| Do not mess with these guys. They will own you. (Getty Images) |
Zack Greinke got traded! Oh wait, you already knew that. Why don't we focus on some actual baseball here? There was a lot of good action Friday, starting with a bombs-away day game in Wrigley Field and concluding with a dramatic duel between rivals in AT&T Park.
Full Friday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for every game
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The Oakland Athletics' offense: These guys are out of their collective minds right now, and it's quite the scene. They've won 17 of their last 20 and this one was just as impressive as the other 16, if not more. The A's struck first, with four runs in the top of the first inning, but the Orioles wouldn't go away. In fact, the A's entered the ninth inning trailing 9-8, but put a six-spot on All-Star closer Jim Johnson -- taking home the victory, 14-9. Every A's starter had at least one hit. In all, the A's had 16 hits, which included four doubles, a triple and two homers. Every A's starter had at least one run scored, too. This was a team effort, as we're growing accustomed to seeing from this bunch.
Mike Fiers, Brewers: On the day the Brewers traded Greinke, Fiers reminded them that he's been putting together quite the rookie campaign. He worked 6 1/3 shutout innings against the first-place Nationals, only allowing four hits while striking out nine. In 66 innings so far this season, Fiers has posted a 1.77 ERA and 67 strikeouts.
Yasmani Grandal/Yonder Alonso, Padres: The two offensive pieces the Padres got back in the Mat Latos trade this past offseason had quite the day in Miami. Grandal went 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBI, a walk and a triple. Alonso went 2-for-5 with two RBI. And the Padres won 7-2.
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Travis Wood, Cubs: Easy pick here, as Wood tied a dubious record. He coughed up five home runs in Friday's start against the Cardinals. This ties him for the most homers allowed by a Cubs pitcher in one game with Carlos Zambrano (2011), Ismael Valdez (2000), Steve Stone (1974) and Warren Hacker (1954).
Josh Tomlin, Indians: With the Indians hanging right behind the White Sox and Tigers in the AL Central, they need much better out of a starting pitcher than Tomlin has been providing pretty much all season. He was roughed up big-time by the Twins Friday night, allowing 10 hits and eight earned runs in four innings. It moved his ERA up to 5.87 on the season.
The Astros: That's 11 losses in a row and 24 in their last 26 games. That's miserable enough as it is, but Friday night they went into the ninth inning with a one-run lead. A Michael McKenry single with one out started things off for the Pirates, and then the Astros proceeded to give the game away. Two straight walks were issued, followed by a sacrifice fly to tie the game. And then, Xavier Cedeno unleashed a wild pitch, which allowed Drew Sutton to score from third, a run that would end up being the difference in the Pirates' win.
Paging Mr. Lester: Red Sox "ace" Jon Lester was already having a disappointing season, but then his last three starts moved him into colossal bust territory. In those starts, he's 0-3 with a 15.32 ERA. And while the Red Sox are still in the playoff hunt, they've fallen to five games back of the second wild card. Friday night, they were destroyed in the Bronx by the Yankees, 10-3. There's no better time for Lester to step up and return to form. It won't be easy. The Yankees' lineup is stacked and Lester's counterpart Saturday is Yankees ace CC Sabathia (10-3, 3.30). 4:05 p.m. ET
Anibal's Tiger debut: The Tigers have now lost two in a row after a hot streak and have fallen back behind the White Sox in the AL Central. Saturday, they'll turn to newly-acquired starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez (5-7, 3.94) to get the job done. He'll be facing Henderson Alvarez (6-7, 4.61) and the Blue Jays in Toronto. 1:07 p.m. ET
Fight for West, Day 2: Game 1 of the Dodgers-Giants series was a beauty. It went to extra innings, thanks to a big Giants' eighth -- including a clutch knock from Brandon Belt's broken bat. A two-run Hanley Ramirez homer in the top of the 10th ended up being the difference -- and likely endeared Ramirez to the Dodgers faithful for quite a while. The Dodgers moved to within two of the Giants with two games left in the series. Saturday, it's Chad Billingsley (5-9, 4.15) vs. Barry Zito (8-6, 3.75). 4:05 p.m. ET
Saturday's probable pitchers
• USA! USA!! USA!!! Baseball is gone from the Olympics, but that doesn't mean we have to forget it ever existed. Uni Watch takes a look back at the uniforms USA wore through the years. I love that last logo, from the 2008 games in Beijing.
• Cole Hamels wouldn't pay a starting pitcher Cole Hamels money: From Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports: "I would give big money, but not for long years," Hamels said during a late-May conversation about the frailty of pitchers. "I'd only give three or four years, but I'd give 'em $25 or $30 million."
• Remember Ollie? The headline from Dave Cameron's piece on Fangraphs.com really says it all: "Oliver Perez is good now. Seriously."
• Minor-league names: From Kirksvills Osteopaths to Auburn Prisoners to Schenectady Frog Alleys, the minors have seen their fair share of odd nicknames. There's now a book chronicling all the historic names, called "Root for the Home Team." (NPR)
• For aspiring broadcasters in the Houston Area: The Astros have announced a "You Make the Call" contest. The winner will be a field reporter for the radio broadcasts for the 2013 season, a gig worth $25,000 for the baseball season. Fans can register over on MLB.com until August 7 at 5:00 p.m. CT.
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