The A’s are active at the trading deadline as they send All-Star OF Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox in return for P Jon Lester, another All-Star, and OF Jonny Gomes. With a surplus of starting pitchers on hand, they also deal Tom Milone to the Twins for OF Sam Fuld. Boston isn’t done either, as a couple of hours later it sends P John Lackey and minor leaguer Corey Littrell to the Cardinals in return for OF/1B Allen Craig and P Joe Kelly. The Red Sox make two more deals, shipping reliever Andrew Miller to Baltimore for pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez and SS Stephen Drew to the Yankees for IF Kelly Johnson to complete a radical roster make-over.

It is the Tigers who engineer the biggest blockbuster deal, however, as they pull CF Austin Jackson from their game with the White Sox in the middle of the 7th inning because he has just been traded to Seattle. They receive IF Nick Franklin in return, but immediately package him along with P Drew Smyly and SS prospect Willie Adames to Tampa Bay to reel in former Cy Young Award winner David Price.

On Facebook, 29 year-old Pete Frates, the former Boston College baseball captain living with ALS, challenges The Howard Stern Show and a number of his friends to participate in the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge.’ The post will become one of the catalysts that spark a viral call to action that will be taken up by celebrities, including Matt Lauder, Ethel Kennedy, Martha Stewart, and former Red Sox captain Jason Varitek, to raise funds and awareness for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

A trio of pitchers for the AA San Antonio Missions combine on a no-hitter against the Corpus Christi Hooks, but only learn about it after the game. James Needy, Frank Garces and R.J. Alvarez join forces for what seems to be a 6 – 0 one-hitter, until the official scorer reverses a decision on Rene Garcia’s 6th-inning infield single, changing it to an error on shortstop Diego Goris.

There is another no-hitter in the minor leagues as Tyler Cloyd of the Columbus Clippers performs the feat in a 13 – 0 win over the Louisville Bats. Cloyd retires the first 24 batters he faces before hitting Donnie Murphy with a pitch, but ends the game on a double play grounder and a line out.

On the trade front, the Cardinals acquire P Justin Masterson from Cleveland for OF James Ramsey, while the Cubs obtain P Felix Doubront from the Red Sox for a player to be named later.

Felix Hernandez becomes the first pitcher in major league history to make 14 consecutive starts of at least seven innings pitched with giving up two runs or less. The Mariners right-hander, known as ‘King Felix,’ breaks the record previously held by Tom Seaver, who established the mark in 1971 while pitching for the Mets.

2014 – The Cubs win the longest game in team history, 4 – 3, as the 16 innings take 6 hours and 27 minutes to complete, 17 minutes longer than a 21-inning game played over two days in 1982; it’s also the record for a Rockies game. Catcher John Baker is pressed into mound duty in the 16th and earns the win when he scores the winning run after leading the bottom of the inning with a walk and is driven home on Starlin Castro’s sacrifice fly.

2014 – The Blue Jays send P Liam Hendriks and C Erik Kratz to the Royals in return for 3B Danny Valencia in a rare trade between contenders ahead of the trading deadline.