Evan Longoria is congratulated after hr

The Tampa Bay Rays swept a statement series Wednesday against the American League West first place team, the Texas Rangers. It was a possible divisional series matchup, and despite the lack of fans at the Trop, the Rays players seemed to treat it like a playoff series. James Shields looked like the Shields of old, pitching seven innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits, while striking out six. The hot hitter for the Rays continues to be Evan Longoria, who again went 3-for-4 including a homerun and four RBIs. The Rangers came back in the 8th and 9th innings to make the game interesting, but closer Rafael Soriano threw just eight pitches to record his AL-leading 35th save.

Despite the Rays sweep, both the NY Yankees and Boston Red Sox also won in the same timeframe. The Yankees won a slugfest against the visiting Detroit Tigers, 9-5. The Yankees hit three homeruns (Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, and Curtis Granderson), while the Tigers added three of their own (Don Kelly and Miguel Cabrera hit two).

Daniel Nava catch

As for the Red Sox, they survived another subpar start by John Lackey and a comeback against the LA Angels provided the 7-5 victory. Rookie Daniel Nava continues the folklore as he pinch-hit in the 7th inning and was hit by a pitch to drive in the game-winning run. He also made a rally-ending catch in the 8th inning in left field with two outs and two Angels runners on base. Jonathon Papelbon cruised through the 9th inning for his 30th save. He became the first player in Major League history to earn 30 saves in each of his first five full seasons.

Adam Wainwright’s undefeated season at home ended on Wednesday as the visiting Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. Wainwright allowed three runs on seven hits in seven innings while striking out seven. The Cardinals offense was dominated by Randy Wolf, as he allowed just one run on three hits in 8.1 innings. Until the 9th inning, only Allen Craig and Wainwright had collected hits. In the 9th inning, the Cardinals mounted a rally, scoring two runs and loading the bases. With Brendan Ryan at the plate, the Brewers went to all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman to finish the game. Ryan would strike out to end the game, giving Hoffman 598 career saves.

The Cincinnati Reds increased their lead in the National League Central to three games over the Cardinals as they came back to beat he Arizona Diamondbacks 11-7. The Reds scored four runs in both the 8th and 9th innings in the comeback. The bottom of the lineup for the Reds (Jay Bruce, Ramon Hernandez, and Paul Janish) combined to go 9-for-13 with six runs scored and four RBIs.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the hottest teams in baseball as of late, as they have increased their lead in the NL wild card to two games over the Cardinals and the SF Giants. Joe Blanton continued his first inning struggles against the Giants on Wednesday as he allowed a lead off homerun to Andres Torres. However he settled down to just give up another run into the 7th inning (Pat Burrell hit another homerun). The Phillies jumped all over Matt Cain and reliever Jeremy Affeldt as they hit three triples (Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins, and Raul Ibanez). Phillies rookie Domonic Brown added a pinch-hit homerun in the 8th inning into the right field upper-deck for an 8-2 victory.

Jason Heyward walk off

Unfortunately for the Phillies, the Atlanta Braves continue to win. They beat the Washington Nationals on a Jason Heyward walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th inning off Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard. Both team’s starting pitchers (Livan Hernandez and Tim Hudson) were solid, as they both allowed two runs in seven innings. The Braves also added Derek Lee to their playoff contending team in a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox again to win their 6th game in a row and increased their AL Central lead to five games. Despite getting a subpar pitching performance from Francisco Liriano, the Twins scored three runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to beat Gavin Floyd. The White Sox mounted a comeback against Twins closer Matt Capps (he allowed a run to cut the lead to 7-6), but Alex Rios grounded out with the tying run on second base to end the game.