Rays 8, @Angels 3: For the first time in their 52-year history, the Angels were swept in a 4-game series while allowing 7+ runs each game. Their record for 7+ runs is 5 straight games in 1999, all losses, but split among 2 series. The last time they allowed 7+ in 4 straight games was 2006; the last time in one series was 2000 to Toronto, but only 3 were losses.

• All 4 Angels starters allowed at least 5 runs and at least a run per inning, combining for 27 ER in 17.1 IP. The average record of the four pitchers last season was 17-8 with 199 strikeouts.
• The Rays tied their club record with 4 straight games of 7+ runs. Before this series, they didn’t have 4 straight games with 5+ runs this year.
• Tampa is 25-10 with Evan Longoria in the lineup. They’re 11-2 since his return on August 7 (he sat out one win). During this hot streak, B.J. Upton is hitting .296 with 5 HRs, 15 RBI and 11 Runs in 13 games, while Ben Zobrist (who rested Sunday) is hitting .348/1.009.
• Since July 1, Mike Trout has 16 HRs in 168 ABs over 43 games, slugging .720. In that span, the Halos are 9-7 when he homered, but 5-17 when he didn’t.

Orioles 7, @Tigers 5: At the end of May, Nate McLouth was released by Pittsburgh (10th in NL scoring). Two months later, he became an everyday starter for Baltimore, and a week later he moved into the #3 spot. Through Saturday, he had no HRs and 2 RBI in 43 ABs for the O’s. But on Sunday, his 2-out, 2-run triple plated the tying and go-ahead runs, completing Baltimore’s comeback from a 5-0 deficit.

• Baltimore pushed Detroit 2 games back in the wild card race and stayed a half-game above the streaky A’s.
• Two days after his best game as a Tiger, Prince Fielder had one of his worst, with two inning-ending GDPs, each with 2 men aboard.
• Wei-Yin Chen is the 18th starter this year to win while allowing 5+ runs in the minimum 5 IP; none has done it twice.

Pirates 6, @Cardinals 3 (19): Pirate perseverance paid off at loooooong last. After tying the score in the 6th, they many potential rallies flamed out. 7th: Leadoff single, erased on DP. 10th: 2 on, 2 out, called strike 3. 11th: Men on 3rd and 1st with 1 out, GDP. 13th: Man on 1st with 2 out, CS. 16th: Leadoff double, thrown out trying to advance on a grounder to 1st; man who reached on the FC was subsequently CS, so naturally the next man got a hit, but was stranded. 17th: Scored a run, but left the bases full. 18th: 2-out double, stranded.

Curious move: After Allen Craig led off the 9th with a single, he was replaced by pinch-runner Daniel Descalso. No doubt Descalso is faster than Craig, but he’s no base-stealer (7 for 12 in 264 career games), and he’s one of the weakest hitters on the team, while Craig is one of the best. The Cards didn’t score, and Descalso stayed in and went 0 for 4, three of those with a man aboard and 2 outs. If you’re not going to steal — and even though catcher Michael McKenry has thrown out just 12% of base-stealers, pitcher Kevin Correia is very tough to run on (career 40% CS and 8 SB per 600 PAs) — then why make that move with no outs and righty Matt Holliday coming up? What specific events are you betting on that gain you enough advantage right now to counteract the fact that you’re pulling one of the league’s best hitters in a tie game? Certainly, Descalso has a better chance than Craig to reach 3rd on a single, or to score on a double. But if Holliday hits a single, what’s the realistic chance of Descalso reaching 3rd? Holliday is not a dead-pull hitter, but this year 82% of his hits have gone to LF or CF. What about a double by Holliday? Descalso probably would score, while Craig likely would stop at 3rd — but you a great chance of winning with a man on 3rd, no outs and the middle of the order coming up. Adding in the possibility of the pinch-runner getting erased on a force at 2nd, I just don’t see enough value in using that pinch-runner in place of that hitter with no outs and a man on 1st.

• Pedro Alvarez hit Pittsburgh’s first extra-inning HR in just over a calendar year.
• Carlos Beltran tied his career high with 3 steals, his 4th such game and first since 2008.
• Pittsburgh’s Jordy Mercer pinch-hit with 2 outs in the 14th, and wound up with 4 ABs. He batted in the 17th, 18th and 19th.
• The last time St. Louis had 2 pitchers go 5+ IP in a game was 1988-05-11.
• Wandy Rodriguez earned his first win as a Pirate and his first-ever relief win, pitching the last 2 innings of their 19-inning marathon. The Cards fell to 3-9 in extra innings.
• Lost in the marathon fuss, Jaime Garcia‘s first start since June 5 was a gem — 8 IP, 2 unearned runs, no walks, and 10 Ks, a new career high.

Dodgers 5, @Braves 0: As a recovering fantasy baseballer, I can only chuckle when I think of the frustrated owners who drafted Chad Billingsley, then punted when his record reached 4-9, 4.30. He’s won 6 starts in a row, allowing 6 runs in 41.2 IP, with a 0.92 WHIP.

• Mike Minor took a tough loss, allowing a run in 7 IP. Not counting an abbreviated start when he suffered a minor injury, Minor has notched 7 straight QS, with a 2.29 ERA in that span, but a 2-4 record.
• Luis Cruz broke up the scoreless tie in the 5th with his 4th HR. Cruz has a 118 OPS+ in 144 PAs, with 25 RBI. In 3 previous big-league trials, he compiled a 44 OPS+ with no HRs in 169 PAs.
• Atlanta has been shut out 10 times, which seems high for the #3 team in NL scoring. The other 6 teams with 10 or more shutouts are below the league average in R/G.
• Michael Bourn leads the NL with 33 SB, on pace for 44. That would be lowest for an NL steals champ in a full season since 1963.
• Eight straight games in which Brian McCann has neither RBI nor Run, the longest streak of his career.

@Royals 5, White Sox 2: Which was more fantastical — Jeremy Guthrie taking a no-hitter into the 7th, or seeing it broken up with 2 outs on an infield hit by Paul Konerko? Foes are hitting .297 off Guthrie this year, while Konerko has just 5 infield bingles and has averaged 6 over the past 10 years. (And the video shows why.)

• Most astonishing is Guthrie’s no-ER streak of 3 starts and 22.2 IP. He had a 6.56 ERA when the streak began, and he has just one other “streak” of 2 straight no-ER starts in his career. He’s just the 3rd this year with 3 straight starts of 7+ IP and no “earnies.” The HR-prone Guthrie also has a career-best 4 straight homerless starts of 6+ IP.
• Jose Quintana allowed 2 runs in 7 IP, but took another no-decision; he has a 2.94 ERA in his 15 starts, but just 5 wins. His run support while in the game is 3.4 runs per 9 innings, 3rd-lowest out of 57 AL starters; the league average is 4.7, and the other Sox SPs range from 4.3 to 5.9 (Chris Sale).
• Billy Butler raised his OPS+ to 142. The Royals haven’t had a qualifier at 140+ since Mike Sweeney in 2002; the last before that was Bob Hamelin in 1994.
• KC had 4 hits in the 2nd inning and only one batter made out, but they didn’t score. A GDP erased the first hit, and on the last, a runner was thrown out at home.
• The Royals won their 2nd straight homestand (9 of 12 combined). Since dropping their first 11 home games, they’ve gone 26-22. They’ve won 13 of 19 over all, including 5 of 6 against the White Sox.

@Reds 5, Cubs 4: Ryan Hanigan got to be a walk-off hero for the first time, but the bigger hit was Xavier Paul‘s leadoff pinch-hit triple. Hanigan’s biggest contributions were on defense, throwing out a pair of base-stealers, including one at third in the top of the 9th — the first steal try by rookie speedster Brett Jackson. Hanigan has thrown out 23 of 51 attempts, 45%.

• Cincinnati leads the NL with 9 walk-off RBI.
• The Reds are 46-22 against losing teams (2nd-most wins and 2nd-best W% in the majors). They’re 28-26 vs. teams at .500 or better, which is better than it may seem at first blush: Of the 5 NL playoff teams, 2 are under .500 in that respect (Atlanta 26-30, Pittsburgh 28-34), are the next 2 pursuers (STL 25-27, SF 26-32). Only Washington (28-23) and LA (31-28) have better marks than the Reds against teams at .500+.
• The first-ever sacrifice attempt by Steve Clevenger resulted in a 5-6-3 DP. Geez, I know he’s a catcher, but he’s also a lefty batter….

@Athletics 7, Indians 0: Eight zeroes for Jarrod Parker. Eleven of his first 22 career games have featured 6+ IP and 1 run or less, a feat matched only by Justin Verlander (2006) and Cal Eldred (1992-93) since 1918. Incidentally, Parker has the same 115 ERA+ as Trevor Cahill, the “proven” starter he was traded for.

• Coco Crisp drove in 5 runs with 3 separate hits. The last A’s leadoff man with 5+ RBI was Billy McMillon(?) in 2003. There are 10 such games since 1918; the first 5 were by Eddie Joost from 1948-52, the next in 1993 by Rickey Henderson.
• Yoenis Cespedes has a 144 OPS+. Since 2002, only one qualified Oakland hitter has posted a mark of 140+ (Jack Cust, 2007).
• With 13 HRs in 180 PAs, Brandon Moss has the highest HR% of anyone with 10+ HRs this year (7.2%).
• Cleveland is 4-18 since July 26. They’ve allowed 6+ runs in 5 straight games for the first time since 2009; the last time they went 7 straight was 1994.

@Yankees 4, Red Sox 1: Hiroki Kuroda has a 2.96 ERA in 167 IP. If he keeps up this pace, he would be just the 2nd Yankee in the last 20 years with 200+ IP and a sub-3 ERA, joining Andy Pettitte (1997). In his last 7 starts, Kuroda has averaged 1 run and 7-1/3 IP.

• Ichiro Suzuki had the 7th two-HR game of his career, his 2nd this year, and 2nd of his career in the new Yankee Stadium. He’s the 10th different Yankee with a 2-HR game this year, out of 124 in MLB. Meanwhile, Ichiro’s former team is 16-9 since he left; his new team is 14-11.

@Rockies 3, Marlins 2: The biggest beneficiary of Colorado’s rotation experiment has been long reliever Adam Ottavino, with 3 wins in his last 5 games, 2 of them vultured.

• Yesterday’s worst WPA outside of the marathon game went to Austin Kearns, who pinch-hit in the 9th after a leadoff single and bounced into a 6-4-3 DP. He’s GIDP’d 7 times in 31 opportunities this year (23%), twice the league rate.
• Colorado figured out how to keep Giancarlo in the yard. He received 2 intentional walks for the first time in his career. It worked brilliantly, as Miami left the bases full both times.

@Padres 7, Giants 1: Ryan Vogelsong was roughed up for the 2nd straight outing, with a combined 17 hits over 5.2 IP, raising his BA allowed from .215 to .233. Some have been expecting a correction in his BAbip, which at .277 remains 20 points below his career average.

• Buster Posey went 0-4 Sunday, but he still sports a 170 OPS+. There have been just 3 qualified seasons by catchers at 168+, two by Piazza (including the record 185) and one by Mauer.
• On the down side, Posey and his pitchers allowed 4 SB in as many tries. His CS rate is a career-low 26%, same as the league average; his past career rate was 37%.
• SF fell to 41-42 in games started by RHPs. They’re 25-13 in southpaw starts.

@Nationals 5, Mets 2: Gio Gonzalez is the first Nats/Expos pitcher since 2001 with 16+ wins in a season (Javier Vazquez).

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On Saturday, Yasmani Grandal drew a walk for the 6th straight game, becoming the 28th player to do so this year. The odd thing is that Grandal drew zero walks in his first 17 games and 59 PAs this year, with 12 strikeouts and 5 HRs. In his last 9 games, he has 7 walks (none intentional), 1 strikeout and no HRs. According to WPA, Grandal 2.0 has been more productive than the original version, with a rate of 11.2 WPA per 600 PAs vs. 6.8.

Marco Estrada is winless in 15 starts (plus 6 relief outings). The record for starts in a winless season is 14 by Vida Blue, 1983. Chris Volstad is also in the chase this year, reaching 13 starts on Sunday.