The Phillies put a cap on a great first half by crushing the Braves, 14 – 1, managing 20 hits in the process. Cole Hamels is the beneficiary of the offensive outburst, led by Raul Ibanezwho has a homer and 6 RBI; John Mayberry Jr. pitches in with 3 doubles and 4 RBI. The Phillies are 57-34 at the All-Star break, the best mark in the majors, which also ties the team record for wins in the first half, established in 1993.

CC Sabathia wins his 13th game of the year for the Yankees, as they eke out a 1 – 0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The only run scores on a couple of miscues, after Robinson Canostarts the 7th inning with a single off James Shields. B.J. Upton makes a nice catch on Jorge Posada’s fly ball to center, but his throw to first to double Cano sails into the first base dugout. Cano moves to third on the play, then scores when Shields’ pick-off attempt is above 3B Sean Rodriguez’s head. The game takes only 2:11, tied for quickest this year.

The Dodgers are on the verge of being no-hit when they wake up with two outs in the 9th inning against the Padres. Four Padres pitchers combine to keep the Dodgers off the hit sheet through 8 innings: Aaron Harang (6 innings), Josh Spence (0.1), Chad Qualls (0.2) and Mike Adams (1). However, four Dodger pitchers do almost as well, blanking the Padres on one hit – a single by Cameron Maybin – through the top of the 9th. Luke Gregerson starts the bottom of the inning by striking out Matt Kemp and retiring James Loney on a ground ball before Juan Uribe breaks up the no-no with a double to left and Dioner Navarro follows with a single to center for a dramatic 1 – 0 win. Blake Hawksworth is the winner in what is Los Angeles’s third consecutive shutout.

The Dayton Dragons of the Class A Midwest League sell out their 815th consecutive home game, breaking the all-time record for a North American professional franchise held until then by the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA (1977-1995). The Dragons have sold out every single home game at Fifth Third Field since moving from Rockford, IL in 2000. Dayton draws 8,688 in a 4-1 win over the South Bend Silver Hawks; Daniel Renken allows one run in 6 2/3 IP for the win, while Donald Lutz hits his 13th home run.

The Red Sox score 8 times in the 1st inning, including three runs on a homer by David Ortiz, chasing starter Zach Britton on their way to a 10 – 3 win over the Orioles. In the 8th, Big Papi charges the mound against Baltimore reliever Kevin Gregg, missing with a couple of punches after being brushed back on two consecutive pitches and then being berated by Gregg for failing to run out the ensuing pop-up. Both benches empty and when order is restored, Ortiz, Gregg, Boston C Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Oriole reliever Jim Johnson have all been ejected.

Travis Snider and Rajai Davis both have big nights as the Blue Jays defeat the Indians, 11 – 7. Snider drives in 5 runs and Davis 4 as Jo-Jo Reyes is the winner against Mitch Talbot.

At Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, a fan named Shannon Stone tumbles over an outfield wall trying to catch a ball tossed to him by Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton during the 2nd inning of a game between the Rangers and the Oakland Athletics. Stone, a 39-year-old Brownwood, TX firefighter who attends the game with his young son, falls twenty feet from his seat in left field, landing near the A’s bullpen and passes away en route to the hospital. Incidentally, the Rangers win, 6 – 0.

Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, who brought three different teams to the World Series, dies of an apparent heart attack in Henderson, NV at age 82. After a 14-year playing career, he led the “Impossible Dream” 1967 Boston Red Sox to the seventh game of the 1967 World Series in his first season as a major league manager, then won titles with the Oakland Athletics in 1972 and 1973, before quitting in disgust over owner Charlie Finley’s antics. A decade later, he returned to the Fall Classic with the San Diego Padres in 1984, which made him the first person – along with his opponent that year, Sparky Anderson – to manage a team from both leagues in the Series.