Hanrahan, is pinch running on first base; Hanrahan is replaced by pinch hitter Josh Bard, who hits a potential inning-ending double play grounder. However, Miguel Tejadathrows the ball away, allowing Morgan to score the winning run. Houston, now the home team, then wins the regularly-scheduled contest that follows, 9 – 4.

In a battle of promising young pitchers, Chris Volstad pitches his first career complete game in leading Florida to a 7 – 0 shutout of San Francisco. His opponent, Ryan Sadowski, enters the game without having allowed an earned run in his first 13 major league innings; he runs his streak to 16 before giving up his first runs in the 4th, but still leaves the game with an ERA of 1.00.

The Phillies jump on the Reds for 10 runs in a 1st inning featuring home runs by Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs and Chase Utley, on their way to a 22 – 1 drubbing of Cincinnati. Jayson Werth adds a grand slam in the 8th off infielder Paul Janish as the Reds suffer the worst defeat of their long history.

Mike Hampton beats the Pirates, 4 – 1, for his 10th straight win against Pittsburgh. He is the first pitcher to top the Bucs in ten straight decisions since Robin Roberts had 15 consecutive wins over Pittsburgh from 1951 to 1953.

Two low-hit shutouts are tossed in the American League: Jarrod Washburn hurls a one-hitter as Seattle beats Baltimore, 5 – 0, while Brett Anderson registers his first shutout in a 6 – 0 A’s win, limiting Boston to two hits at Fenway Park. It is Oakland’s first complete game since July 8, 2008.

Jason Marquis, who as just been named to his first All-Star team, celebrates by pitching 8 scoreless innings in a 1 – 0 Rockies shutout of Washington. He becomes the first 11-game winner in the majors.

Vladimir Guerrero plays his first game of the year in the outfield and belts his second homer in two days as the Angels defeat the Orioles, 9 – 6. Vlad has been in a power drought to start the year, but now has 4 homers. Los Angeles stays tied atop the AL West as its main rival, Texas, completes a sweep of Tampa Bay with a 5 – 2 win at home. The Rangers now expect their own injured slugger, Josh Hamilton, to return to the line-up tomorrow. Starting 1B Chris Davis, who is hitting for power but has already piled up 114 strikeouts, is sent down AAA to make room for Hamilton.

Tim Lincecum, last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner, is in his best form, beating Houston, 9 – 0, with seven scoreless innings, running his streak of scoreless innings to 23. He also scores the Giants’ first run in the 5th and is now 9-2 with a 2.23 ERA.

On July 3, 2009 Albert Pujols, the major league home run leader, hits his fourth grand slam of the year, a team record, as the Cardinals dispose of the Reds, 7 – 4. He now has 350 career dingers, becoming the third-youngest to reach the mark, after Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. Source Baseball Reference July 3