Bouncing back from a terrible month of July when he hit .177, OF Josh Hamilton drives in 4 runs as the Rangers defeat the Angels, 15 – 9. Following a rough first start by newly-acquired Ranger P Ryan Dempster, the two teams are tied at 8 after 6 innings, but Texas scores 4 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th to secure the win. Roy Oswalt, who gave up his spot in the starting rotation to make room for Dempster, is the winner in relief.

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Bouncing back from a terrible month of July when he hit .177, OF Josh Hamilton drives in 4 runs as the Rangers defeat the Angels, 15 – 9. Following a rough first start by newly-acquired Ranger P Ryan Dempster, the two teams are tied at 8 after 6 innings, but Texas scores 4 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th to secure the win. Roy Oswalt, who gave up his spot in the starting rotation to make room for Dempster, is the winner in relief.

The Huntsville Stars set a record with a five-pitcher no-hitter against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The 3 – 1 win is no cakewalk, though, as Jimmy Nelson, Dan Merklinger, R.J. Seidel, Darren Byrd and Brandon Kintzlercombine to walk 11 batters.

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The Huntsville Stars set a record with a five-pitcher no-hitter against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The 3 – 1 win is no cakewalk, though, as Jimmy Nelson, Dan Merklinger, R.J. Seidel, Darren Byrd and Brandon Kintzlercombine to walk 11 batters.

The Rangers rally from 6 runs down to win at home after losing the first two games of their series with the Angels, who are breathing down their necks in the AL West. Trailing 7 – 1 in the 5th, the Rangers manage to force extra innings thanks to Ian Kinsler’s home run in the bottom of the 9th, only to see the Halos score 3 more in the top of the 10th, as a two-run homer by Albert Pujols, who has back-to-back two-homer games, and a solo shot by Chris Iannetta apparently put the game away. But Texas is not dead: Nelson Cruz leads off the bottom of the 10th with a homer off Ernesto Frieri, then Michael Young reaches on Andrew Romine’s error and David Murphy draws a walk. Jason Isringhausen comes in to pitch, but allows a single to Mike Napoli that loads the bases with none out; Mitch Moreland singles in a second run, and after one out, Elvis Andrus ends the game with a two-run single. The win extends the Rangers’ lead over Los Angeles to 4 games, with Oakland another half game behind.

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The Rangers rally from 6 runs down to win at home after losing the first two games of their series with the Angels, who are breathing down their necks in the AL West. Trailing 7 – 1 in the 5th, the Rangers manage to force extra innings thanks to Ian Kinsler’s home run in the bottom of the 9th, only to see the Halos score 3 more in the top of the 10th, as a two-run homer by Albert Pujols, who has back-to-back two-homer games, and a solo shot by Chris Iannetta apparently put the game away. But Texas is not dead: Nelson Cruz leads off the bottom of the 10th with a homer off Ernesto Frieri, then Michael Young reaches on Andrew Romine’s error and David Murphy draws a walk. Jason Isringhausen comes in to pitch, but allows a single to Mike Napoli that loads the bases with none out; Mitch Moreland singles in a second run, and after one out, Elvis Andrus ends the game with a two-run single. The win extends the Rangers’ lead over Los Angeles to 4 games, with Oakland another half game behind.

With their 10-1 loss in Milwaukee, the Astros finish July with a dismal 3-24 record. Only the 1988 Orioles (April – 1-22), 1916 A’s (July – 2-28), 1982 Twins (May – 3-26), and the 1943 A’s (August – 3-26) have compiled worse months in baseball history.

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With their 10-1 loss in Milwaukee, the Astros finish July with a dismal 3-24 record. Only the 1988 Orioles (April – 1-22), 1916 A’s (July – 2-28), 1982 Twins (May – 3-26), and the 1943 A’s (August – 3-26) have compiled worse months in baseball history.

The Phillies are sellers on the last day before the trading deadline, sending away two of their starting outfielders. CF Shane Victorino goes to the Dodgers for Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin, while RF Hunter Pence heads for San Francisco in return for Nate Schierholtz, Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin. Among other deals, the Pirates obtain 1B Gaby Sanchez from Miami and then trade 3B Casey McGehee to the Yankees for P Chad Qualls; the Cubs send P Ryan Dempster, who had earlier vetoed a trade to Atlanta, to the Rangers for Christian Villanueva and Kyle Hendricks; and the Reds obtain P Jonathan Broxton from the Royals.

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The Phillies are sellers on the last day before the trading deadline, sending away two of their starting outfielders. CF Shane Victorino goes to the Dodgers for Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin, while RF Hunter Pence heads for San Francisco in return for Nate Schierholtz, Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin. Among other deals, the Pirates obtain 1B Gaby Sanchez from Miami and then trade 3B Casey McGehee to the Yankees for P Chad Qualls; the Cubs send P Ryan Dempster, who had earlier vetoed a trade to Atlanta, to the Rangers for Christian Villanueva and Kyle Hendricks; and the Reds obtain P Jonathan Broxton from the Royals.

Albert Pujols hits two homers to lead the Angels over Texas, 6 – 2, as Jered Weaver improves to 14-1, and 6-0 for the month. Rookie Mike Trout goes 2 for 4 with a two-run homer; his two runs scored give him 32 for July, tying Hal Trosky for the rookie record for the month, while his 10 homers are an American League rookie record.

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Albert Pujols hits two homers to lead the Angels over Texas, 6 – 2, as Jered Weaver improves to 14-1, and 6-0 for the month. Rookie Mike Trout goes 2 for 4 with a two-run homer; his two runs scored give him 32 for July, tying Hal Trosky for the rookie record for the month, while his 10 homers are an American League rookie record.

A.J. Burnett flirts with a no-hitter but settles for a one-hitter as he beats the Cubs, 5 – 0. With two outs in the 8th, pinch-hitter Adrian Cardenas lines a single to right for the Cubs’ lone hit. Neil Walker drives in all 5 runs for the Pirates.

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A.J. Burnett flirts with a no-hitter but settles for a one-hitter as he beats the Cubs, 5 – 0. With two outs in the 8th, pinch-hitter Adrian Cardenas lines a single to right for the Cubs’ lone hit. Neil Walker drives in all 5 runs for the Pirates.

With their 10-1 loss in Milwaukee, the Astros finish July with a dismal 3-24 record. Only the 1988 Orioles (April – 1-22), 1916 A’s (July – 2-28), 1982 Twins (May – 3-26), and the 1943 A’s (August – 3-26) have compiled worse months in baseball history.

ByBaseball

With their 10-1 loss in Milwaukee, the Astros finish July with a dismal 3-24 record. Only the 1988 Orioles (April – 1-22), 1916 A’s (July – 2-28), 1982 Twins (May – 3-26), and the 1943 A’s (August – 3-26) have compiled worse months in baseball history.

Jason Heyward homers and scores three times as the Braves defeat the Marlins, 8 – 2. For the Braves, it is a first win in a Monday game since last season; they had lost 16 in a row, including all 12 Monday games they had played so far this season. All of their players wear their socks high in order to break the curse, except for pitcher Tommy Hanson, who still picks up the win to improve to 12-5 on the year.

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Jason Heyward homers and scores three times as the Braves defeat the Marlins, 8 – 2. For the Braves, it is a first win in a Monday game since last season; they had lost 16 in a row, including all 12 Monday games they had played so far this season. All of their players wear their socks high in order to break the curse, except for pitcher Tommy Hanson, who still picks up the win to improve to 12-5 on the year.

What has already been a busy trading season gets busier with a number of deals one day before the trading deadline. The Blue Jays deal twice, first sending OF Travis Snider to Pittsburgh for P Brad Lincoln and then dispatching another OF, Eric Thames, to Seattle for P Steve Delabar. The Cubs are also busy, trading C Geovany Soto to the Rangers for AA P Jacob Brigham, and P Paul Maholm and OF Reed Johnson to the Braves for Ps Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman. Finally, the Dodgers acquire P Brandon League from Seattle, for prospects Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom.

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What has already been a busy trading season gets busier with a number of deals one day before the trading deadline. The Blue Jays deal twice, first sending OF Travis Snider to Pittsburgh for P Brad Lincoln and then dispatching another OF, Eric Thames, to Seattle for P Steve Delabar. The Cubs are also busy, trading C Geovany Soto to the Rangers for AA P Jacob Brigham, and P Paul Maholm and OF Reed Johnson to the Braves for Ps Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman. Finally, the Dodgers acquire P Brandon League from Seattle, for prospects Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom.