Braves 11, @Nats 10 (11): As soon as Paul Janish came up in the 11th with the go-ahead run on 3rd, you just knew he would make a monkey out of your humble narrator, who had wondered aloud about this very situation two days ago: “How did it happen that Fredi Gonzalez let such a weak stick as Janish bat with the winning run on 3rd?” (OK, but look at this hit. If the infield wasn’t in, the SS coulda caught it in his hat.)

• Atlanta came back from 9-0 down, scored 6 in the last 2 tries in regulation and took a 10-9 lead into the bottom of the 9th — but Danny Espinosa tied it with a HR off Craig Kimbrel, ending his streak of 20 straight saves since May 2.
• How many signs can we find that Tyler Clippard isn’t himself lately? Eight ER in his last 3 games. Three HRs in two games against the Mets, after none in his previous 39.1 IP this year. Before Friday, he’d allowed no triples, no HBP and 1 WP this year; then he suffered one of each while blowing the save in the 9th.
• Biggest blown lead in Nats/Expos history. Nats hadn’t blown a lead bigger than 3 runs this year.
• Biggest comeback for the Braves since 1987. They did overcome an 8-run deficit in 2010.

A’s 3, Yankees 2 (10): Late bombs off the bullpen squandered the stellar work of Tommy Milone, who made a bold bid for his 10th win with 10 Ks and no walks in 7 shutout innings. But Oakland kept confident and struck for their 10th walk-off win of the year, 3 more than any other club, with 3 straight hits off Cody Eppley — the first time all year he’s allowed more than 2 safeties.

• Through Wednesday, Ryan Cook had allowed no HRs (and just 14 hits) in 40.1 IP. He gave up a longball Thursday, but still closed the win. Friday, though, he ran into the buzzsaw known as Robinson Cano. The sweet-swinging second-sacker hit just 1 HR in his first 27 games, but after his game-tying blow off Cook, he has 21 in his last 66 contests (plus 20 doubles) for a .689 SLG in that span, with even better numbers during his current 23-game hitting streak.
• Cano came in with just 4 career HRs in 344 9th-inning ABs (none in the last 2 years), a HR rate 60% below his 8th-inning rate. His RISP and high-leverage numbers are also well below his over-all averages.
• Yoenis Cespedes is making up for lost time in making an impression on the Yanks. He missed the first series, but is 6 for 7 with a HR, a walk and a steal in the first 2 games of this one. He showed his speed in scoring the winning run from 2nd on a hard line single to RF with no outs. He’s 5 for 5 in chances to score from 2nd on a single or from 1st on a double.
• Cespedes had been stranded on 2nd three times before the final inning. Brandon Moss, who struck the winning hit, had gone 0-3 with RISP in regulation; the clutch hit got him at last to the 20-RBI mark, which looks a little better than 19 with his 11 HRs.

@Tigers 4, White Sox 2: Detroit and the Central race are heating up, but Justin Verlander‘s in the same groove he found in July 2010.  He gave up a 2-run HR in the 3rd, but his mates answered with 3 in the home half off Jake Peavy (4 ER in 7 IP). The Tigers hit no HRs, but went 6 for 13 with RISP, including 3 in a row with 2 outs in that 3rd inning.

• Detroit has won 11 of 13 and trails Chicago by just a half-game. They’ve scored 4 to 8 runs in 16 of their last 17 games.
• The Sox will fire back Saturday with their young ace, Chris Sale (2.11 ERA, 4 runs in his last 4 starts). Detroit gave him one of his two losses back in April, but current Tigers are just 8 for 45 career off Sale.
• Verlander since July 2010 (71 starts): 44-14, 2.50 ERA, 7.34 IP/G, 8.95 SO/9, 4.11 SO/BB. He’s gone 6+ IP in 62 straight starts. The next-longest streaks since 2010 are 42 by Roy Halladay and 32 by Jered Weaver and Brett Myers.
• Maybe he should report in January? Verlander (who is once again the winningest pitcher since 2006) has an 11-15 record and 4.37 ERA in April, when legend says “the pitchers are ahead of the hitters.” In all other months, he’s 107-47, 3.25.

Blue Jays 6, @Red Sox 1: What secrets does Aaron Laffey know about Boston? Before this year, Laffey had 49 career starts and just 3 in which he allowed no runs. But this year, as part of Toronto’s Emergency Action Rotation Plan (EARP), he’s blanked the BoSox twice among his 5 starts, for 6 and 7 IP, both in Fenway. Tonight he allowed 8 hits, but all singles, and no walks; the Sawx went 0-7 with RISP, and even Cody Ross was contained.

• Just the 2nd no-XBH home game for Boston this year.

Dodgers 7, @Mets 6: Three straight “disaster starts” for Johan (3 IP, 6 ER tonight), and whether or not you believe there’s a connection, you can’t help but notice a 6.54 ERA in in 8 starts since the no-no. It is what it is … and so is New York’s fall from the playoff race with 7 losses in 8 games.

• Jordany Valdespin hit a 2-run shot off Shawn Tolleson — his 4th pinch-HR in his 22nd pinch-AB, and his 4th HR in 17 July ABs over all (1/4 of the Mets’ July total). It’s his 5th HR in a game that he entered as a PH, 2 more than any other player this year; too bad the Mets have lost 4 of the 5 games. (His other HR in a PH game was in his second PA of the game, but his first AB.) Twelve of his 22 total hits have gone for extra bags, for a .588 slugging average.