Athletics 3, @Angels 1: The fourth time was the charm for Jarrod Parker. Given just 2 runs total in his 3 prior starts against Anaheim, Parker had gone 0-2 (and the A’s 0-3) despite his run average of 3.05; and when he gave back an early 1-0 lead on a 2-out rally in the 3rd that began with a walk to Mike Trout, it seemed more of the same was in store. But Parker allowed just one more hit through 7, Brandon Moss did his thing, and the bullpen closed it out, pulling Oakland within 3 games of idle Texas and dropping the Angels to 1.5 games out of the wild card.

• With 17 HRs in 217 PAs, Moss’s .302 isolated power ranks 2nd among all hitters with 200+ PAs. He’s broken out of a slump by hitting .353/1.083 in his last 14 games (5 HRs, 23 R+RBI); the A’s went 11-3 in those games and are 37-14 in his starts this year.

@Reds 4, Pirates 3 (14): After losing a 3-1 lead in the 7th, Pittsburgh filled the bags with no outs in the 14th. But Chase d’Arnaud flied out on the first pitch, not deep enough; Pedro Alvarez lunged at a first-pitch curve and pulled a grounder to 1B, which the reigning Gold Glover turned into a nifty force at home; and Jose Tabata rolled out to end the threat. No surprise that Cincinnati won it in the bottom half.

• With so much going wrong for the Pirates, recriminations seem almost pointless. But looking at that 14th inning, I can’t help wondering why d’Arnaud, a mediocre RHB just called up from the minors, was batting in the cleanup spot against a RHP in a crucial situation. Well, d’Arnaud had pinch-run for righty-basher Garrett Jones in the top of the 10th after Jones drew a walk that moved Andrew McCutchen to 2nd base with no outs. Hunh? Sure, d’Arnaud can run circles around Jones — but what’s the marginal advantage in that situation, with Cutch’s run paramount and Aroldis Chapman being an extreme SO/flyball pitcher? Sure, Gaby Sanchez is a defensive upgrade over Jones at 1B — but you don’t think about that move until after you take the lead. Finally, if you’re going to pinch-run for Jones if he gets on, why even let him bat there, given his career .201 BA vs. southpaws and Chapman’s (heh-heh) .101 career mark against LHBs? Very puzzling sequence by Clint Hurdle, though some have used another word.
• Further fogging up that 10th inning: With 2 on and no outs, Alvarez — himself at .210 lifetime vs. LHPs — batted away against Chapman, and struck out on 4 pitches; that gave him 3 Ks in 4 hitless matchups against Chapman, and a career K rate of 38% vs. LHPs.

@White Sox 6, Tigers 1: Speaking of hopes slipping away … After Detroit missed multiple chances to extend a 1-0 lead, Alex Rios snatched the lead away by punishing an 0-1 meatball with 2 aboard, and when A.J. Pierzynski followed with his 26th, the Tigers were toast.

• Coming off two straight disasters, Jose Quintana frustrated the Bengals over 7.2 IP, working out of jams in the first 3 innings, then retiring 16 of 17.
• Through August 7, Rick Porcello was 9-6 with a 4.62 ERA. He’s lost his last six starts while posting a 4.50 ERA, with Detroit totaling 10 runs.
• No Mo in Motown: Since sweeping the Sox for a share of first, the Tigers have lost 6 of 7, scoring 1 or 2 runs in all 6 losses.

@Brewers 4, Braves 1: Norichika Aoki‘s heroic turn went down as tragedy on Sunday, but he was triumphant in Monday’s encore. Undaunted by their missed chance against the Cards, or by a 6-inning shutdown from Mike Minor, the Crew crashed through with 4 runs in the 7th, exploiting the mistakes of Jonny Venters & Co. Their comeback, and the Cards’ comedown, brought Milwaukee back within 5 games.

• This Prado artifact is on loan from the Museum of What Were They Thinking? But then, the Braves seemed determined to run themselves out of this game from the start: Heyward CS in the 1st, Freeman picked off in the 2nd, another Prado dive-bomb at 3B….
• Playing in their former hometown for the first time since last April, the Braves lost for the 4th straight time, but they still hold a 29-19 edge against the Brewers in Cream City.

@Padres 11, Cardinals 3: St. Louis began their final Western jaunt with a junker, as the Friars hung 5 crooked numbers, touching all 5 Cardinal hurlers, who combined to hand out 8 walks and suffered 17 safeties in only 8 innings. Eric Stults, the 32-year-old journeyman waived by the White Sox in May, improved to 5-0, 2.08 since joining the rotation on August 6.

• The Padres are 33-22 since the Break and 15-5 more recently. They’ve scored 5+ in 5 straight home games, matching their longest streak since moving to Petco in 2004. They hadn’t done it even 4 straight games since 2007.
• Cameron Maybin scored 3 runs and had 2 extra-base hits, each feat just his 2nd this year.
• The Cards are 32-37 on the road, and have lost 5 straight on the West Coast.

@Phillies 3, Marlins 1: A 13-4 stretch — built, as in their blueprint, on pitching — has chopped a 10.5-game wild card deficit down to 5 games. Kyle Kendrick kept Miami hitless through 5 and set new highs with 8 Ks and 6 straight Quality Starts (5-1, 1.49), and Domonic Brown flashed the power that’s been M.I.A. for 2 years, with his first-ever HR off a southpaw.