Monday's first pitch

Leading Off
The Orioles absolutely dominated the Phillies. Coach Dave Trembley's squad showed no fear in playing the reigning World Champs. This probably doesn't bode well for the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays as the stretch drive begins. The Orioles might not just be playing spoiler either. At 32-37, they could soon fight for a .500 record.
Regional Roundup

• Jack Wilson is about to reach a very impressive milestone.


• The Orioles have recalled Chris Ray.


• The Phillies are showing how hard it is to repeat, writes Phil Sheridan. Ryan Howard is sick.


• Mike MacDougal is throwing heat. Pretty much exclusively.

• Albert Pujols is absolutely on fire.


• Daisuke Matsuzaka is heading for the disabled list.


• Take a look at the Cardinals all-time All-Star team.


• The Mets youngsters aren't playing too well.


• Barry Zito dominated. Remember when that was a regular occurrence?


• Is "Moneyball" the movie being scrapped?

• We're not normally a huge John Gonzalez fan, but anytime someone takes a shot - even if it's at the end of the column - at Colin Cowherd it is worth it. Gonzalez' take on a new 10 Commandments for fans also good.

Today in history
1930 -- Lou Gehrig hit three home runs to lead the New York Yankees to a 20-13 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics in the second game of a doubleheader. Babe Ruth, who hit three homers in the nightcap the previous day, hit two homers in the opener and one in the nightcap for the Yankees. Ruth tied major league records for five homers in two games and six homers in three games.

1982 -- Philadelphia's Pete Rose doubled off St. Louis pitcher John Stuper in the third inning to move into second place on the career hit list. Rose moved ahead of Hank Aaron with hit No. 3,772.

1993 -- Carlton Fisk set the major league record for most games caught as the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 3-2. Fisk, 45, passed Bob Boone with his 2,226th game.

The Closer
The Yankees lost to the Marlins. We saw that happen in 2003. The big issue is CC Sabathia's wing. It forced him to leave in the second inning. That doesn't bode well at all for the Yankees.