A surprise sixth contender participates in the Presidents Race when Sharknado, a character from the SyFy original movie about sharks being brought on land by a waterspout, ambushes George, Tom, Teddy, and Bill in the Nationals Park dash. Although Sharknado successfully blows past four of his competitors, Abe, with the wind to his back, secures a first-place finish.

The Dodgers defeat the Nationals, 3 – 2, to move to a game above .500 as Andre Ethier homers off Rafael Soriano in the top of the 9th.

2012 – Edinson Volquez throws a one-hitter as San Diego defeats Houston, 1 – 0. Matt Downs gets the only Astro hit with a squibbler off Volquez’s glove in the 4th. It is only the third complete game shutout thrown by a Padres pitcher since the otherwise pitcher-friendly PETCO Park opened in 2004.

The Pirates are in first place on merit in the NL Central, as their 1 – 0 shutout of one of their chief rivals, the Cincinnati Reds, attests. James McDonald pitches 6 1/3 scoreless innings, then Joe Beimel bails him out of a bases-loaded jam by striking out Jay Bruce to end the 7th inning; two other relievers finish the game. The Pirates manage just four hits, but make Josh Harrison’s 1st-inning run stand up.

The Giants get some veteran help, acquiring 2B Jeff Keppinger from the Astros for minor league pitchers Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel. Freddy Sanchez and his replacement Bill Hall are both on the disabled list for the Giants, with Sanchez out for the season.

With trade rumors continuing to swirl around his name, All-Star Game starter Roy Halladay wins for the first time in over a month as Toronto defeats Boston, 3 – 1. Doc is now 11-3 for the year.

John Lackey and rookie Brett Anderson are locked in a scoreless pitching duel for 9 innings before a solo homer by Bobby Abreu in the 10th inning wins the game for the Angels, 1 – 0, over the A’s. Abreu had earlier broken Anderson’s bid for a perfect game in the 7th.

The Brewers, absent injured 2B Rickie Weeks, acquire Felipe López from the Diamondbacks to strengthen their lineup. Arizona gets Cole Gillespie and Roque Mercedes in return.

2008 – Confusion erupts in a New York-Penn League game between the Staten Island Yankees and Brooklyn Cyclones. Switch-hitting Brooklyn DH Ralph Henriquez Jr. steps to the plate from the right side against Pat Venditte, the minor leagues’ first ambidextrous pitcher of the century. Henriquez then decides he will hit left-handed and Venditte promptly switches his glove to the right hand. Henriquez again calls time and switches sides. The shuffle continues several times before the umpires and managers decide that the batter must declare first from which side he will bat and that players can only switch once per at-bat. Venditte, throwing from the right side, winds up whiffing Henriquez on four pitches.