The Full Count: Big Papi does it again

1. Mr. Walk off: David Ortiz has now easily established himself as one of the greatest clutch hitters of all time. Ortiz, just two days removed from a 4-5, 4 RBI performance complete with a game-winning single, hit a walk off three-run homer in the ninth to defeat Cleveland. His 4 RBIs gave him a whopping 105 for the year, bringing his pace to 164. The last player to drive in that many runs in a season was Ortiz’s teammate Manny Ramirez, who had 165 ribbies in 1999. Papi hit two homers on the day to once again bring back his major league lead (Ryan Howard had tied him at 35). Though Ortiz is 30 and only has 214 career homers, he will elevate himself to the level of the all-time great power hitters if he can keep this pace up.

2. Hey, it’s another rookie pitcher!: The American League class of rookie pitchers has dominated the headlines. Francisco Liriano, Jered Weaver, Jonathan Papelbon, and Justin Verlander have all performed above any level expected for a rookie. But one of the best rooks comes from the National League. He’s Josh Johnson, Florida’s youngster who has a 2.52 ERA. That is good for the NL lead, which means each league’s ERA leader is a rookie and it’s the end of July. That, needless to say, is the first time that’s ever happened. Johnson received plenty of run support and won his 9th game of the season yesterday against the Phillies. He allowed just one run and five hits, with one of the hits coming against the Phillies’ Chase Utley. That extends Utley’s hit streak to a whopping 32, the best since Jimmy Rollins’ 38 game streak that ended this April.

3. Almost perfect: The Twins just wrapped up their 61st win of the season, putting them eight games back of the Tigers (who lost). They absolutely ripped through the Texas Rangers, shutting them down 15-2. The Twins’ performance was almost perfect, as they collected 18 hits, with seven starters having multi-hit games. Carlos Silva, though he has been incompetent so far this year, pitched well to earn his seventh victory. His ERA stands at 6.49, and he is the weakest link of the Twins’ otherwise solid rotation. The stunned Rangers have suddenly moved into last place in the AL West.

4. Powerhouse: What got into the Arizona Diamondbacks last night? They pounded the Chicago Cubs for 15 runs, 10 extra base hits, and 6 homers in a rout. They were one of three teams (see above) that scored 15 runs last night, a rare occurrence for sure. Secondbaseman Orlando Hudson had a career effort, with 2 homers and 6 RBIs. Arizona moved to a game back of the Padres in the NL West, and they now stand at 54-51. Brandon Webb didn’t have his best stuff but rode his offense to his 12th victory of the year. The Diamondbacks are used to wild games like this; they have scored and allowed the most runs in their division.

5. More trading: Some of the trades that went down yesterday were revealed after FC was written. The Dodgers were probably the biggest winners, acquiring shortstop Julio Lugo from the Devil Rays and legend Greg Maddux from the Cubs. LA is Maddux’s third team, and will probably be his last. Meanwhile, the Mets got reliever Roberto Hernandez and Olivier “Remember 2004?” Perez from the Pirates. They dealed outfielder Xaiver Nady for those two pitchers. Those were likely the biggest two trades of the eight that went down yesterday, but the biggest news is who didn’t get moved. Alfonso Soriano and Miguel Tejada were rumored like crazy for a trade but will stand pat.