The old Vladimir Guerrero seems to be back, albeit in a new uniform. In a game against the Royals, the Rangers’ DH hits two homers and a double on an inside pitch that almost hits him to lead Texas to an 8 – 7 win. Vlad is batting .347 with 12 homers and 42 RBI in 45 games after an injury-plagued season in 2009 with the Angels.

The Padres continue to surprise. Sporting the best record in the National League, their starting pitchers have been outstanding. Today, Jon Garland throws 7 shutout innings before the bullpen takes over from there to defeat the Cardinals, 1 – 0. It is already San Diego’s ninth shutout of the year.

The Pirates beat the Cubs, 10 – 8. Freddy Sanchez goes 6 for 6 with 4 runs, 3 RBI, a double and a homer, the first Pirate in 19 years to have six hits in a game. Jason Jaramilloand Andy LaRoche each go 3 for 5. The Bucs, fresh off an interleague series with the White Sox, become the first team in major league history to play consecutive series against the Cubs and White Sox in Chicago.

Jim Thome passes Mike Schmidt for 13th on the all-time home run list, as the White Sox thump the Angels, 17 – 3.

The Indians, trailing by ten runs in the fourth, rally to beat the Rays, 11-10. Victor Martinez’s walk-off, two-out, two-run single off Jason Isringhausen in the bottom of the seven-run ninth inning puts the finishing touch on the incredible comeback at Progressive Field

In a doubleheader loss to the Marlins, Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel ties (in the first game) and then breaks (in the second) the major league record for career games played at the position. By reaching 2,584 games played, Vizquel passes a fellow Venezuelan, Luís Aparicio.

Jamie Moyer beats the Braves. It marks his first win against Atlanta in 20 years and 2 days, the longest stretch between victories against a team in major league history. Mike Morgan had been the previous record-holder.

The Houston Astros steal seven bases, the most by any team in the majors in nearly four years, in an 8 – 5 loss to the Washington Nationals. The Astros, whose club record is eight stolen bases, last stole seven on April 13, 1999, against San Francisco. Florida was the last team in the majors to steal that many, on May 27, 2002, against the Mets. Washington third-string catcher Matt LeCroy is benched during the 7th inning after allowing the seven stolen bases and committing two errors. “If my daddy was managing this team, I’m sure he would have done the same thing”, LeCroy said.

The Kansas City Royals blow an early 6 – 0 lead and drop their 13th straight game with a 13 – 8 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The skid is the second-longest ever for the Royals, who lost 19 straight the previous season and are a major league-worst 10-35.

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 – 1, in 12 innings, as manager Tony La Russa wins his 823rd game with the Cardinals, passing Whitey Herzog for second place on the franchise list. La Russa is 218 victories behind Cardinals leader Red Schoendienst.