@Reds 10, D-backs 7 — Officially a wild one, with one chap doing two things you’ve never seen before.

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Dodgers 6, @Marlins 4 — Yasiel Puig showed up late, so he didn’t wait for elevator, but took the stairs instead. Bye-bye, losing “streak.”

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@Orioles 7, Rockies 2 — Adam Jones and Chris Davis had big days, with a homer and a double each, and Scott Feldman bested Jhoulys Chacin, as Baltimore took the rubber game and kept pace with both wild-card leaders.

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Dodgers 5, @Phillies 0 — Ho-hum. Clayton Kershaw cut his ERA to 1.80 with eight 3-hit innings, and he chipped in an RBI double, as the Dodgers won again, of course. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

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All three AL Central contenders had day games in the same time zone. Two trailed early but pulled it out, while the other let a lead slip away…. (P.S. I liked D.C. so much, I’m going back for another quickie — look for me in the stands Thursday afternoon, and in the blogs again by Sunday.)

Tigers 6, @White Sox 4 — Joaquin Benoit came out of hiding and shut down two major threats, one handed to him and the other of his own devising, as Detroit salvaged something from their Windy City visit.

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@Cardinals 4, Pirates 3 (14 inn.) — With Jon Jay on 2nd after a single and a steal, Adron Chambers sliced a hit to left, and Jay just beat the throw, giving Chambers his first RBI this year and first-ever game-winning hit. That capped the Cards’ late comeback, and trimmed their division deficit to 2 games. Jay had 4 hits, and Redbirds hurlers held Pittsburgh scoreless for the last 11 stanzas.

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Rangers 2, @Astros 1 — Texas finished off a sweep, as Yu Darvish flirted with a no-hitter for the 2nd time against Houston this year, surrendering a first-pitch home run to Carlos Corporan with 1 out in the 8th. Darvish retired the first 17 Astros (with 11 Ks) before issuing a walk that led to catcher A.J. Pierzynski being ejected. He left after 8 innings, 115 pitches, yielding just those two baserunners, with a career-high 15 strikeouts. Joe Nathan finished neatly for his 35th save.

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I’m back, and ready for the stretch run! By the way, Theodore Roosevelt Island is my new favorite spot in D.C.

@Dodgers 8, Rays 2 — Clayton Kershaw picked up his shortstop on both ends, with 8 innings of 3-hit ball (getting a DP right after 2 of the 3 Dee Gordon errors), while stroking the game’s biggest hit, a 2-out, 2-run single in the 2nd after Gordon whiffed with 2 in scoring position.

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Here’s a full set of notes on a short slate, and then a three-day pass for your Game Notes narrator. He’s off to D.C., to play Uncle John with the next generation of Autins. See you again on Monday. Until then, keep hitting the cutoff man! Or woman.

@Royals 5, Red Sox 1 — K.C. kicked off a 4-game home series by beating Boston from start to finish, their 14th win in the last 16 games, to reach 59-53 — their best mark in 10 years at this point in the season. Bruce Chen has been Panama red-hot since stepping up to the rotation. He blanked Boston on 5 hits for 7.2 innings, improving to 5-0, 1.79 overall (65.2 IP), with a 1.14 ERA in 5 starts.

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Just a few tonight; my teams needed me. Sorry if I missed a big story somewhere.

Braves 6, @Nationals 3 — With Atlanta seeking a 15-game bulge and their best win streak since 2000, Kris Medlen set aside the first 11 batters and led by 2-0. But he walked Bryce Harper, and Jayson Werth made it count with his 16th HR. Jordan Zimmermann had to leave after 4 innings, cause yet unknown. Justin Upton got the lead back with a solo in the 7th, but Medlen couldn’t hold again, and Werth scored that run after singling.

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