Trevor Hoffman earns 600th save

Despite a season of disappointment, the Milwaukee Brewers had something to celebrate on Tuesday night. Trevor Hoffman, MLB’s all-time saves leader, came into the 9th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals with the Brewers clinging to a 4-2 lead and Hoffman sitting on 599 saves. After a leadoff single, Hoffman induced a double-play ball by Randy Winn and got Aaron Miles to ground out to Craig Counsell for the final out. The banner in left field was finally changed to 600 and Hoffman had the elusive save.

He began the 2010 season with 591 saves, but struggled early in the season and lost the closer’s job to rookie John Axford (when he lost the closer’s job he was stuck on 596). The celebration on the field was as if the Brewers had won the World Series, which shows how much Hoffman is respected (his teammates carried him off the field).

The Atlanta Braves continue to struggle, even with their ace Tim Hudson on the mound. The game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was scoreless until the 7th inning when the Pirates put five runs on the board, capped by a Ronny Cedeno two-run triple and a Delwyn Young two-run homerun. The Pirates collected four of their nine hits in the inning. Four of the five runs were charged to Hudson.The Braves have now lost three games in a row.

With the Braves loss, the Philadelphia Phillies moved into first place in the National League East for the first time since May. The Phillies defeated the visiting Florida Marlins 8-7, as the Phillies scored a run in the bottom of the 8th inning, after the Marlins scored three runs in the top of the inning. The Phillies hit three homeruns (Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, and Ryan Howard), but the play of the game came when Victorino singled with two outs, stole second base, and scored on a Placido Polanco single in the 8th inning. The Phillies were sloppy on defense (they made two errors) and the Marlins tying run came on a wild pitch from Ryan Madson (the first batter he faced), but the offense has seemed to come back to life (at least in the last two games).

The San Diego Padres won their second straight game over the LA Dodgers 2-1. It was a pitcher’s duel between the two teams’ top young hurlers: Mat Latos of the Padres against Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. Latos allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings while striking out ten. Kershaw allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings. The Padres stayed one game ahead of the SF Giants.

The Giants received solid starting pitching from ace Tim Lincecum as he allowed three runs over 6.2 innings (he allowed a two-run homerun to Chris Young in the 7th inning). Lincecum struck out 11 and did not walk a batter. Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell connected on two-run homeruns and Freddy Sanchez added a solo homerun off Arizona Diamondbacks starter Barry Enright. The Giants stayed a game out of both the National League West and wild card standings.

The Colorado Rockies and rookie starter Jhoulys Chacin beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3. Chacin allowed two runs on six hits while striking out five. Carlos Gonzalez hit a three-run homerun off Reds starter Johnny Cueto in the 1st inning while catcher Miguel Olivo went 3-for-4. The Rockies remain 4.5 games out of the NL West and wild card standings.

Dillon Gee

The NY Mets and Washington Nationals each brought up starting pitchers to make their MLB debuts. Dillon Gee carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning before Willie Harris hit a solo homerun off him to end the no-hitter and the shutout. Gee lasted seven innings while only allowing the one run on two hits. Gee also collected his first MLB hit and RBI. Yunesky Maya allowed four runs on five hits through five innings in his debut. Ike Davis hit a three-run homerun in the 1st inning off Maya.

The Baltimore Orioles continue to play well and wreak havoc in the American League East. They have now won four in a row as they defeated the NY Yankees 6-2. The Orioles took 2-out-of-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend and have now taken the first two from the Yankees. They spoiled CC Sabathia’s shot at winning his 20th game of the season, as he allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits through 6.1 innings. Orioles rookie starter Jake Arrieta was solid as he allowed two runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings. Nolan Reimold hit a two-run homerun off Sabathia in the 3rd inning, his first homerun since returning to Baltimore after a long stint in Triple-A Norfolk. Brian Roberts continues to wreak havoc against the Yankees as he went 2-for-5.

The Yankees loss allowed the Rays to move within 1.5 games of the Yankees in the AL East. The Rays, after being spanked by the Boston Red Sox on Monday night, returned the favor on Tuesday. After allowing two runs in the first inning, Rays starter David Price settled down. Through six innings, Price allowed just those two runs on two hits (though he walked four). The Rays battered Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka for eight runs in just 4.2 innings. Dice-K allowed eight hits while walking four. Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett homered off of Dice-K, while Evan Longoria, Dan Johnson, and BJ Upton also homered. Carl Crawford of the Rays went 4-for-4 with three doubles off Dice-K.