The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.
Oh, my, Maybin!: San Diego's Clayton Richard fell one out short of a complete game in a 6-2 victory against Arizona. He's got a 1.62 ERA in his past five starts. But forget about all that and watch this 485-foot home run by Cameron Maybin, the longest homer in the majors this season:
Monstrous. Trevor Cahill is still looking to see where it landed. Definitely deserving of an "Oh, my!" by Padres announcer Dick Enberg. Chase Field aids home runs, but Maybin still got all of that one and some of two or three more. He's got four homers in his past five games. Perhaps Matt Kemp should have picked him for the NL's team for Home Run Derby.
Tex mess: New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira knew he messed up, he just couldn't explain how. Teixeira misplayed a sharp grounder by Elliott Johnson for an error — his first of the season — which allowed the go-ahead run to score in a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
''Usually you can knock it down. I tried to look at video, but I couldn't really even tell what happened,'' he said. ''I just missed it. I don't know if it hit the back of the base or the chalk or what. I still have to knock it down. That's the disappointing thing.''
It's actually pretty clear what happened, by looking at the video replay. Teixeira appeared to be unwilling to cross the first-base line to catch the ball, as if he were afraid that the umpire would rule the grounder foul if he stepped into foul territory. He easily could have gotten in front of the ball, and squared his body, but his defensive positioning was sideways.
Weaving magic: One stray pitch away from possibly losing the lead, Jered Weaver kept his head and his shutout going. Weaver pitched out of a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the seventh inning, and the Indians missed their best chance to score in the Angels' 3-0 victory. Weaver retired Johnny Damon on a force play, Casey Kotchman hit a pop up and Weaver struck out Shelley Duncan with a slider to wriggle out of trouble. Reliever Scott Downs also pitched out of a jam in the eighth and finished for the save.
Head's up: The Cincinnati Reds certainly were happy to beat the Dodgers 8-2, but their minds were on the status of Zack Cozart, who was hit on the top of his head by a Chad Billingsley pitch. Cozart sustained a concussion, but manager Dusty Baker said he "should be OK tomorrow." Cozart wasn't upset after the game, but also said he doesn't even really remember getting hit. Perhaps the newer batting helmets lessened the potential damage.
That's good, right?: Oakland's Jarrod Parker continued a great if statistically obscure roll, allowing one run or less for the 10th time in 14 starts in a 6-1 victory against the Red Sox. We haven't seen that since the likes of Ferdie Schupp of the New York Giants did it over a series of spot stars that spanned from 1913-1917. If only they gave Ferdie a chance to start regularly, he could have been his generation's Jarrod Parker. It's very Moonlight Graham-ish.
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Quote of the Day: "When you get 11 runs, it's easy to pitch." — left-hander Everett Teaford of the Kansas City Royals, after an 11-3 victory at Toronto.
Quote of the Day II: ''I am trying to make up for lost time." — Slugger Allen Craig of the Cardinals, who hit two home runs in a 9-3 victory against Colorado. He has 13 homers overall in just 40 games after starting the season on the disabled list.
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Photo of the Day: This isn't creepy at all!
Lance Berkman, what is the matter? Lance? Lance?!
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Three Facts for the Water Cooler:
• Via the Associated Press report of Pittsburgh's 11-2 victory against the Astros: The Pirates have homered in a season high 10 straight games and have 52 runs over their past six games. It took them their first 22 games to score their 50th run of the season.
• Chicago's Jeff Samardzija rebounded from an awful June (he had 12.27 ERA in his previous four starts) to strike out 11 in a 4-1 victory for the Cubs against the Atlanta Braves.
• Ron Gardenhire of the Twins collected his 900th career victory with his team edging the Tigers 6-4. Minnesota has won four straight and denied Detroit in its chance to reach .500 for the first time since May 15.
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