Wish I could follow ’em all … Anyway, if it streaks, it leads.

@Blue Jays 13, Orioles 5: Strafing Freddy Garcia for a 9-0 lead after 3 innings, Toronto went on to a season high in runs and tied the club record with their 11th straight win, moving 5 games from 1st place. Josh Johnson faded late, but earned his first win in 8 tries for the Blue Jays. Edwin Encarnacion led the 14-hit assault with his 21st HR and 4 RBI, giving him 63 for the year. Toronto’s is the longest winning streak since Detroit won 12 in September 2011.

• Back when it was still a contest, Chris Davis was intentionally walked in the top of the 1st, 2 outs and a man on 2nd. It’s the second 1st-inning IBB this year that did not bring up the pitcher (the other went to Fielder), and the 9th IBB to Davis after 6 all of last year.
• Wouldn’t be shocked to see Pedro Strop heading to the minors after his latest flop: came in with 2 on and 2 out, hit Rajai Davis on 1-and-2, then a 3-run double by Bautista, giving Strop a 7.17 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, and 10 of 17 inherited runners scored.

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Pirates 10, @Angels 9 (10): It ended (although it seemed at times that it might never end) as it began, wild in every sense, with copious hits, walks and errors in the last 2 innings, as in the early ones. Behind since the 2nd, Pittsburgh went down in order from the 4th through 8th, then tied it with 3 in the 9th, the last 2 hits coming with 2 outs and 2 strikes. They were helped by another confounding leadoff walk from Ernesto Frieri and a costly LF misadventure by J.B. Shuck (shades of things to come). Shuck then made a pointless homeward heave on the tying hit, letting Starling Marte reach 2nd as the go-ahead run, but he was spared further blame that inning; the gods had bigger plans for this Angel.

Those plans played out in the 10th, when the sacks were full of Buccaneers, thanks to a double and the ol’ intentional walk/unintentional walk two-step. Kevin Jepsen fell behind 3-and-1, Travis Snider lined a single to left, and Shuck had a titanic Clash of intentions, resulting in 3 runs instead of one, while Mike Scioscia fumed silently: “This indecision’s buggin’ me“. Two more hits brought a “gratuitous” 4th run before the Halos could get off the field. That run wound up decisive when they scored 3 on 5 hits off Jason Grilli, with the winning run on 2nd when Trout struck out to end it.

• Trout, Pujols and Trumbo went 0 for 15, and the Angels still damn near won it.
• A mixed-grill day for Shuck, who reached in 4 of 5 trips, scored 2 and drove in 2 from the #9 hole, including a 2-out hit in the 10th. His heads-up running produced an extra tally on a Trout force play, but Bourjos hurt himself on the take-out slide, causing Shuck to move from RF to LF for the rest of the game.
• Grilli had not allowed more than 2 hits in his last 43 games, nor more than , and had only once before allowed 5 hits in a stint of 1 inning or less.
• Bucs backup catcher Michael McKenry has caught 29% of the innings, but has allowed 32 steals in 36 attempts, while Russell Martin has thrown out 17 of 37. There could be mitigating factors, but when a guy like J.B. Shuck is swiping his first 2 of the year against you in his 51st game, it doesn’t look good. McKenry’s SB numbers started out bad in 2011 and have run downhill

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@Mariners 6, Athletics 3 (10): The list of teams without a walk-off HR since 2011 is down to one. The early lead supplied by 2 Raul Ibanez HRs had leaked away, but Kendrys Morales connected with 2 on in the 10th off Grant Balfour for his first home run this month and his 2nd career game-winning shot, the first since that fateful May slam three years ago. (Note the caution as he steps on home this time.) The M’s are 8-5 against Oakland this year, and 3-7 vs. Texas.

• Those 3 RBI matched Morales’s total for his previous 15 games.
• The 41-year-old Ibanez leads Seattle with 17 HRs and 42 RBI, and has 11 of their 35 HRs in Safeco.
• Oakland’s 3-game lead has vanished in a 4-of-5 skid that drops them into 2nd place, pending the rain-delayed Texas game.
• The team with the longest walk-off-HR drought is the Cardinals, 2 years and 4 days since Albert … no, since Skip Schumaker beat the Royals with his 2nd go-ahead hit in a game he didn’t start. Pujols did hit 10 of their 29 walk-off HRs during his tenure.

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Dodgers 3, @Padres 1: The day after breaking his 16-game HR drought, Adrian Gonzalez broke a tie in the 9th with a sizzling drive off Huston Street, and Hanley Ramirez gave Street’s next pitch equal treatment, leading LA to a San Diego split. Street has allowed a career-high 10 HRs in just 25.1 IP, with 8 of those at home — the most allowed in Petco Park by a reliever in one season. Andrew Cashner‘s 8 one-run innings and cool-headed defense went to waste as the Padres fell back to .500.

• Teams scoring exactly 3 runs are now 121-122 at Petco.
• It’s just the 2nd time this year LA has hit 2 HRs in one inning, both starting with Gonzalez.

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Rays 3, @Yanks 1: Tampa broke the 1-all tie with a thank-you-kindly 2-out rally in the 7th, then cruised to a series split. Just off the DL, Ivan Nova was one out from happy handshakes during the stretch. But he hit one man, then another on 0-and-2, and Joe Girardi would run through 3 relievers before the inning ended. Shawn Kelley walked Longo on 5 pitches, and slumping James Loney singled on 1-and-2 off Boone Logan. The last 7 Yankees made out, with 3 Ks by Fernando Rodney in a rare clean save.

• Lefties are hitting .295 off the Booner.
• What year is it in the Bronx? In the 1st inning, both the Rays and the Yanks got their leadoff man on base and then bunted. But what do I know; both teams scored that run, and not again through the 6th.
• Two more knocks for Zoilo Almonte, his first doubles; now 7 for 12 with 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. Took strike 3 on a full count leading off the 9th when the Yanks needed a runner; have to see the pitch, but not necessarily a bad thing.
• Question for Yankee watchers: Why isn’t Brett Gardner running? He averaged 48 SB in 59 tries in his last 2 healthy seasons. This year, he’s 11 for 16.

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Braves 7, @Brewers 4: Brian McCann‘s grand slam in the 1st, the 10th of his career, was a good sign for Atlanta’s chances, and not just because it ended 24 scoreless innings. But Chris Johnson’s solo in the 2nd really clinched it: They’re 13-8 with exactly one HR, but 27-1 with two or more. Jordan Walden got the biggest outs. With a 6-0 lead slashed to 2 runs in the 7th, and the bases loaded on two 2-out walks by Cory Gearrin, Walden came on to douse that on a popup, and a clean 8th got the ball to Kimbrel with a cushion. Walden came to Atlanta with control problems (4.0 BB/9 in 115 IP), but he’s walked just 4 in 23 IP this year (2 intentional).

• Atlanta’s biggest output since June 9; they’d gone 4-9 averaging 2.6 R/G.
• Other NL teams are 162-67 hitting 2+ HRs.
• McCann’s career HR rates: 7.2% with bases loaded, 4.0% in all other spots.

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Reds 4, D-backs 2: The desert air agrees with Mat Latos, whose latest gem in Phoenix included 13 Ks (tying his best) and shutout ball into the 8th. Slumping Shin-Soo Choo led off the game with a long HR, his first in 25 games, on an 0-2 pitch from Randall Delgado, and Brandon Phillips hit a 2-run shot that same inning. Aroldis Chapman survived another rough 9th, starting with a 4-1 lead and letting the tying runs on base before a final flyout. For the first time in a save situation, Chapman faced 6 batters without a strikeout.

• Interesting … When Jason Kubel came up as the tying run with 2 outs in the 8th, Dusty called on a lefty — not Chapman, but Manny Parra, who is … um … not the most skilled artisan in the guild (5.14 career ERA, 4.28 as a reliever). But Parra got the job done. And maybe, this time, Dusty was right to give his closer the easier job.
• Latos in Phoenix: 6 runs in 5 games, 44 Ks in 34 IP.
• How long will Kirk Gibson go with Miguel Montero in the middle of the order? After productive years in 2011-12, Montero is hitting .220 over all (.208 with RISP) with 4 HRs, 23 RBI, slugging .303, with 11 GDPs. BAbip can explain some of the drop in average, but the power’s gone, too; 1 HR in his last 34 games.

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Mets 8, @Phillies 0: A call seen rarely, but twice in today’s MLB games, helped spark a 3-run inning, and the Mets rode Matt Harvey‘s usual dominance in Philly to capture the series — reportedly their first-ever road trip with series wins in both Atlanta and Philadelphia. David Wright became the third Met to finish with 4 hits or more yet a single shy of the cycle. Rain limited Harvey to 6 IP, but he won his 3rd straight in Philly, and has allowed 4 runs in 4 starts against them (26.1 IP, 12 hits, 28 Ks).

New York scratched early with 2 singles and 2 productive outs. In time, they’d have 9 straight hits go for extra bases and pull away, but there was an earlier fork in the road, and they took it. Down 1-0 in the 4th, the Phils put men on the corners with 1 out. But Harvey blew down Domonic Brown for the 2nd time, and a Delmon grounder ended that frame; Philly wouldn’t get another hit until the 9th. Leading off the next inning, Juan Lagares ran out a routine fly to center. Ben Revere gloved it, then casually released it from his glove towards his bare hand; he missed that transfer, the ump ruled no catch, and Lagares was on 3rd. (Good job, rook.) John Lannan got Harvey to flail at two straight changeups, then tried the high (ahem) “heat”; Harvey short-hopped the RF wall, and instead of 2 outs and a man on 3rd, the Mets were off to a 3-run inning.

• Joe Savery had a Charlie Brown moment the next time Harvey batted, but he kept his shirt on and made the play.
• In his MLB debut, Philly’s J.C. Ramirez struck out the side on 13 pitches. It was not beginner’s luck.
• Despite terrific line-drive power gap-to-gap, Wright sometimes gets pull-happy; so even though his 1st-inning belt to right-center was caught, it seemed a good sign. His next 4 trips produced 2 doubles off that wall, a straight-away triple, and a HR to left, his first-ever game with 4 extra-base hits. That’s the second in MLB this year, and the first by a Met since 1999, when both Fonzie and Rickey did it with multi-HR games.
• Mets fans may remember Dwight Gooden’s daytime struggles during his first several years. Before today, Harvey had a career 1.74 ERA at night, but 3.47 in daylight. His BA/OPS splits were .168/.477 at night, .241/.669 in day games. Last year, just one of 10 starts came in daylight, but this was his 9th day start out of 16 this year.

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@Tigers 7, Red Sox 5: After the team’s repeated failures with a man on 3rd, Jhonny Peralta changed the equation: Stop trying to hit the ball, and let the ball hit you. That 0-and-2 Andrew Miller fastball off Peralta’s thigh pushed in the tying run in the 7th. Miscues set up Detroit’s winning rally in the 8th, and after Torii Hunter‘s go-ahead sac fly and a reloading IBB to Miggy, Prince Fielder singled for 2 vital insurance markers. Boston had Justin Verlander on the ropes all day, scoring 4 in 5 innings from 11 baserunners. But once again, Drew Smyly built the bridge, getting 8 outs before Joaquin Benoit got the last 4, with a little help from the ol’ Gold Glover.

• Tough 8th inning for Daniel Nava: Pinch-hitting with 2 outs and Ellsbury on 2nd, he struck out to end that half, then “dropped” a fly to start the home half (same ruling as Revere’s play), putting the lead run on 2nd with no outs.
• Saturday’s slam raised hopes of a breakout, but Victor Martinez went 0 for 5, 3 of those with RISP — a DP with 2 on, and twice failing to bring in a man from 3rd with 1 out. But he did contribute, in an unaccustomed way.
• Junichi Tazawa since 2012: 78 IP, 84 SO, 9 BB.
• Verlander’s last 9 starts: 6.04 ERA in 50.2 IP, 1.64 WHIP.

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Saturday Observations

The 2-run hit by Jason Kubel was the first such ever by a lefty batter off Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban Missile had allowed 2 prior RBI by LHBs, on a solo HR and a HBP, and has held lefties to a .108 BA (18 for 167) while striking out half of them. No lefty has hit him twice.

Brewers RHP Donovan Hand made his first start Saturday. Miami southpaw Brad Hand has 13 MLB starts and has appeared once this year, but is currently in AAA. Those teams will meet on July 19-21. Anyone see where I’m going with this? There are two correct answers.

SF’s Sandy Rosario came on to blow away two straight Marlins with 2 aboard in the 10th (forcing a light into all those stony faces left stranded on this warm June), and stuck around to earn his 2nd win when the Jints walked off. Rosario spent 7 years in Miami’s system and got brief looks each of the last 3 years, with no success. He was claimed off waivers three times last winter, and finally stuck with the Giants. He earned his first MLB win in his SF debut, with one key out. May that pier light his carnival life forever.

Alex Torres did it again: Came in with 3 on, 1 out, and fanned 2 men to keep the deficit manageable. Tampa went ahead the next inning (in memorable fashion), and Torres set down 3 more. He how has 20 scoreless innings over 10 games, the 3rd-longest zero streak this year, while stranding all 9 inherited runners. No one has crossed the plate on his watch. His other stats: 27 Ks, 5 walks, 4 hits.

Vernon Wells pinch-hit a 3-run double (helped by a rare ruling). His first 3-RBI day since game 2 this year; Wells had 3 RBI in his last 99 PAs, and his last bases-loaded hit was in 2011.

Don’t know what made Joe Maddon madder: The umps letting David Adams score from 1st on a a play with home-crowd-interference, or Jake McGee walking Adams (a rook hitting .200 with 1 walk in 89 PAs) to force in a run with 2 outs. That was their second walked-in run, the first going to Zoilo Almonte. Zoilo (Zoilo, Zoilo, Zoilo) also had a 2-run single and drew a 4-pitch walk in the winning rally, as the Rays rightly preferred to face the hapless Jayson Nix, who promptly whiffed.

Braves were shut out for the 11th time, most in MLB. Since 1990, their season high is 14 shutout losses. Last time they lost back-to-back allowing 2 runs or less was in 2005.

Two more GDPs for Matt Holliday, making 20 in the Cards’ first 75 games. For as long as GDPs have been tabulated, only Jim Rice and Holliday have had 20 in the team’s first 75 games. Again, Rice holds the top 2 season marks, 36 and 35, with no others above 32.

The Phillies have 3 walk-off HRs this year, by 3 players with a combined 12 home runs this year, each hitting his first game-winner.

In case you haven’t heard … In 15 trips against Dillon Gee, Ryan Howard has 7 hits, 6 HRs, and has “homered for the cycle.” He’s faced Gee in 6 games, and homered in 5 of them. The other game, he whiffed all 3 times. I’d study that game film, Dillon.

Six of 12 career HRs by Jordany Valdespin have come in the 9th inning or later. In those innings, he’s just 8 for 55, but 6 HRs.

Tying 3-run HR in the 7th by Raul Ibanez was his 5th dinger in 52 ABs against lefties this year. Just one of his 22 HRs last year came off a southpaw, and that in the postseason.

Through May, Oakland relievers went 9-1 with a 2.80 ERA. In June, they’re 3-5, 3.97.

Minnesota starter P.J. Walters took the mound with a 2-0 lead, walked the leadoff man, hit the next, gave up a tying double, and eventually walked 4 more to force in 2 runs before being pulled. It’s the first start since 2004 with 5+ walks in less than an inning, and just the second ever by a Minnesota Twin. (You may have heard the sad tale of Joe Decker, who won 16 games for the ’74 Twins, with decent control. After 2 starts in ’75, he went on the DL for 4 weeks and was never the same. In his next 3 starts, he walked 4 or more in the 1st inning and was yanked each time — the only streak of even two such games in the searchable database, and the only season with 3 such games. Decker wound up with 87 walks in 84 IP over 1975-76, which is official Steve Blass Disease, and like all such sufferers, he never recovered. Four career starts of 4+ walks in less than an inning ties Decker with Nolan Ryan for the all-time high.)

The Twins hit 4 HRs against Cleveland, their 7th game since 2011 with 4 or more. Four of those came in their last 21 games, and 2 in their last 3 games. They were last in AL HRs in 2011, next-to-last in 2012, and were last with 15 this April. But they hit 31 in May, tied for 7th, and are 7th again with 22 in June.