Giants 4, @Dodgers 1: Down by 4 in the 6th, with no outs and the meat of the order coming up, you take no baserunning chances — right?

But catcher A.J. Ellis tried to score from 2nd on a hard single through the box and was cut down on a great throw/block combo by Angel Pagan and Hector Sanchez. According to his B-R baserunning page, Ellis has been thrown out in 3 of the 6 times he’s tried to score from 2nd on a single this year.

• Compounding the gaffe, Juan Rivera spectated at 2nd despite the throw home and collision. That kept Shane Victorino at 1st, so when the next batter singled to RF, the leadfoot Rivera could only reach 3rd, whereas the Flyin’ Hawaiian likely would have scored. LA wound up with just 1 run in an inning where the first 4 men reached safely in front of Matt Kemp.
• This pitched battle for 1st place pitted the 8-11 Joe Blanton against the 6-13 Tim Lincecum.
• Lincecum left after Kemp’s deep sac fly for the 2nd out of the 6th, having thrown 87 pitches. It’s the first time he’s ever come out before reaching any of 7 IP, 97 pitches or 2 runs allowed.

@Padres 7, Pirates 5: When Garrett Jones tied it with a last-gasp 2-run HR, and Andrew McCutchen made a game-saving catch in the bottom half, Bucs fans must have thought destiny was smiling on them. But there’s a reason they call it the Fickle Finger of Fate. In the 10th, the curtain rose on Daniel McCutchen‘s season, but his debut was a bomb.

• Say, how do you wind up facing the strict-platoon slugger Jones as the tying run with righty Dale Thayer on the mound? “Closer mentality,” that’s how. Thayer isn’t their main closer, nor does he have any special qualifications for the job; but Huston Street is out (again), Thayer was anointed, and dadgummit, even a backup closer is sacrosanct! Meanwhile, rookie southpaw Tom Layne has fanned 7 of the 12 men he’s faced since coming up last week, holding LHBs to 0 for 6 with 4 Ks.
• A.J. fraying? In his last 3 starts, Burnett has allowed 14 ER on 28 hits in 18.2 IP, two of those against San Diego.

@Tigers 5, Blue Jays 3: Pitching on the same night as the NL strikeout leader, Max Scherzer regained a slim lead in the MLB SO derby with his 7th straight game of 8+ Ks. That ties Hal Newhouser‘s franchise record, as well as the longest such streak of the past 3 years.

• Toronto has dropped 17 of 22 to fall 10 games under .500 for the first time since 2009.
• It wasn’t just the number of passes given by Ricky Romero (8 BBs, no Ks), but the names on his guest list. He walked 3 in both the 1st and the 2nd inning, each time forcing in a run with a 4-pitch walk. The first one went to Delmon Young, the 5th-toughest to walk of this year’s 141 qualifiers. The second EZ-pass went to Omar Infante, who is the 2nd-hackiest in the land.

@A’s 4, Twins 1: “Good god, that’s Brett Anderson‘s music!” Out of action for 14 months, the classy lefty was in vintage form Tuesday, with no walks, 6 Ks and 4 hits in 7 efficient innings. Oakland stayed a half-game behind Baltimore for WC#2 and a game in front of the Tigers.

• Another Oakland debut: Acquired to bolster a lineup spot that had produced a .190 average this year, SS Stephen Drew went 0-4 and dropped his season mark to .187.
• Good timing on Anderson’s return. They just lost their leader in Wins and IP to a testo suspension. (You don’t suppose BALCO is back in business?)

@Mariners 5, Indians 1: Cleveland tied it in the 7th and had men at the corners with 1 out. But Brent Lillibridge must not have known it was a suicide squeeze; you don’t get to turn up your nose at a low-and-away pitch. Lillibridge then struck out to strand Kotchman at 2nd, and 3 batters later the M’s were on top again. The 4th batter of the home 7th, Jesus Montero, greeted reliever Esmil Rogers with a door-buster special, his first-ever dinger worth more than 2 runs.

• Seattle has two 7-game winning streaks in the last 5 years — both within the last 25 games.
• Why, yes, that was a frenzied crowd of 39,000 for a Tuesday night game against Cleveland. Amazing what a couple of home winning streaks (and one measly perfect game) can do for the atmosphere.
• Career-best 8 straight decisions won by King Felix, and a 1.56 ERA over his last 12 outings. Since 2009, he’s #1 in IP, #2 in ERA and ERA+. So I guess some guys can throw more than 180 IP in their early 20s without an arm falling off.

Marlins 6, @D’backs 5 (10): Giancarlo Stanton had 3 hits off 3 different righties, and the last one brought in the decisive run. (Even his grounders get out quicker than others.)

• But the WPA hero was rookie 2B Donovan Solano, who reached safely in all 5 trips and drove in a pair. He and brother Jhonatan are the only Colombian position players to play in the majors this year.