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| Orioles. (Getty Images) |
It's a big start to the week, as there were three huge series kicking off: The Cardinals-Pirates, White Sox-Orioles and Rays-Rangers. Obviously many series had playoff implications, but these three involved two teams in the fight. For all the action, click on the link immediately below. For The Lineup, stay with us ...
Full Monday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for every game
3 UP
Nate McLouth/Lew Ford, Orioles: The Orioles' fairytale continues, as they just won't go away and continue to win one-run games. As seems to often happen in special seasons, unlikely sources come through to help propel the team. Monday night, the Orioles scored four runs. Their first came on Lew Ford's first MLB homer since July 29, 2007. The other three? From the bat of Nate McLouth. Well, sort of. He gathered one RBI on a bases loaded walk. Still, the big blow of the game was McLouth's go-ahead, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.
Brett Anderson, Athletics: The talented lefty has wasted no time re-introducing himself to the rest of the league since returning from Tommy John surgery. Monday marked his second start since coming back and he took a no-no into the fifth inning. He ended up allowing only two hits and two walks in seven shutout innings. He's now 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox: The Red Sox are pretty much cooked for this season, but Dice-K is a free agent after the season, so his return is noteworthy. And he went out and put together a quality outing. He worked seven strong, allowing only one unearned run on five hits. Best of all, for him, was that he only walked two while striking out six. If he can piece together a few good starts the rest of the way, he'll find a home in a rotation next season.
3 DOWN
Felix Hernandez's opposition: At some point it's just laughable what King Felix is doing to opposing hitters and I think we've reached that point. He threw a shutout again Monday night, which made it his third in his last five starts. Not only that, it is his fourth in nine starts since the All-Star break. He's now 7-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 0.68 WHIP since the All-Star break. Basically, when he's pitching the opposing team need not show up.
The Dodgers: What a pathetic game by a club with World Series aspirations. The Dodgers only managed four hits in Coors Field against Jeff Francis, Josh Roenicke, Rex Brothers and Matt Belisle. Meanwhile, Josh Beckett allowed a homer to his first batter faced as a Dodger and only lasted 5 2/3 innings. Then Kenley Jansen and Josh Wall completely melted down in the eighth, making a 3-0 deficit into a 10-0 loss. The Rockies have been playing better of late, yes, but they're still not a good team.
Cubs in the 9th inning: The Cubs entered the ninth trailing the Brewers, 6-4. That's a workable deficit, considering the Brewers' bullpen woes this season. But the Brewers still had a half-inning left to tack on some more insurance and, boy, did they. In the top of the ninth, the Brewers sent 14 batters to the plate, gathering nine runs on eight hits. The Cubs finally had to turn to utility player Joe Mather on the hill to get the final out of the inning. Mercifully, he did. 
Streaking Fathers: The longest winning streak in baseball belongs to the San Diego Padres. They've now won eight in a row after taking down the Braves Monday night. Tuesday, they look for No. 9. It'll be little-known Andrew Werner (1-0, 3.00) against Kris Medlen (5-1, 1.86). 10:05 p.m. ET
Possible AL playoff showdown, Part I: The Rays and Rangers met last season in the ALDS, and there's a pretty decent chance that happens again. Tuesday, they'll do battle after the Rangers won Monday, 6-5. It's James Shields (12-7, 4.01) against Yu Darvish (12-9, 4.51). 8:05 p.m. ET
Possible AL playoff showdown, Part II: The Orioles are currently in playoff position, as the AL Central-leading White Sox. Monday, a clutch McLouth homer was the difference, but Tuesday the White Sox send Cy Young contender Chris Sale (15-4, 2.65) to the hill. His counterpart, Chris Tillman (6-2, 3.71) is no pushover either. Considering how both of these clubs have been performing, this one is a must-watch for those who can. 7:05 p.m. ET
Tuesday's probable pitchers
• Do-everything man: Indians farmhand Justin Toole played all nine positions -- one per inning -- Saturday night for the Carolina Mudcats. He tweeted a picture collage of the feat (hat-tip to Big League Stew):
Here's a sweet picture recap of tonights game!
— Justin Toole (@Tooleyj24) August 26, 2012#all9positions twitter.com/Tooleyj24/stat…
• Roger "The Body" Bernadina: Evidently Nationals outfielder Roger Bernadina is ripped. Just check out the quotes of Chad Tracy, whose locker is next to Bernadina's (via Nationals Journal):
1. “The guy is a Greek god. I’ve played against him but you don’t realize how solid he is until you see him with his shirt off.”
2. “He’s pretty humble. If I had that body, I’d never have clothes on.”
• The blockbusters that weren't: On the heels of the blockbuster Dodgers-Red Sox trade, Nationals Journal recalls the attempted sale of Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue and Joe Rudi in 1976. A's owner Charlie Finley was set to sell the players for $3.5 million total, but commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed the deals.
• Still booing strong: Scott Rolen hasn't played with the Phillies since during the 2001 season, when he was traded to the Cardinals. He's still being booed in Philly. Ryan Lawrence of Philadelphia Daily News writes that this is a shame.
• Cubs still outdrawing Sox: The White Sox are great and the Cubs are terrible. Yet the Cubs are still greatly outdrawing the White Sox. The records don't matter, though, as it's commonplace for the Cubs have a higher attendance than the Southsiders. The New York Times offers up a few explanations as to why this happens.
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