In a day that saw seven of the 12 games decided by just one run, pitching was paramount, so which pitchers performed the best?
Full Thursday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for every game
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Madison Bumgarner, Giants: Bumgarner recorded his first career complete game and gave San Francisco its fourth shutout in as many games. Bumgarner gave up just one hit -- a single to Ryan Hanigan in the sixth -- and struck out eight to win his 10th game of the season. The 5-0 San Francisco victory, coupled with the Dodgers' loss to the Mets, gave the Giants sole possession of the National League West lead.
Felix Hernandez, Mariners: In a fantastic matchup with Boston's Franklin Morales, King Felix wore the crown. Hernandez allowed five hits in his shutout victory, while striking out 13 Red Sox. Morales allowed just three hits in seven shutout innings, striking out seven.
Max Scherzer, Tigers: The Tiger right-hander was headed back to his St. Louis home after Thursday's victory in Tampa for the funeral of his younger brother, Alex. Alex Scherzer, 24, died last Thursday. In six innings, Scherzer allowed two runs on four hits and stuck out seven, giving him 114 on the season, one more than teammate Justin Verlander for the American League lead.
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Yankees bullpen: With Rafael Soriano out after pitching in four of the last five games, Joe Girardi was forced to mix and match with his bullpen to protect a 3-1 lead. Right-hander Cody Eppley, who recorded the final out of the eighth inning came in for the ninth. He gave up a leadoff single and was yanked for Clay Rapada. Rapada got exactly what he wanted, a comebacker to the mound with the catcher running. But Rapada threw the ball into center field. That brought in David Robertson, who served up a three-run homer to Dayan Viciedo for a Yankee loss.
Brett Myers, Astros: Thanks to a Chris Johnson error, Myers was saddled with only one earned run, but that doesn't excuse his entire outting. Myers gave up six runs on four hits. With a 3-1 lead in the ninth, Myers gave up a leadoff double and then following the error by Johnson (which was a perfect double play ball that could have ended the game), he gave up a hit and hit Carlos Quentin with bases loaded to tie the game. After a strikeout, Amarista hit his first career homer to give San Diego a 7-3 lead.
Kyle Kendrick, Phillies: Sure, he threw six scoreless on Thursday, but that was after giving up five runs to the first six Pirates batters. In the end, those five runs were all Pittsburgh needed. Kendrick gave up a three-run homer to Casey McGehee and a solo homer to Pedro Alvarez. The Phillies' rotation has a 5.13 ERA in 30 games since Roy Halladay's injury and the team is 1-17 in that span when it scores fewer than six runs.
Premier matchup: Justin Verlander vs. David Price -- pretty much exactly what we all want to see. Verlander has won his last three starts and is 8-4 with a 2.52 ERA. Meanwhile, Price is coming off a four-hit performance against the Phillies to pick up his 10th win of the season. He's 25-16 with a 2.79 ERA in 53 carer appearances at Tropicana Field.
Lee vs. Johnson: Who would have thought that at the end of June that Cliff Lee and Josh Johnson would have a combined 4-9 record? Lee has allowed five earned runs in each of his last two starts and has a 5.10 ERA over his last seven. Johnson, on the other hand, was great in his last outing, a no-decision with just two hits over seven innings. 7:10 p.m. ET
Can Dickey bounce back? R.A. Dickey's streak of five straight starts without giving up an earned run came to an end in his last outing, but the struggling Dodgers could be just what he's looking for. Dickey didn't seem to have the same control he's had this season in the loss to the Yankees. 10:10 p.m. ET
Friday's probable pitchers
• Vizquel to get a Hall call? Sports Illustrated's Jay Jaffe writes that Omar Vizquel's amazing career should be remembered, but not in Cooperstown. According to Jaffe's JAWS system, not only does Vizquel's case come up short -- it comes up well short. And it's not just his bat that falls shorut, Jaffe says the advanced metrics don't show that he was an elite fielder, either.
• Everyone loves Zim Bear: Don Zimmer said he's been overwhelmed by requests for the Rays' Zim Bear promotional bear to be given out on Friday. Among those requesting Zimmer to send him one of the stuffed teddy bears with his face is former Yankees manager Joe Torre. [Tampa Bay Times]
• I choo-choo-choose you: New Astros owner Jim Crane is considering scrapping the train above the left-field wall at Minute Maid Park. The team could also scrap Tal's Hill in center field. A poll on the Houston Chronicle's website has fans overwhelmingly supporting the train. [Houston Chronicle]
• Party like it's 1973: Kauffman Stadium will host the All-Star Game in just a couple of weeks, and it'll be the second game held at what was originally known as Royal Stadium. In 1973, the Royals opened their new stadium and now it's the sixth-oldest stadium in the big leagues. The Fleer Sticker Project looks back at photos from the 1973 game.
• Negro Leaguers honored: Rawlings announced an all-time list of Gold Glove Negro Leagues players. [Kansas City Star]
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