August 10

The Giants set an obscure record, but it is little consolation as they relent the NL West lead to the Diamondbacks. In the Giants’ 9 – 2 loss to the Pirates, Pablo Sandoval hits a solo homer off Jeff Karstens – the 19th consecutive solo shot by the team, tying a record set by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1914. The Giants’ last long ball with men on base was on July 6th. Meanwhile in Phoenix, the D-Backs set down the Astros, 6 – 3, as Henry Sosa is the loser in his major league debut, to go half a game up on the Giants. Josh Collmenter is the winner.

Curtis Granderson, otherwise having a tremendous season, is embarrassed when he falls for the “play that never works”, when the opposing pitcher fakes a throw to third base, then throws to first. Granderson is picked offby Jordan Walden of the Angels to end the Yankees’ 6 – 4 loss to the Halos. Yanks manager Joe Girardi is philosophical about the blunder though: “Our aggressiveness has won us a lot of ballgames; tonight it cost us”, adding that baserunners were 15 for 15 in steal attempts against the Angels’ closer this year.

Meanwhile, the AL Central race is also close, but Minnesota now has a one-game lead over the White Sox following tonight’s 12 – 6 win over their rivals. They are propelled by five homers – by Jim Thome, J.J. Hardy, Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel; Scott Baker is the winner.

In an ugly first-inning brawl at Great American Ball Park, Cardinals’ backstop Jason LaRue suffers a mild concussion and bruised ribs, with his batterymate Chris Carpenter also receiving bruises on his back during the seven-minute scrum. Reds’ starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, who will be suspended for seven games for kicking the Redbirds’ catcher and pitcher, draws the wrath of his opponents for lashing out with his spikes during the altercation.

The second game of the series for the NL Central lead between the Cardinals and Reds is marred by a 1st-inning bench-clearing brawl which starts when St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina has words with Cincinnati 2B Brandon Phillips about the latter’s earlier statements to the media which Cardinal players found demeaning. After the fracas, the Cards go on to win, 8 – 4, and tie the Reds for the division lead. Jaime Garcia beats Johnny Cueto. Major League Baseball will hand a seven-game suspension to Cueto, who spiked an opposing player during the brawl, and two-game suspensions to managers Dusty Baker and Tony LaRussa for their role in the melee; four players are issued fines, in addition to the two skippers.

In a surprise move, the Blue Jays place starting RF Alex Rios on waivers; the two-time All-Star is claimed by the Chicago White Sox. Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi explains that the move is meant to give the team additional financial flexibility as Rios, who is hitting .264 with 14 homers and 62 RBI, is due more than $60 million until 2015. In the game that follows, Toronto ends the Yankees’ eight-game winning streak with a 5 – 4 win, thanks to 5 2/3 innings of scoreless work from its bullpen.

2008 – The Tampa Bay Rays set a new franchise record for wins; never having topped 70 in any of 10 prior seasons, the Rays win their 71st game before mid-August to go to 71-46. They top the Mariners, 11 – 3, with three-run homers by Willy Aybar and Shawn Riggans. Edwin Jackson gets the victory. The Rays will finish the year with 97 wins and represent the American League in the World Series.

2007 – Rick Guttormson of the Softbank Hawks becomes the first player in the history of Nippon Pro Baseball to be suspended for a positive banned-substance test. Guttormson tested positively for Finasteride, which is known as a masking agent for steroids. NPB instituted its steroid policy this year.