The Angels complete a four-game sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway Park to consolidate their position as the best team in the majors at this point. Rookie Matt Shoemaker improves to 12-4 as he keeps the Sox hitless through 6 2/3 innings before Will Middlebrooks hits a double for Boston’s only safety in a 2 – 0 loss. Earlier today, the Angels get bad news when they learn that P Garrett Richards, who injured his knee the day before, is out for the season. They call up veteran Wade LeBlanc from AAA to take Richards’ place and acquire 2B Gordon Beckham from the White Sox to add some infield depth in anticipation of the postseason.

2014 – Major League Baseball upholds a protest filed by the Giants over their rain-shortened 2 – 0 loss to the Cubs on August 19th. The game was called after 4 1/2 innings, but the Giants successfully argue that the Cubs did not properly deploy the tarp at Wrigley Field, dumping accumulated rainwater on the infield and preventing the game from resuming when the rain abated after a few minutes. The game will resume tomorrow in the bottom of the 5th inning, prior to the regularly scheduled game between the two teams. This is the first successful protest in 28 years. When the game resumes, the Cubs will be able to hold on for a 2 – 1 win.

2014 – With the Athletics idle, the Angels move into first place in the AL West for the first time this year after a 4 – 2 win over Boston. They now have the best record in the majors at 73-50, a half-game in front of division rivals Oakland.

2014 – Michael Cuddyer returns to the Rockies’ line-up after missing 60 days because of a fractured shoulder and hits for the cycle on his first day back as the Rockies sweep the Reds, 10 – 9 and 10 – 5, in a doubleheader. Cuddyer goes 1-for-5 in the opener before collecting his second career cycle in the nitecap; he is only the third player to have one in both leagues, after Bob Watson and John Olerud. Before the games, the Rockies retire uniform number 17 in honor of long-time 1B Todd Helton, who retired after last season.

Mo’ne Davis of Philadelphia, PA strikes out eight in a two-hitter to beat Nashville, TN, 4 – 0, in the 2014 Little League World Series. She is the first girl to throw a shutout at a Little League World Series. Sports Illustrated will make her the first Little Leaguer to appear on its cover as a result.

The Tampa Bay Rays shut out the Yankees, 5 – 0, behind Alex Cobb, to reach the .500 mark at 62-62. What is remarkable is that they were 18 games below .500 on June 10th, making them only the fourth team in history to return to parity from such a deficit. The 1899 Louisville Colonels were 22 games below before reaching .500 for the all-time record.

As had been expected, the owners of rooftop terraces across the street from Wrigley Field file suit against the Chicago Cubs in an attempt to prevent the team from going ahead with renovations to the century-old ballparkwhich would cut down on their business. In the spring, the owners had failed to come to an agreement with Cubs principal Tom Ricketts, who decided to press ahead without their consent; the city of Chicago, IL and its Landmarks Commission are also named as defendants.

At their quarterly meeting in Baltimore, MD, Major League Baseball owners choose MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred to succeed Bud Selig as Commissioner. While a number of rounds of voting are necessary, the final vote is 30-0 in favor of Manfred. He is slated to take over from Selig on January 15, 2015.

2014 – Major League owners hold their mid-season meeting in Baltimore, MD. On their agenda is the election of a successor to Commissioner Bud Selig, who is stepping down at the end of the year. While the press has speculated that owners are divided among the three proposed candidates ahead of the vote scheduled for tomorrow, they express confidence that they will come to an agreement and avoid an impasse.

The Giants honored longtime fan and friend Robin Williams, a cultural icon who died suddenly yesterday at the age of 63. The team pays tribute to the legend of screen and stage by having a moment of silence prior to the game against the White Sox and playing a clip from the movie Mrs. Doubtfire on the AT&T Park scoreboard.