Chien-Ming Wang has picked up his 12th win of the season. He’s 12-4 now. The Yankees had no trouble getting past the hapless Devil Rays—6-0 final. The Devil Rays were mystified by Wang as he continually put them down. Wang allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks on the night. He only had a lone strikeout. Tampa Bay just could not hit the ball.

The St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Cubs in Chicago earlier. The game really game down to one single inning. Going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Cardinals were up 3-0. However, the Cubs poured it on and scored 6 runs. It proved to be too much for the Cardinals to over come. They tried to come back, but fell one run short. The Cubs won 6-5.

The Los Angeles Angels defeated the Red Sox in Boston today by a score of 8-3. This was a crucial game for both teams. The Red Sox are trying to keep their slim lead, while the Angels are fighting for the AL West lead. The Red Sox were ahead in this game until a very shocking sixth inning. Going into the sixth, the Red Sox were up 2-1.

Outfielder Jose Guillen of the Washington Nationals is going to have season ending surgery tomorrow. His right elbow is completely shot. There is a torn ligament in the elbow. You might know this surgery as Tommy John surgery. It’s been determined that Guillen simply can’t play anymore unless the surgery is done. When finished, he’s going to have to spend at least 8 months trying to rehabilitate. In fact, it could take up to 18 months or so.

The St. Louis Cardinals had no answer for Jeff Francis in Colorado today. It was an ugly affair. Cardinals hitters combined for just two hits as Jeff Francis weaved his mastery inning after inning. He recorded the complete game win. He only allowed the aforementioned two hits and did not allow a single walk. He also struck out 8 Cardinals hitters.

The Chicago White Sox made a late push in today’s game with the Minnesota Twins, but it was too little too late. After five innings of play the White Sox had the lead, 2-0, but it all went downhill after that. In the sixth inning, the Twins came alive and scored 3 runs to take a 3-2 lead. In the seventh inning, they built on that lead by scoring 3 more. They now led 6-2. They went up 7-2 in the ninth. The White Sox scored 2 in the bottom of the ninth, but it didn’t matter. The Twins won 7-4.

The Tigers set the tone early in this game by scoring 5 runs in the first inning. Cliff Lee, of Cleveland, just didn’t have any luck running tonight. Despite the hot start, Cleveland made a game of it. They scored in the 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th innings. However, the Indians got the short end of the stick. They lost today’s battle 9-7. The Indians are really playing out the season and waiting for next year. They are hoping to spoil someone’s chances at a playoff birth.

The Big Unit was on his game today. Randy Johnson pitched six solid innings. He only allowed 2 runs over 7 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 7 Texas hitters. A-Rod was back at third base for the Yankees and he managed to play a game with no errors. The Rangers took an early 1-0 lead, but it was short lived. The Yankees tied the game in the third inning and went ahead for good in the fourth.

The Pittsburgh Pirates chalked up another loss to their great record this season. This time it was at the hands of the Florida Marlins. The game started off on the wrong foot. The Marlins scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and it was basically over. They added insurance runs in the fifth and eighth innings, but they proved to be not needed. The Pirates never mounted any offensive threat. Four Pirates players decided to get one hit each as a parting gift to fans. It was a lackluster performance.

The game between the A’s and Tigers in Detroit looked like it would be either a blowout or a slugfest early. In the bottom of the first inning, the Detroit Tigers put up 5 runs on the A’s. However, in the top of the second, the A’s came right back with 5 of their own. It was evident early that pitching was not going to come with the price of admission. The game stayed 5-5 until the fifth inning when the A’s scored a run and took the lead. They added two more runs in the sixth to go up 8-5 and take a comfortable lead. In the 8th, they added one more.

The New York Yankees picked up a crucial game today as they outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4. Going into the sixth inning, the Blue Jays had a modest lead of 4-2. In the sixth inning, the Yankees got back a run and pulled to a 4-3 deficit. In the top of the seventh inning, the Yankees scored two need runs and took a 5-4 lead. In the ninth, the Yankees closed the door by sending Mariano Rivera to the mound. He pitched a quick inning and got his 23rd save of the season.

The Seattle Mariners, behind pitching sensation Felix “King” Hernandez beat the Boston Red Sox today with some late game scoring. The game was all tied after three innings of play and stayed that way until the seventh when the Mariners scored a run to go up 3-2. They added two insurance runs in the eight.

The Boston Red Sox continued their question for another World Series by dispatching with the Texas Rangers today. The Red Sox were pretty much in control the whole game. After the 3rd, they had a 4-3 lead and they never gave it up. The Rangers managed to tie the game in the top of the 6th, but the Red Sox went back up 5-4 in the bottom of the inning. After scoring an insurance run in the 7th, the Red Sox put away the Rangers 6-4.

Mariano Rivera is no longer the Superman he once was. Today, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees in 11 innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Vernon Wells took a Rivera pitch downtown for the walk off game winner. The sixth inning proved to be the difference in the game. The Yankees had a 3-0 lead going into the sixth, but pitching broke down and the Blue Jays scored four runs.

The New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds played extra innings today. The game was all tied 2-2 going into the 10th inning. Endy Chavez hit a crucial double in the Met’s half of the 10th giving the Mets a 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Billy Wager mowed down the Reds and closed the door.

The Detroit Tigers finished today’s game with a dramatic catch. They handed Jose Contreras another loss and continued to show their dominance for the American League Central. Joel Zumaya pitched two good innings to get the win. Todd Jones put down the White Sox in the 9th to get the save.

How can you fall apart, go 3-7 over your last 10 and still have a lead in your division? It’s possible when you play in the National League Central. The division is simply horrible. The Cardinals have been getting loss after loss handed to them, yet they still have a 2 game lead over Cincinnati. However, the fun stops here. Rival Houston is just 3 games back as the two clubs begin a series today. Houston is a -130 favorite and the Cardinals are a +120 dog. The under/over is 10.

Tonight the Boston Red Sox go to Chicago to face the White Sox. Boston will be looking to get back on track. After a minor skid, they resumed their winning ways yesterday. However, they must face the hot Chicago White Sox now. The Red Sox are 3 games up on the Yankees and 5 up and the Blue Jays. The White Sox, on the other hand, are very hot and just 1 game back of division leading Detroit. A win tonight and a Detroit loss would put them in the driver’s seat.

The Detroit Tigers come into Seattle having lost 2 of 3 in Oakland. They are now just 1 game in front of very hot Chicago. The Mariners have lost 4-4 and are now just 5-5 over their last 10. The Angels came in and cooled their jets by sweeping them. Seattle finds themselves basically 4 games behind Oakland and in a crucial series. Last night Oakland beat LA. Should Seattle have an off series, they could end up being 5-7 games behind Oakland by the All Star break.

It was the worst-case scenario for the Mariners—a sweep. Before the series started, the Mariners were sitting just one game back of Oakland. Oakland was going into a series with Detroit and things looked great. Sure, the season is not over, but the Mariners have not been in first place at this point or later in the season for some time. With attendance at Safeco Field dwindling—still good numbers though—it is vital that this team shows some life soon.

The month of June has passed and we are almost at the All Star break. It’s hard to believe that half of the MLB season is already over. It seems like it just started yesterday. Some new series start today and some tomorrow. It’s the last go at it before the All Star Break. Let’s look at how teams are doing of late.

The Tigers were about to be swept by the Oakland A’s, but today Kenny Rogers took the mound. Kenny Rogers typically dominates the Oakland A’s and it showed today. The Tigers were also able to break out of their offensive funk and put some runs on the board. While Oakland managed a nice collection of hits, they just could not put them together to form many runs. In the end, it did not matter as the Tigers made the most of their 13 hits.

Manny Ramirez is going to miss the All Star game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Apparently he has a sore knee and needs the time to recover. The report on the Red Sox player came from the Boston Globe. This is nothing new for Manny Ramirez. He has missed a couple previous All Star games due to injury. Even though Ramirez has had the knee problem all season, he’s still playing pretty well. So far, Ramirez has 23 home runs and 63 RBIs. He’s also hitting for an impressive .312.

The LA Angels are in Seattle to face the Mariners in what could turn out to be a defining moment for the AL West. The Mariners are just one game back of division leading Oakland and the Angels have managed to get within five games. Meanwhile, Oakland is at home facing one of the best teams in baseball, Detroit. It’s possible that Oakland loses two of those games and perhaps gets swept. They just got swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The 2006 All Star roster for the National League has been announced. There is still one final spot open and fans get to vote for the player to fill that spot. The voting will end on Thursday. The downside to this whole last vote idea is that voting is limited to a few pre-selected players. Following is the 2006 National League roster for the All Star in Pittsburgh.

The 2006 All Star roster for the American League has been announced. While the All Star game is supposed to be a collection of the best players from around the league, it’s really just a popularity contest. Each year there are at least a handful of selection that leave you scratching your head. However, that’s to be expected since (1) fans vote and (2) they typically just vote for everyone on their favorite team. Following is the 2006 roster for the All Star in Pittsburgh.