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| Prince Fielder hit 871 feet worth of home runs on Friday. (US Presswire) |
Thanks to another strong outing from Matt Cain and the Braves' sixth extra-inning victory of the season, the Giants took over the NL West lead from the Dodgers. Meanwhile, the Pirates took the first game of their series in St. Louis, but that's not all the action from a jam-packed Friday night in baseball...
Full Friday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for every game
3 UP
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins: It's a darn shame Giancarlo Stanton isn't a Colorado Rockie. That's nothing against the Marlins, but wouldn't it be fun to watch Stanton play 81 games in Coors Field? In each of the five games he's played there, he's hit a home run, including a monster 474-foot homer in Friday's 6-5 victory.
Prince Fielder, Tigers: Fielder hit two home runs a total of 871 feet -- his first, a 462-foot blast, tied the game in the sixth. HIs second, a measly 409-foot shot to right, gave the Tigers a 5-3 lead and ultimately the victory.
Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners: Iwakuma retired the first 12 batters he faced, extending the Mariners' mark to 42 consecutive outs, dating back to the ninth inning Tuesday, spanning Felix Hernandez's perfect game on Wednesday and Iwakuma's first four innings on Friday. Justin Morneau led off the fifth with a double breaking up his bid at perfection, but the right-hander still went on to pick up his fourth win of the season by holding the Twins to just four hits and an unearned run in seven innings. In eight starts since moving into Seattle's rotation, Iwakuma is 3-2 with a 3.19 ERA.
3 DOWN
Johan Santana, Mets: Santana became the first pitcher in Mets history to surrender six-plus runs in five consecutive starts. On Friday he surrendered six runs in five innings on seven hits in a loss to the Nationals. He fell to 6-9 with a 4.85 ERA overall and is 0-5 with a 15.63 ERA in his last five starts. He's 3-7 with an 8.27 ERA since his no-hitter.
Jered Weaver, Angels: Weaver entered Friday's start leading the American League with a 2.22 ERA, he ended the day sixth in ERA, as it jumped more than a half run thanks to the Rays. Weaver gave up a career-high nine runs in just three-plus innings, giving up eight hits and walking two. He faced seven batters in the fourth without retiring a batter.
Tony Cruz, Cardinals: Yadier Molina, who caught 20 of starter Jake Westbrook's previous 24 starts, missed his third straight game with back discomfort, leaving Cruz to start on Friday. Cruz and Westbrook had trouble communicating in the fourth inning of Friday's loss. Both of the Pirates' runs in the 2-1 victory came in the inning, with the first scoring on a wild pitch and the second on a passed ball. 
Getting the call: Todd Redmond has been called up to the majors three times this season (once with the Braves and twice with the Reds), but has yet to pitch in a big-league game. He'll finally get his chance in the second game of the Reds' day-night doubleheader against the Cubs. Redmond will be just the sixth starter the Reds have used this season. 7:05 p.m.
Proving himself: Philadelphia's Cole Hamels lost his first game after signing his new contract, but in the three games since then he's 2-1 with a 0.72 ERA. He's coming off back-to-back shutouts and hasn't allowed a run since the third inning of his Aug. 2 start against the Nationals. Hamels is 2-1 with a 4.45 ERA in five career starts at Miller Park. 7:10 p.m. ET
Wake-up call: Since falling victim to Felix Hernandez's perfect game, the Rays have scored a total of 19 runs in two games. Up next is the Angels' C.J. Wilson. The Rays beat Wilson on July 28 in Tampa and the lefty is 0-2 with a 6.88 ERA in his three starts since then. Wilson hasn't recorded a win since June 26. 9:05 p.m. ET
Saturday's probable pitchers
• Comeback players: FanGraphs looks at the Comeback Player of the Year award by the difference in WAR from 2011 to 2012. Four of the top six candidates in the AL are White Sox, led by Adam Dunn.
• Bryce's little brother: Bryan Harper is trying to establish his own identity as a baseball player. [Washington Post]
• Chronicles of Reddick: Yahoo.com's David Brown sits down with the A's Josh Reddick to talk about his love of the Georgia Bulldogs and dislike of "Sweet Caroline."
• Benched: Here's something from Japan you probably wouldn't see on this side of the Pacific -- after errors on back-to-back fly balls, Matt Murton was taken out of the game in the third inning. That just doesn't happen here. You do have to give Murton credit for not showing up his teammates or manager, but you know he was seething. [YakyuBakka.com]
• SABR song: Thanks to NotGraphs for passing this along:
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