Indians 4, @White Sox 0: He might not have known it, but while Justin Masterson was finishing the shutout, the door to 1st place swung open when Detroit lost in Tampa. Masterson fanned the first two in the 9th, then two got aboard, and suddenly the insurance run Cleveland got in the top of the frame loomed large, at least for his chance to finish. When Alex Rios looked at strike three, the Indians slipped into the big chair along with the stuttering Tigers atop the AL Central.

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Blue Jays 6, @Red Sox 2: Two HRs by Jose Bautista (including his 200th) led Toronto back to .500, but the other story was two insanely aggressive dashes by Boston, each cut down at the plate with no outs, a 2-0 deficit and good sticks coming up.

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I’m done sulking, so here’s a few updates on Friday’s games:

@Rockies 4, Giants 1: Jhoulys Chacin was the latest to stymie the tumbling Giants, yielding just 3 hits in 8 innings for his 2nd straight scoreless start, handing the champs their 5th straight loss and 10th in 12. A 2-run shot off Barry Zito in the 3rd ran the lead to 3-0 lead and Michael Cuddyer‘s club-record hit streak to 25 games; and before that buzz had quite passed, Wilin Rosario‘s wall-scraper pumped it up again.

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Even on a light day, I couldn’t quite touch ’em all.

@Dodgers 6, Phillies 4: Are they really back in this thing? Six straight $odgers wins, and the rest of the division going 14-26 in their last 10 games, brought L.A. 6 games from the top spot and 2.5 from 2nd.

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Game Notes has not — repeat, not — been cleared to begin minor-league rehab. Sorry for any confusion. Now for some random day-late notes:

@Orioles 6, Indians 3: Adam Jones has started 36 straight games without a walk — the longest starting streak this year, the longest one-year streak in Baltimore Orioles history, and one shy of the searchable franchise record set in 1923 by Baby Doll Jacobson. The previous Baltimore record was 31, shared by Cal Ripken in 1999.

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Clearing the decks, getting ready for Tuesday’s full slate:

@Dodgers 3, Giants 1: Creo que este chico va a hacer. (translation) We can’t help noticing everything about Yasiel Puig, including his strikeout-to-walk ratio (17/3) and his tendency to swing at the first pitch (41%, or half again the MLB average). But as to the latter, there’s no one right approach. And this table of 2013’s highest 1st-pitch-swing rates suggests that an aggressive approach suits talented hitters just fine (see right-most column):

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“Please don’t be long … please don’t you be very long” — I’m hoping the topic’s not moot by the time you finish!

(1) Since 1969 and before Toronto’s current streak, there were 66 one-season streaks of at least 11 wins that had a chance to be extended.* Those teams went 30-36 bidding for game 12.

* The 1970 and ’71 Orioles each won their last 11 games of the year and are not included in this count.

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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.

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Rangers 6, @Cardinals 4: What began as a slugfest wound up as an odd sort of pitchers’ duel. It was 4-all in the 2nd, and none would have thought it could stay so to the 9th. Derek Holland yielded 4 doubles and 4 runs in the first 2 innings, then pitched 5 no-hit innings. Cards starter Tyler Lyons gave back a 3-run lead in the 2nd after walking Holland and Kinsler with 2 outs, but erstwhile trashman Joe Kelly shouldered the yoke and plowed straight to the 7th, logging a career-best 5 scoreless innings.

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Pirates 5, @Reds 3: Two down and tied in the 7th, it was Tony Cingrani‘s 3rd time working out of the bullpen, all in this 4-game series, and his 3rd time facing Pedro Alvarez. The Pirate slugger had whiffed in key spots on Monday and Wednesday, a total of 7 pitches.

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