With the lowest winning percentage ever compiled by a division champion during a non-strike year, the Padres (79-79) win their fourth division flag in the 37-year history of the franchise. San Diego, which needs to win three of their last four games just to finish above .500, accomplishes the feat, surpassing the Mets, who previously possessed the dubious record by going 82-79 (.509) to win the NL East in 1973.

With a seventh inning single off Mets reliever Juan Padilla, Jimmy Rollins extends his hitting streak to 32 games. The Philadelphia shortstop breaks the 106-year Phillies record, surpassing Ed Delahanty, who hit in 31 games in a row in 1899.

The Braves back into their 14th straight division flag with the Mets beating the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, 3-2. The record streak started in 1991 when Atlanta played in the NL West.

Averaging more than 50,000 fans per game, the Yankees become the third franchise in major league history, and the first since the 1994 strike, to pass the four-million attendance mark. The 1993 Colorado Rockies and the 1991-1993 Toronto Blue Jays are the other teams which have reached the milestone.

As a result of the merger of Bank One and JP Morgan Chase & Company, the Diamondbacks’ home field, Bank One Ballpark, is renamed Chase Field. Arizona fans, who have affectionately come to call the stadium ‘Bob’, will be comforted to know the team will continue to employ D. Baxter Bobcat as the team’s mascot.

Jimmy Rollins’ first-inning single makes the shortstop’s 28-game hitting streak the longest by a Phillies player in over one hundred years. Ed Delahanty got at least one hit in 31 consecutive contests for the Philadelphia’s National League franchise during the 1899 season.

On the day he is scheduled to return to the team after rehabilitating his right knee and left ankle at home, the Orioles inform Rafael Palmeiro not to report to the team. The first baseman/DH, who tested positive for steroids earlier in the season, continues to stir up more controversy as the 40 year-old veteran states the reason for failing the drug test due to a vitamin B-12 shot given by his teammate, Miguel Tejada.

An American Society of Microbiology’s study of the number of people who wash their hands after using a public restroom reports 83 percent of patrons take advantage of the available soap and water. Of the 6,300 bathroom users monitored, Turner Field was found to have the worst hygiene where approximately a quarter of the patrons (37% male and 16% female) did not wash their hands after using the facilities during a Braves game.

At Shea Stadium, Mudcat Grant and Al Downing welcome Marlins’ southpaw Dontrelle Willis to the “Black Aces”, a fraternity of African-Americans to win 20 games in a big league season. Beating the Nationals earlier in the month, the D-Train became the 13th black to accomplish the feat and will join the Aces’ foundation to help in promoting baseball in the African-American community.