Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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The Sox routed Pittsburgh 16-5 smacking 11 extra base hits, 4 of them home runs.  Orlando Cabrera, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, and Joe Crede all hit homers and collected three RBI in support of Javier Vasquez.  The A’s meanwhile demolished one of the best pitchers in baseball.  They chased Brandon Webb after just 3.1 innings tagging him for 9 hits and 7 runs.  As bad as Webb was, Justin Duchscherer was equally as good for Oakland.  He threw 8 innings of 1-run ball striking out 6 along the way.  He now has an ERA of just 2.08 this season.  Not bad for a converted reliever.  Oakland also used the long ball to do most of its damage as Eric Chavez, Kurt Suzuki, Bobby Crosby, Rajai Davis and Mark Ellis (twice) left the yard.

• Lefty Jon Lester was masterful against the Phillies shutting them out for seven innings in a 3-0 Boston win.  The bigger story was the running game as the Red Sox stole six bases including one by the not exactly fleet-of-foot Sean Casey.  Jacoby Ellsbury stole his major league leading 34^th base of the year.  Now that he is playing fulltime, there is no reason he can’t swipe at least 60 and continue to lead the big leagues in that category.

• Milton Bradley left in the third inning after singling to deep center against the Braves.  He appeared to injure a hamstring which is concerning considering his history of injuries.  Definitely a situation to follow since Bradley has been one of the best fantasy outfielders this season.

• Rookie Chase Headley went 2-for-4 in his season debut for the Padres with 2 strikeouts.  He made the start in left, and should be a fixture out there the rest of the season.

• The Yankees, led by starter Andy Pettite, struck out 14 Padres on Tuesday in an 8-0 win.  The team is going to need many more performances like that from the pitching staff as Chien-Mien Wang will now be out until September with his foot injury.

• Tampa rookie Evan Longoria continues to develop into the All-Star everything knows he can be.  The third baseman made a terrific play on a bunt that prevented a run and ended a 3-2 win over the Cubs.  He also hit a home run to boot.  His average is still middling at .249, but he is starting to show more power.

• Scott Kazmir was knocked out after just 4.2 innings, but that was due to a patient Cubs lineup.  He gave up just 3 hits and struck out 7, but walked 4 and ended up throwing 110 pitches preventing him from getting another out and a potential win.

• Seattle continues to flounder in last place, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t making moves.  Brandon Morrow saved his second game in place of J.J. Putz striking out two.  Ichiro was moved back to rightfield and the remaining outfield dregs Willie Bloomquist and Jeremy Reed will man center.  This move does nothing for the team really except maybe weaken the defense since center field is a more premium position than right.  What could actually improve the team is the recall of C-DH Jeff Clement.  He is 24 years old now, and has dominated AAA pitching.  The Mariners need to run him out there everyday in place of the black hole that is Jose Vidro and find out what exactly they’ve got.

• The Gambler Kenny Rogers has found the fountain of youth.  He got his first win since May 21, but he has been fantastic over his last five outings.  Tuesday he threw seven innings of one run ball to beat the Giants.  Over his last 36 innings, he has allowed just four runs.  Try to deal him if you can highlighting his recent hot streak.  There is very little chance he keeps this up.

• Chad Billingsley stopped the Dodger skid by striking out 9 in 6.1 innings.  He won his fifth game of the year, and when he is on he is very impressive.  He lowered his ERA to 3.54 for the season.

• Mike Gonzalez will be activated Wednesday, and should immediately jump to the front of the Atlanta closer free-for-all.