July 30

The Pirates take back first place in the NL Central by sweeping a doubleheader against the Cardinals. The Bucs win the opener, 2 – 1, in 11 innings, then take the nitecap, 6 – 0, as Brandon Cumpton tosses 7 scoreless innings in only his fourth big league start. The Cards have now lost 6 straight to fall out of first place.

In a three-team, seven-player deal made just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, the Red Sox obtain Jake Peavy from the White Sox, with third baseman Jose Iglesias going to the Tigers as part of the transaction that includes Avisail Garcia, whom the Red Sox acquired from Detroit, being sent to Chicago. Boston’s new right-hander gives the eventual World Champs another proven starting pitcher in their rotation, helping to fill the void created by the injury suffered by Clay Buchholz.

Andre Rienzo becomes the first major leaguer born and raised in Brazil and the second born there after Yan Gomes. Rienzo, fresh off a no-hitter for the Charlotte Knights, allows 3 unearned runs in 7 solid innings against the Indians but Donnie Veal and Matt Lindstrom blow it for the White Sox.

Kendrys Morales becomes only the third major leaguer to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning as the Angels drop a 9-run 6th inning on the Rangers on their way to a 15 – 8 win. Morales opens the scoring in the frame with a two-run homer off righty Roy Oswalt to put the Halos ahead, 5 – 3, then, after the batting order turns around, adds a grand slam off lefty Robbie Ross. Carlos Baerga, in 1993, and Mark Bellhorn, in 2002, were the other two players to accomplish the rare feat. Morales’s 6 RBI in the inning are one shy of the American League record of 7, set by Alex Rodriguez on October 4, 2009.

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.

The Orioles trade Derrek Lee to the Pirates in exchange for minor-leaguer Aaron Baker, who will report to Class A Frederick. The Bucs hope their new good-fielding first baseman can provide some pop to the lineup as the team tries to stay in contention in the competitive NL Central Division race.

The Indians announced the team has completed the trade with the Rockies for Ubaldo Jimenez. The deal, contingent on the right-hander passing his physical, sends highly touted minor league pitchers Alex White and Drew Pomeranz, along with right-handed prospect Joe Gardner, and utility player Matt McBride to Colorado in exchange for the Dominican ace, who the Tribe hopes will anchor their rotation down the pennant stretch as the team attempts to pass Detroit.

The Indians trade veteran infielder Orlando Cabrera (.244, 4, 38) to the Giants for minor league prospect Thomas Neal. In 60 games with Triple-A Fresno, the Tribe’s newest outfielder hit .295, along with two homers, and drove in 25 runs.

The Yankees complete a doubleheader sweep of the Orioles with a huge 1st inning in the nitecap, after winning the opener, 8 – 3. The Bronx Bombers score 12 runs as they chase Zach Britton, just back from the minors, after only one out, but not before he gives up 9 runs. They roll to a 17 – 3 win, accumulating 24 hits, as Ivan Nova benefits from the outburst; Robinson Cano goes 5 for 5 with 5 RBI, while Nick Swisher hits a two-run homer in each game.