Phillies slide goes on.............

The Phillies open the second half with a 6-2 loss in Denver Friday night.  Carlos Ruiz (.352) had a single and a double, Ryan Howard was 0 for 3 with a walk, and Kyle Kendrick retired all 4 hitters he faced, including stranding 2 runners he inherited.  Philadelphia has now lost 9 of 10, and is 15 games behind first place Washington.


In Atlanta, Michael Bourn (.309) had a double and scored a run for the Braves in their 7-5 win over the Mets.............In Chicago, the Cubs blasted the Diamondbacks, 8-1, but Mike Zagurski tossed a 1-2-3 inning for Arizona.......In Baltimore, the Tigers beat the Orioles, 7-2.  Quintin Berry (.289) did not have a hit, but made a spectacular catch, robbing a home run from Baltimore's Wilson Betemit........In Toronto, Justin Masterson was great, and the Indians got past the Jays, 1-0.  Lou Marson (.295) was 1 for 4 for Cleveland........In Cincinnati, the Reds beat St. Louis, 5-3.  Alfredo Simon (1.67) picked up the win with 2 innings of scoreless relief (1 hit, 2 walks, 3 Ks).  It was win #38 for Homesiders this year.


Mike Dubee, released earlier this year by the Yankees, was signed by the Blue Jays and assigned to AA-New Hampshire.