[Some think of Labor Day as summer’s end, but in my household, summer lasts as long as Roger Federer is in the U.S. Open. That used to buy us extra time…. But never mind such sadness — the stretch run is here!]

@Athletics 4, Rangers 2 — The AL West is a dead heat. The A’s, who last shared the top spot on August 9, have won 4 straight low-scoring games, yielding 7 total runs. Monday, after Texas tied on David Murphy’s 2-run HR in the 5th, a throwing error by reigning Gold Glover Adrian Beltre was followed by Coco Crisp’s home run off Derek Holland. The Oakland bullpen held that lead despite 8 baserunners in the last 4 innings.

Texas filled the bases with 1 out in the 6th, but the just-activated veteran Lance Berkman lined to shallow right, and Murphy bounced to 2nd. Berkman had one more chance in the 8th, but lined to CF to leave 2 aboard, completing his day at 0-4. The Rangers mounted a last push in the 9th, getting the tying run to 2nd with 1 out off Grant Balfour, but Ian Kinsler (0-5, GDP) and Beltre each made first-pitch outs. Texas went hitless in 9 tries with men in scoring position, 0-3 by Berkman.

• These teams have 6 games left with one another, 3 more here in Oakland, then 3 in Texas next weekend. The rest of Oakland’s games face teams with losing records, while the Rangers still have Pittburgh, Tampa and K.C.
• Crisp has homered in 3 straight games for the second time in two weeks, totaling 7 HRs (and 14 runs) in 12 games and a career-high 17 HRs for the year.
• Leonys Martin struck out in 4 of 5 trips (his first time over 2 Ks), and made this almost-very-costly error, seeming to rush for a play he had little chance of making, and deliberately lining up to field the groundball to the side. Martin has hit poorly since moving to the leadoff role about a month ago, continuing a Rangers trend; they’re next-to-last in leadoff runs among AL teams.
• Days in 1st place: Texas, 70 clear, 10 tied; Oakland, 53 clear, 8 tied; Astros, 1 clear (after Opening Night); Angels, 1 tied (after Opening Day); Mariners, 1 clear, 2 tied (all in first 3 days).

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@Reds 7, Cardinals 2 — Mat Latos went the distance for the first time this year, and Cincy beat up Adam Wainwright for the second time in a week, scoring in each of the first 4 innings. Shin-Soo Choo led the early onslaught with a “2-2-2-2” line in the first 2 innings, including a home run, as the Reds went up, 4-zip. Wainwright’s double helped cut that lead in half, but he couldn’t stop the power core, as Bruce’s double and Votto’s homer built it back to four.

• Tuesday: Michael Wacha vs. Homer Bailey. The Cards are 63-36 in games started by a RHP this year, and have beaten Bailey two of three this year, but he shut them down last week. The Reds also fare better against righties, but Wacha dominated them in long relief in that same Bailey game.
• Through 2012, Latos had a 9.00 ERA in 7 starts against the Cards. This year, 2.38 in 5 starts.
• Votto’s BA and OPS have declined in the 2nd half the last 2 seasons: last year, from .348/1.087 to .299/.885 (shortened by injury); this year, from .318/.939 to .278/.889, before this game.
• Choo has hit and scored in 6 straight games.

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Tigers 3, @Red Sox 0 — Doug Fister’s groundball-inducing talent overcame his shaky control, enabling 7 scoreless frames as Detroit moved up to 4-1 against the BoSox. Fister gave 4 free runners in the first 2 innings (with one HBP), but DPs bailed him out both times, and he bagged another in the 6th after a leadoff hit, taking the AL lead in that department. John Lackey dueled Fister evenly through six, but he left a slider up to Andy Dirks, who drove it to the triangle, just past Ellsbury’s reach, plating one and setting up the next.

Detroit had missed three prior scoring chances, going 0-8 after a trio of doubles that came with less than 2 outs, as V-Mart couldn’t find the seam in Boston’s defense or on the baseline. The sing-along inspired a Boston rally, with Daniel Nava’s leadoff double and Fister’s 4th walk. But to avoid another twin-kill, they asked Jarrod Saltalamacchia to execute his first sacrifice since 2009; Alex Avila nailed the lead runner, and two groundouts choked the threat. Fister got 13 of his 21 outs on grounders (4 Ks, 4 air outs); his GB/FB ratio is 3rd among all qualifiers.

• The teams combined for 1 of 23 with RISP, that one a non-scoring single.
• I thought the Salty bunt was an odd choice. True, he whiffed and DP’d in his first two trips. But his DPs when batting left are rare; he’s dangerous from that side, especially this year; and his numbers against Fister showed 5 for 10, a HR and two doubles. The count was 1-and-0, another point for Salty.
• Some DPs are tailor-made, but some require alterations.
• Fister walked just 24 in his first 22 starts, but 13 in his last 6 games. Boston beat him from pillar to post in their last two meetings.
• The last Tiger with 7+ scoreless innings in Fenway was … well, who’d’ve thunk it?!
• Tuesday: Max Scherzer goes for #20 against Jon Lester. Detroit touched up Lester in June, but he still got the win, and the Tigers likely won’t have Miggy, who’s reached in 15 of 21 trips against the southpaw. Scherzer mastered Boston in that series, but David Ortiz has owned him (7-13, 3 HRs).

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Pirates 5, @Brewers 2 — The 6th straight strong effort by Charlie Morton, and Neil Walker’s 3-run homer off Alfredo Figaro, gave back the Bucs’ clear title on the Central lead. Morton clipped the first man he saw, his NL-leading 14th HBP in just 90 innings, but shook that off and lasted 7 on just one earned run. He’s 4-0, 1.74 his last 6 games (beating Milwaukee the last two), and 7-3, 3.00 overall, in what would be his first year ever with an adjusted ERA+ better than the league. Morton and Jose Tabata featured in each scoring frame, the pitcher’s two sac bunts preceding Tabata RBI singles, and their two hits hit in front of Walker’s 7th-inning blast.

• Tom Gorzelanny left with soreness after giving up Morton’s leadoff single in the 7th. Ron Roenicke had likely planned on Gorzo sticking around to face Walker, who has only 4 career home runs against a lefty. The switch to Figaro wasn’t promising; he’s now allowed 15 HRs in just 68 IP.

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@Angels 11, Rays 2 — Last week, Chris Archer beat the Angels — their only win in the last 8 games, and the last time they scored more than 3 runs. This time, he didn’t last 4 innings, surrendering 5 runs on 9 hits. The loss was Tampa’s 5th in a row, cutting their wild-card lead to 2 games over Baltimore, the Yanks another half-tick back.

• Andrew Romine notched his first extra-base hit, in 80 ABs spread over 4 seasons.

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@Yankees 9, White Sox 1 — Did someone say “big inning”? New York batted around and then some in the 4th, scoring 8 runs on 7 hits, none bigger than a two-bagger. David Huff turned in 5.2 innings on just one run, no walks, taking the reins from Phil Hughes after a long rain delay (a move that some would make permanent). Derek Jeter drove in the first run with a single after the first of two Brett Gardner doubles; Jetes went 2-4, with 2 RBI for the first time in his limited play this year.

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@Royals 3, Mariners 1 — K.C. made the most of their scant offense against Felix Hernandez, bunching 3 singles for a tying run in the 4th, then scoring 2 the next frame on 2 singles, then a steal, wild pitch and sac fly. Will Smith earned the win with a big bailout in the 4th inning, after Seattle’s baserunner barrage had finally made a dent on Danny Duffy. Smith left two on their corners, then worked 4 more innings, retiring 13 of 14 batters, with 8 Ks and 36/46 strikes.

• King Felix has lost 4 straight starts for just the second time.
• The Royals reached 71-66, inching closer to their first winning year since 2003.

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@Braves 13, Mets 5 — The better team won. Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up 6 runs in the first two frames, 5 on two big blows by Freddie Freeman, and his 3-inning stint exposed the sordid underbelly of the New York bullpen.

• When Terry Collins went to the mound with 2 outs in the 2nd, I thought he carried the metaphorical hook with Dice-K’s walking papers speared on the end, but it was just a chat.

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Dodgers 10, @Rockies 8 — Not even Clayton Kershaw is immune to Coors Field’s dangers. But for once, the cheap-win luck was on his side. Kershaw gave up 5 runs and a career-high 11 hits in just 5 innings, but earned his first win since 2011 in a non-quality start, and his first ever when allowing more than 4 runs.

The Dodger ace let slip a 1-0 lead with 3 runs in the 1st inning, nearly matching his prior season total for that frame. A.J. Ellis got one back in the 3rd with a 2-out hit, but he was caught stealing to end that threat with a man on 3rd and Juan Uribe batting. Uribe’s single in the 4th was wasted, but he singled again with 2 outs in the 5th, squaring accounts and putting two on the pond for Kershaw, who cashed them with his second hit of the game, on the second pitch thrown by Jeff Manship. But Clayton gave back those two from the hill, Jordan Pacheco’s 2-out single scoring Nolan Arenado and tying things at 5.

Ties have a short shelf life in Coors Field, and L.A. quickly forged ahead again, starting when Arenado threw away a Puig grounder. A-Gon singled Yasiel to 3rd, and Hanley cashed him with a go-ahead flyout. Andre Ethier’s 2-run HR puffed the lead to 3 — just enough, as things played out, to keep Kershaw’s winning chance alive. The Rox scored 2 in the 8th and had men cornered with 1 out, but Michael Cuddyer bounced into his second DP, their 4th. Uribe was in the middle of one last L.A. rally, providing enough cushion to laugh off Wilin Rosario’s 21st HR in the Rockies’ 9th.

• Ethier added 2 doubles for his first 3-XBH game in 3 years.
• Colorado had 18 hits, 7 for extra bases, and went 8-20 with RISP. But the 4 DPs killed them.
• Kershaw’s prior high of 10 hits allowed came in Coors Field 5 years ago. His ERA in 13 starts there is 5.24.
• Kershaw owned just one prior win allowing as many as 4 runs — and those were all unearned.

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@Phillies 3, Nationals 2 — “When the fall is all there is, it matters.” The quote fits either side, and these two rivals — the Nats resolved to fight ’til hope is lost, the Phils with nought to gain but spoilers’ pride — staged a furious battle in the late innings. Cole Hamels and Stephen Strasburg each racked up whiffs and yielded just a run on 2 hits, so it came down to the bullpens.

Washington seized on Justin De Fratus’s wildness in the 8th, edging ahead on Scott Hairston’s sac fly after the rookie filled the sacks on a single and two 5-pitch walks. B.J. Rosenberg stemmed that tide by fanning Ryan Zimmerman on 3 pitches, but Washington workhorse Tyler Clippard came on for the bottom half with a string of 21 straight outs, and he was one step from the dugout with 2 retired and a 1-2 count on Cesar Hernandez. The rookie had already gone down swinging twice, and he’d swung through both strikes here. But Clippard lost the plate: 3 straight balls put Hernandez on with his first career walk. Jimmy Rollins took a ball, then fouled off four, took another, spoiled one more, and finally ripped a double to right-center, Hernandez racing in to tie the game. Then Chooch Ruiz punched a 2-0 pitch into left, and Rollins scored the lead run.

Now Jonathan Papelbon came on to close. Jayson Werth, a hero of their Sunday comeback, lined out to RF, but Ian Desmond stroked a hit that way, and Adam LaRoche on 1-and-2 pulled one through, as Desmond ran to 3rd. Wilson Ramos came up seeking redemption, 0-for-3 at bat and with a throwing error that set up the only run off Strasburg. Papelbon’s first two missed, but he came back to catch Ramos looking at strikes two and three. The Nats’ last hope, Anthony Rendon, took two strikes and swung through the third. The loss knocked Washington back to 7.5 games behind the Reds.

• 2 runs scored by Rollins broke his tie with Alan Trammell and pulled him level with Joe Cronin for #16 on the all-time shortstop list. He needs 102 more runs to crack the top 10 (Luis Aparicio); that used to be a year’s worth for Rollins, but he’s scored just 51 in full-time play this year.
• Strasburg has won just once in 9 tries since the All-Star Break, despite a 2.59 ERA. The Nats have scored exactly 2 runs in 11 of his 27 starts, and one or none in 5 more, putting him dead last in run support per game among NL qualifiers.
• At 6-9 with a 2.85 ERA, Strasburg would have the lowest ERA since 1992 for a qualified pitcher with a W% of .400 or below.

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Blue Jays 4, @Diamondbacks 1 — Brandon McCarthy logged Arizona’s first-ever 9-inning, complete game loss with 4+ runs allowed, and the first in MLB since Cliff Lee on 2010-07-10. The other three since 2006 belong to Roy Halladay. McCarthy’s 93 pitches were the fewest in such a game since a Greg Swindell outing on 1991-09-07, also against the Jays, and tied the fewest ever in a D-backs regulation CG.

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Afterthoughts from Sunday

Darin Ruf hit his 15th HR in his 61st career game Sunday, tying Don Hurst (1928) for the fastest pace in Phillies history. (But really, we just wanted to name-drop our buddy and Hurst’s 1931 teammate, Buzz Arlett, who’s third on that list, in his only big-league season.)

The Phillies sure don’t rush their prospects. Look at Ruf’s progression: In 2010, his 2nd year in pro ball, Ruf hit .290/.363 OBP with 46 doubles+triples, split across two A levels. But he only hit 9 HRs and didn’t tear up high-A, so he started 2011 at high-A, and did tear it up pretty well (.308/.388/.508), raising his HRs (17) and walks while cutting his strikeouts. But he stayed there all year, and in 2012 moved up only to AA.

There, Ruf was the dominant hitter in the Eastern League, leading with 38 HRs, 104 RBI and a 1.028 OPS. That got him a September cuppa, 37 PAs in which he hit .333/1.079 with 3 HRs and 10 RBI. He was 25 years old, apparently ready for regular play in the bigs — but as a first baseman, there was nowhere to play him, thanks to the Ryan Howard albatross. So Ruf spent half of this year at AAA, getting some more outfield experience, and finally got called up July 6, since when he has a 134 OPS+, 12 HRs and .348 OBP in 198 PAs.

A similar pattern was followed with Howard, Chase Utley and Domonic Brown. It wouldn’t seem like an attempt to manage service time for salary purposes, since they’re obviously not pinching pennies (NL’s #2 payroll). Rather, it seems like a slow trigger in dealing with positional logjams, and a preference for veterans.

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It’s September 1, Cubs fans; do you know where your prospects are?

Anyone who buys into Jake Arrieta‘s respectable work for the Cubs (3.77 ERA in 5 starts) is fooling himself. Arrieta’s basic rate stats are virtually the same as those that produced a 7.23 ERA in 5 Baltimore starts; the only difference is that his BAbip’s fallen from .343 to .195. Two of his three quality starts for Chicago featured 3 walks and a HR in 6 to 6.2 IP, but just one run; that’s not gonna hold.

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Ernesto Frieri’s 5-out save Sunday was his 6th this year lasting more than one inning. Edward Mujica is 2nd with 4 such saves, and no others have more than 2. Closers with 2 such saves are Koji Uehara, Sergio Romo, Bobby Parnell, Kenley Jansen, Jim Henderson and Joaquin Benoit. The most ever in a season is [ahem] 35, by Dan Quisenberry, 1983 (35 of 45). Quiz owns three of the top five season marks, all from 1982-84, with 90 of his 124 total saves in that span going 4+ outs. He also has the top career percentage out of the 44 pitchers with 200+ saves; 160 of Quisenberry’s 244 lasted more than one inning (65.6%) — a higher rate than even his predecessors Hoyt Wilhelm (63.4%), Sparky Lyle (56.3%), Rollie Fingers (58.9%) and Rich Gossage (62.3%).

Mariano Rivera stands far above the current crowd with 116 of 647 career saves lasting more than one inning (plus 31 of 42 in the postseason, lest we forget). Jonathan Papelbon is next with 36 of 280.

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Brett Oberholtzer’s shutout got me looking at Houston’s career lefty SHO leaders: (1) Bob Knepper, 18 of 267 starts; (2) Dave Roberts, 11 of 121; (3) Mike Cuellar (6 of 88), Mike Hampton (6 of 172) and Jim Deshaies (6 of 178); (6) Jerry Reuss (4 of 70) and Randy Johnson (4 of 11).

Oberholtzer is the first Houston southpaw with a shutout since 2010-08-30, J.A. Happ. By the way, Oberholtzer never had a shutout in 105 minor-league starts.

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Crush a few more like this, Matt den Dekker, and they’ll find some lower-case letters for your jersey.

Ross Ohlendorf was tossing B.P. Sunday night. Besides the 9 hits in 5 innings, there were several loud outs, like this one. He’s skating along with a 2.98 ERA, founded on a .266 BAbip, vs. prior career marks of 5.10 and .310.

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I was at the Mets game last Thursday for a godson’s birthday, so when New York’s Anthony Recker homered on his birthday, I mentioned that players tend to hit better on their birthday than overall. But so far, it’s been a lousy year for birthday hitters. Here are the recent BA and OPS marks for non-pitchers batting on their birthday:

• 2008 — .278 / .763
• 2009 — .276 / .735
• 2010 — .242 / .675
• 2011 — .315 / .801
• 2012 — .249 / .695
• 2013 — .223 / .603
• 2008-12 combined — .272 / .734

The most likely explanation for this year’s poor birthday performance, I think, is just random fluctuation; the sample is only 376 PAs, about one-sixth the total for the past 5 years. But just for fun, here’s a cockamamie theory that I won’t take the time to test:

September has the highest birth rate, historically. Because of roster expansion, September birthday stats would tend to have a disproportionate number of young players. Younger players, and those getting their first shot in the majors, might tend to be happier on their birthday than older players. But the data for this year so far include just one September birthday. So, we might see the overall birthday performance improve by the end of the month.