It was an offensive explosion on Thursday with four of the seven games being won by teams that scored 10 or more runs and eight of the 14 teams in action had 10 or more hits.
Thursday's full scoreboard with box scores and recaps for all games
3 UP
Dan Haren, Angels: Haren was simply brilliant on Thursday, allowing just four hits, walking none and striking out 14 Mariners in his sixth career shutout. It was just the 16th game of 14 or more strikeouts and no walks by a starter since 1918. Haren gave up a leadoff single and then retired 15 consecutive batters.
Justin Masterson, Indians: You pitch against Detroit and you're the best Justin out there, you get in 3 Up -- especially when you lead your team to a series sweep against the division favorites. Masterson allowed one run of five hits and five walks on Thursday for the win. With the sweep, Detroit fell six games behind Cleveland in the American League Central. The White Sox kept pace with a win over the Twins, still 3 1/2 games back.
White Sox offense: It's tough to pick just one player from the White Sox, who put up 11 runs on Minnesota, including a six-run sixth inning with homers by Paul Konerko, Alex Rios and a grand slam by Alejandro De Aza. Adam Dunn was the only Chicago batter without a hit.
3 DOWN
Marlins bullpen: Ryan Webb, Mike Dunn and Steve Cishek allowed nine runs in 3 2/3 innings. Cishek's two runs were unearned, but it was still jarring to see a game that was tied at 1 going into the sixth inning end up 14-7. The Giants' Javier Lopez gave up four runs in his inning of relief, but he had such a large lead it didn't really matter.
Joe Blanton, Phillies: Staked to a 6-0 lead, Blanton left after 4 1/3 innings with the game tied. He allowed 10 hits and seven earned runs. Even after blowing the six-run lead, his team gave him another lead in the top of the fifth, which he promptly blew.
Braves offense (except for Michael Bourn): The Braves hit just .150 with eight runs in the four-game sweep in Cincinnati and hit just .167 with 12 runs in their last six games, losing five of those. Michael Bourn hit three homers in the series and Juan Francisco had two -- although between them, they managed just one other hit. The pitchers don't get off the hook either, allowing 10 homers to the Reds in the four-game series (although none by Joey Votto or Jay Bruce).
Stopping the streaks: Cubs starter Ryan Dempster has a 2.28 ERA in seven starts this season, but still doesn't have a victory. A win over A.J. Burnett and the Pirates would be big not just for the Dempster, but also Cubs, who are looking to avoid losing their 10th consecutive game. 7:05 p.m. ET
NL East leaders square off: Atlanta lost its NL East lead with four straight losses in Cincinnati, but have a chance to get it back as it hosts the division-leading Washington Nationals. The Braves have just the man they want on the mound in Tim Hudson, who has gone seven innings or more in each of his last three starts and allowing three total runs in those starts, lowering his ERA from 6.55 to 3.03. Nationals lefty Ross Detwiler is headed in the opposite direction, seeing his ERA rise from 1.59 to 3.65 in his last three starts, giving up 13 earned runs in 16 innings over that stretch. 7:35 p.m. ET
Lee vs. Lohse: Thursday night the Phillies and Cardinals combined for 19 runs and 33 hits -- Philadelphia starter Cliff Lee has only allowed 13 runs and 33 hits all season. Kyle Lohse has given up just 18 earned runs. 8:15 p.m. ET
Friday's probable pitchers
• Fading fastballs: Felix Hernandez in the AL and Tim Lincecum in the NL have lost the most velocity off their fastball since 2001. [HardballTimes.com]
• MLB Mythbusters: Do bats really heat up with the weather? [MLB.com]
• Pitching with a heavy heart: White Sox starter Jake Peavy talks to the Chicago Tribune about his grandmother and a friend both dealing with terminal cancer.
• Nova's path to the big leagues: A great story about how everything had to break right for Ivan Nova to get where he is now. [ESPN.com]
• Europe's best: Who are the best players from Europe? [FanGraphs.com]
• Enormous glove: Tony Campana's new theme song.
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