Astros 2, @Rays 1 — Jose Veras caught Evan Longoria looking with the tying run on 3rd, a final flair for a night of compelling baseball that almost unraveled at the end.

A no-hit bid usually gets interesting around the 6th, but a big-league debut against red-hot David Price and the streaking but oft-victimized Rays focused the attention a little sooner. Jarred Cosart got a DP to end the 5th, after his 2nd walk, then sailed the 6th on 8 pitches. Ben Zobrist broke it with 1 out in the 7th, but Longo’s DP kept Cosart one over the minimum through 7. Carlos Corporan had cushioned Cosart’s entry with a 2-out, 2-run single in the 1st. Price got stingy after that; he used just 87 pitches to go the route. Loney singled to start the 8th, but Cosart stayed in against Wil Myers, and got his 3rd DP. Twelve fielded grounder made 15 of his 24 outs.

With 2 outs and none on in the 9th (after a 4th DP), SS Jake Elmore threw wild on the potential game-ender. Two hits halved the lead and brought up Longoria, but Veras held on for his 10th straight save converted.

• Cosart, 23, is a slim 6′ 3″ righty who’s made it out of the 38th round. Walks will be an issue — he threw 55 strikes and 41 balls, and was lifted after starting the 9th with his third walk. But he had a 3.13 ERA in 22 PCL starts, with a good K rate and a very low HR rate for that loop.
• He’s the first Astro ever to break in with 8+ scoreless innings, and the first in MLB since 2008. His 77 Game Score is 2nd-best for a debut in the last 5 seasons.
• If a sub-100 pitch CG is a Maddux, Price’s 87-pitch CG should be a Cook. Three of the past six 9-inning games on 87 pitches or less were turned in by Aaron Cook, including a 74-pitch CG that’s tied for fewest in this century. (Of course, Price’s feat could just be a sub-Maddux; Greg had 4 of those in his career, with a low of 76.)
• The Rays have been no-hit 4 times since 2009, including 2 perfectos.

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Cardinals 3, @Cubs 2 — Blanked in Wrigley Thursday, St. Louis scored twice in the 1st today — all they’d get from Carlos Villanueva’s 6 innings — but their 2-out rally in the 7th proved decisive. Pinch-hitter Rob Johnson tripled, and Matt Carpenter doubled him home. A triple by Carlos Beltran (4-1-3-1) was the 1st-inning fulcrum.

• Allen Craig drove in a run with his 30th RISP single, tops in MLB.

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@Pirates 3, Mets 2 (11 inn.) — Jordy Mercer’s 2-out grounder skimmed past the shortstop’s desperate dive, and Andrew McCutchen steamed across with the winning run, beating Gonzalez Germen in his MLB debut. Cutch led off with a walk and swiped 2nd against the nervous rook, New York’s 6th pitcher of the game, but Germen recovered from a 3-and-0 hole to fan Gaby Sanchez for the 2nd out. Mercer stepped in 0-4 on the night, running his slump to 9 for 54, but he got just enough of a high 1-1 fastball to bounce it through for his first walk-off hit.

Starters Jeremy Hefner and Charlie Morton both went 7 strong and left tied at 2. Terry Collins used 4 pitchers in the 9th, and survived. Starling Marte was on 3rd with 1 out, bunted over after blazing to a leadoff double off David Aardsma. Cutch was passed, and Scott Rice entered to fan Pedro Alvarez on a dirt-eating slider. But sidewinding Greg Burke couldn’t get his man, walking Russell Martin to fill ’em up. Then Josh Edgin fell behind Sanchez, 2-and-0, and it seemed Collins had indulged his lefty fetish once too often. Edgin had come on with Garrett Jones due, but Clint Hurdle made the obvious move to Sanchez, career .291/.884 off southpaws. But he got no 2-0 cookie; he reached for a far-side strike, and rolled out to 1st to bring on extras.

Back in the 1st, David Wright ranged too far left and poached one from the SS, and his off-balance throw was too late for speedy Tabata. Two pitches later, Alvarez went dead central. Hefner was otherwise dominant, rolling through 7 on 78 pitches (3 hits, no walks). In the 6th, Wright’s 2-out bloop cut the lead, and a Kirk Nieuwenhuis blast tied it in the 7th. Hefner was pulled for a hitter leading off the 8th; no injury reported yet.

• A great throw by Russell Martin caught Eric Young despite a good jump, after he opened the game with a single. That put Martin over 50% in CS, 22 of 43.
• Hefner has 9 QS in his last 10 games, with a 2.14 ERA in that stretch.
• 4 more zeroes for the Bucco bullpen, improving their already NL-best scoring average, and with the league’s most innings.

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@Tigers 7, Rangers 2 — The first 6 Bengals reached against struggling Justin Grimm, and their 7 runs in the first 2 frames were enough for Doug Fister and 3 relievers to deal Texas a third straight loss.

When these nines last met, in May, the Rangers were rolling with a 7-game lead in their division. They took 3 of 4 that series, pounding 28 runs in the wins and beating up on Fister in the finale. Several Texans have big numbers off Fister, and sure enough, their wave seemed cresting in the 4th, with 2 runs in on 4 hits, and nemesis David Murphy batting with the bases loaded. He came in 9 for 20 with 4 HRs off Fister, but the rangy righty fanned him on 3 pitches, setting Murphy aside for the 3rd time tonight. They wouldn’t get a man past 2nd the rest of the way, but just for fun (or something), Jim Leyland brought in Joaquin Benoit with 2 outs, 2 on in the 9th, and he blew down Nelson Cruz on 3 pitches.

• Texas is 24-25 since that last Tigers series.
• Miguel Cabrera went 1 for 2 with a walk, and a sac fly for his 95th RBI.
• Fister won for the first time since June 16. He had allowed 19 ER in his last 4 starts, 22.1 IP. Grimm’s record leveled at 7-7 as his ERA soared to 6.37, worst among those with at least 13 starts.
• Bruce Rondon got 4 clean outs in the longest stint of his brief career.

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Reds 4, @Braves 2 — Keeping with the day’s early-scoring theme, Cincy posted 3 in the opening half off Kris Medlen, then rode Bronson Arroyo’s 7 crafty innings, and survived another non-dominant save by Aroldis Chapman. Brian McCann broke the shutout with a solo in the 7th, but he popped out as the tying run to end the game. Medlen allowed 11 runners in 4-plus innings and bequeathed full sacks, but Alex Wood let in just one to keep the deficit livable. But Arroyo was giving nothing — 2 singles and a walk besides the HR, and none of those got past 1st base.

• Atlanta fell to 53-40, but held their 6-game lead.
• B.J. Upton was injured while missing this 2-out line drive that scored the third run in the 1st (a triple?), and baby bro departed later.
• Taking the next 2 would give the Reds their first series win against a plus-.500 team since a 2-of-3 against the Bucs that started May 31. They’re 18-20 since June began.

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@Marlins 8, Nationals 3 — Ahead by 3 before he took the mound, Stephen Strasburg gave it right back and more, 5 runs fueled by 3 early walks. Another walk began the 2nd, in front of Giancarlo — whoops! That tied Strasburg’s career high of 7 runs allowed (first time with 7 ER). It also brought a quick end to his labors, as he didn’t come back for the 3rd, after splitting 66 pitches evenly between balls and strikes. Marcell Ozuna hit a 3-run triple in the 1st, cashing Strasburg’s first 3 walks, and Nathan Eovaldi did just enough for his 5th QS in as many tries since coming up in June.

• Strasburg had surrendered 5 in a game just once this year, but the Fish have gaffed him for 5+ in 3 of the last 4 meetings. He’s held them scoreless in 6 of 11 starts.
• Eovaldi came from L.A. to help disguise the Hanley salary dump. He’ll never dazzle with strikeouts, but he had an absurdly low home-run rate in the minors (11 HRs in 364 IP) and a good one in the majors (0.68 HR/9).
• Ross Ohlendorf worked 4 scoreless in Strasburg’s wake. He began this year with a career ERA+ of 80, 4th-worst among actives with 400+ innings, but he’s done well in long relief since his recall last month (4 runs in 20.2 IP).

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@Orioles 8, Blue Jays 5 — The majors’ top long-ball clubs showed why, alternating 4 bazingas in the 2nd and 3rd. The O’s scored all their runs on HRs off Mark Buehrle, starting with a 2-run Crush for Chris (#35), then 3-run jobs by Adam Jones (who also scored thrice) and J.J. Hardy (his 16th). Toronto won the base-hit battle, 14-9, but they couldn’t get the big ones, as Joey Bats went 0-5 with 4 Ks. Chris Tillman did his thing, a bare-minimum QS despite allowing his 19th and 20th HRs. He stands at 11-3, 3.95, and is 20-6 in 34 starts since 2012. Jim Johnson threw one pitch for a bogus you-know-what, and MLB.com actually made it a highlight clip.

• Manny Machado’s been stuck on 39 doubles for 6 games. He had an 8-game drought in May, then broke loose with 6 in 5 games.

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@Indians 3, Royals 0 — Scoreless through the stretch, but 5 straight Tribe hits boarded 3, capped by Michael Bourn’s pinch-double after a bunt hit by Mark Reynolds filled the pond with ducks. That put Corey Kluber in the driver’s seat for his 7th win; he allowed 3 hits in 7.2 IP, dodging a leadoff triple in the 5th (and bags full, 1 out). Carlos Santana’s double leading off the home 5th was the first hit off Bruce Chen, but he, too, was stranded. Chen was lifted after 6 in his first start this year (1 hit, 1 walk), but relief was sorely lacking. Cody Allen mixed 3 runners with 3 Ks for his 2nd save, catching Jarrod Dyson looking with the bases loaded.

• K.C.’s scored 3 or less 51 times, tied for the AL’s most.

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@Yankees 2, Twins 0 — Once the rains slowed enough to let the Yankees throw their gloves back on the field, they sailed to 5-0 against the Twinks this year. Brett Gardner followed a sac bunt with the go-ahead single, rewarding Hiroki Kuroda’s gutting out the hour-plus delay to qualify for the win. Boone Logan doused a 7th-inning brushfire, fanning 3 straight with the tying runs on base. Mo closed it quickly, so they could go dry off and answer more depressing questions about The Captain’s quad.

• Minnesota went 0-12 with RISP. They’ve dropped 6 straight, and 12 of 13.
• Vernon Wells was thinking “triple,” but Aaron Hicks said, “check the stat sheet.” Hicks leads AL outfielders (and all CFs) witih 9 assists, and has no errors. (There had to be a reason they’ve swallowed his bat.)
• Oswaldo Arcia logged this year’s 49 game of 4+ strikeouts with SO=PA, but the first by a Twin in over a year.

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@Mariners 8, Angels 3 — The hottest-swinging AARP member nailed two more, and Joe Saunders skunked his original team for 7 innings as Seattle rolled. Raul Ibanez has 24 HRs, and 15 in 36 games since turning 41 on June 2. He’s tied Edgar Martinez for 8th-most at age 40+; six more would make him the second ever to hit 30 at such age, and 11 more would top the career high he set 4 years ago in Philly.

• Saunders had faced the Halos twice before, allowing 3 runs in 14 IP but losing both in shutout fashion.
• Ibanez ranks 8th with 113 HRs from age 37 onward, and 13th with 190 from 34 on (passing Thome, closing in on Edgar). He hit 27 HRs before age 30, and 268 since. He’s 5 shy of 300 career HRs; he would be the first to get there after less than 30 HRs before age 30, and the 7th with less than 100 (Steve Finley 37, Edgar 45, Luis Gonzalez and Moises Alou 84, Jeromy Burnitz 90, Andres Galarraga 97).
• Sixteen of his 24 HRs have come at home. The Safeco season record is 21, by Richie Sexson, 2005. Ibanez is the all-time Safeco home-run leader with 82 (77 as a Mariner) — 20 more than Bret Boone, and 10 more than he’s hit in road games as a Mariner. The fences have been made more reachable this year, but no teammate has more than 6 at home.

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Roster note: Jair Jurrjens, a 2011 All-Star who went 47-32 from 2008-11 with a 3.34 ERA, was DFA’d today by Baltimore. Jurrjens lost it last year, spent the 2nd half in the minors, and signed a cheap deal with the O’s. He fared OK at AAA this year, but fanned just 13% of batters. He’s still just 27; I foresee a Mets future.

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Thursday

White Sox 6, @Tigers 3 — Josh Phegley‘s 3rd HR in 5 career games was a grand slam in the 6th that flipped a 2-run deficit and began a small payback fund for Chris Sale‘s long-running lack of support. Sale was pulled with 2 outs in the 7th to keep him from facing Miguel Cabrera as the tying run. Miggy oppo’d his 30th the last time around, but Matt Lindstrom pulled him up short that same way, and the Sox tacked one on against Hopeless Phil Coke. Forsooth, Anibal Sanchez was lucky to be ahead after five, having let 8 reach base by then. The Tigers hit costly DPs with 2 on in the 2nd and 3rd — the former preceding this HR by Matt Tuiasosopo, the latter by Prince wasting men at the corners.

• Lindstrom, a righty specialist, hasn’t served up a HR in his last 55 games (46.1 IP).
• Phegley, a 2009 1st-round draftee and a strong-armed catcher, was 3rd in the I.L. in OPS and SLG before the recent call-up.
• Tuiasosopo has homered in 3 straight games.
• V-Mart had 3 more hits, but also his 3rd time out at the plate trying to score from 2nd on a single.
• Those who say Detroit doesn’t need to trade for a closer are 100% right — Joaquin Benoit and Drew Smyly are a formidable righty/lefty tandem for finishing games. But you can’t win a championship with two relievers, and that’s all they have right now. Coke and Alburquerque are disasters, Darin Downs has a 5.18 ERA and little experience, Rondon belongs in the minors for at least another year. They might get to the playoffs, but they won’t get 7 SP innings every game.

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@Indians 4, Blue Jays 2 — No matter where his career goes from here, Danny Salazar will always have a debut victory over a reigning Cy Young winner. Salazar threw strikes all day and fanned 7 in 6 frames, starting with his first batter, and had 5 no-hit innings before Josh Thole’s leadoff single and Jose Bautista’s 2-out double tied the score. But R.A. Dickey got wild in the home 6th, loading the bags on 2 walks and a plunk, and Lonnie Chisenhall‘s 0-and-2 single brought in 2 runs to put Salazar in the winning zone.

Salazar is the 5th Indian since 1916 to win his debut with a Game Score of 70 or more. Two of the previous four combined for just 10 career wins after their stellar debuts. The others, who both tossed shutouts, were Ray Benge (1925), who didn’t stick with the Tribe but went on to a solid career (101-130 with bad teams, 96 ERA+), and a guy we just call El Tiante (1964). Luis broke in with an 11-K 4-hitter against the 1st-place Yankees, besting Whitey Ford, and finished that half-year at 10-4, 2.83, with the first 3 of his 49 career shutouts.

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Red Sox 8, @Mariners 7 (10 inn.) — It had to be painful for M’s fans, watching their team score 7 through 4 innings, then nothing more, while blowing leads of 5-1 and 7-4, thanks to a bunch of free baserunners and Boston’s six 2-out RBI hits. The BoSox scored 30 runs in taking the last 3 games of this quad set. They’ve won 12 of 16 to reach 57-37, a season-high 20 games over .500.

• Boston’s been over .500 at this point every year from 1998. They’ve finished over .500 in 16 of the past 18 seasons.
• Steven Wright‘s 5.1 scoreless innings were the most since 1992 by a BoSox reliever earning a win. Like Scott Taylor in ’92, Wright’s win was the first of his career. (Thinking of Taylor, who never won again, I’m having amnesia and deja vu at the same time.)

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@Rays 4, Twins 3 —

Michael Tonkin‘s debut went off without incident, retiring all 4 he faced with just 12 pitches. His resolution was shown by stranding 2 inherited men with a whiff of Longo. But there are conflicting stories on whether his call-up means Glen Perkins is trade bait.

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@Cubs 3, Cardinals 0 — Seeing the first 3 spots in the St. Louis order all go 0-4, I wondered if it was their first time this year. No, it’s the third: There was a shutout loss to Pittsburgh on April 17, and a 7-6 win over Milwaukee on May 4. Naturally, I couldn’t resist a glance at that win, and I found a few oddities:

• HR, single, and 3 GDPs for Jean Segura. He and Josh Hamilton have the only 3-GDP games this year. Segura was the first since 2003 with 3 GDPs and 2 hits; the 5th in searchable history with 3 GDPs and a HR (Jim Rice never did it!); and the first ever with the full platter of 3 GDPs, 2 hits and a HR.
• The winning run in the 9th was set up when Carlos Gomez bobbled a leadoff hit. That remains his only error this year.

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Giants 4, @Padres 2 — This outing was Jason Marquis‘s first half in a nutshell: 5.1 IP, 7 hits, 2 walks, 1 HR, left the bases loaded with 1 out — but was charged with just 2 runs and got no decision, leaving his first-half record at 9-4 — the only winning starter on a team that’s 41-52.

Comparing record with performance, and individual vs. team results, this is one of the luckiest halves in recent memory. How has this happened? His average start has been 5.9 IP and 2.9 runs — call it 6 and 3, for simplicity. And with 12 of 19 starts coming in run-scarce Petco Park, 3 runs in 6 IP would usually produce a losing record.

What’s more, his basic stats suggest that his 4.41 RA/9 is lucky. His 1.50 WHIP ranks 45th of 48 NL qualifiers (he leads the majors with 65 walks in just 112.1 IP), and his HR/9 is dead last. He’s already allowed 11 HRs at home, more than any Padre all of last year. His FIP is 5.71, his xFIP 4.78.

His run support per game is good, not great — 4.3 RS/GS, when the league average is 4.1; Marquis ranks 23rd (tie) among NL regulars. Three of SD’s other four starters have averaged 4.1. They actually have a good offense, scoring more than the league average in road games, and posting an overall OPS+ 4 points above league. That still doesn’t suggest anything like a 9-4 record.

The runs in Marquis games have been distributed beneficially for him, in two ways:

• A high proportion of his total run support has come while he was still in the game. Using the 9-inning average while he was pitching lifts his support rate from 4.4 to 4.9, up to 14th (tied) in the league.
• Three of his wins were by 1-run margins, three more by 2 runs, with just one blowout, for an average margin of 2.67 runs. His average loss margin is 4.25.

Putting it simply, Marquis has often pitched just well enough to win (or avoid a loss), and hasn’t wasted any good starts when the Padres scored few. He’s allowed 1 run or none just twice — once going 8 scoreless for a 1-0 win. He’s 5-0 in 8 games yielding exactly 2 runs, and 2-0 in 4 games of 3 runs. Meanwhile, in the 6 games that SD scored 2 runs or less, he’s allowed 26 runs in 39.2 IP.

He’s tied for 13th with 3 “losses saved” — times that he left the game on the hook, but was spared by subsequent scoring. He’s only lost 1 win from the flip side of that. I hope he keeps it up, so that we can learn this winter if there’s still a market for a guy “who knows how to win.”